06/12/2025
FORM IS FUNCTION! My client was struggling with lower back pain when performing squats, with sudden onset once his legs began to fatigue. During bent-over rows, he struggled to maintain a neutral spine, so we practiced RDLs, yet he couldn't feel the stretch in or produce force with his glutes.
We began with the cat-cow drill, not only to proprioceptively orient the spine, but to also learn the cues that I might give to "cat" or "cow" the back. From there, I devised this setup to easily align the spine, stretch the glute and place the center of gravity over the heel of the foot by instructing him to keep his toes, knees and shoulders to the wall. Then I prompted him to push his heel into the ground so that he didn't rely too much on his quads to lift himself, using a pulse rep to feel the stretch and produce force with the glute of his standing leg. After this drill we attempted more RDLs and he claimed to finally feel his glutes doing the work and the stress being taken off of his lumbar spine.
Please like, share, comment and follow if you would like to see more content like this
follow .it.fit to catch more upcoming workout tips and advice!
