newbie ? to band squats

[sean34]

i posted this in the training forum but no responses so bare with me since im new to using bands

EF,

I used (light) bands for the first time tonight squatin' and have a couple questions.

I noticed a lot of stress on my lower back while locked out. This would happen at the top of the squat and while unracking and reracking the weights. Im walkin around pretty gimpy now. Anybody else experience this? It could from the fact this is a new exercise throw in the fix or it could be a flaw in my form. Next time I do em, Im going to set the pin lower so its easier to unrack/rerack the weights. I also think that not locking out at the top should help but do PLs "lock out" while training with bands?

also, if your using bands to assist your squatin', how often do you use the bands? Im thinking I should use em everytime but Im completely new to this.

Thanks in advance,

Sean

 

[DOM]

sean,

we'd have to see your squat to be certain you weren't doing anything wrong to cause that extra lower back stress. But probably you weren't -- so it could just be because of your first time with the added tension. As far as how often you should use the bands -- don't stay on them nonstop -- they'll beat up your joints and you'll become overtrained. Try 4 weeks at a time -- feel it out for yourself to see what works best for you.

 

[natural-mike]

Sean,

Make sure your bands are set up in a straight plane of motion when you come out of the rack and squat down. My first band session I didn't rig the bands up properly and they were anchored to far in front of me so when I squatted up out of the whole it was almost like a good morning because the bands were pulling me forward rather than down. The next day my lower back was shot. Check your setup, maybe have someone stand on the side of you to make sure your plane of motion with the bands is ok. Once I adjusted it was a million times better.

And like DOM said, don't get sucked into using bands all the time, I don't speak for everyone, but for me, they burn me out after 2 to 3 weeks.

Peace,
Mike

 

[TheFng]

Sean,

It could be that you didn't warm your lower back up properly. You may want to warm up with some light good mornings or deadlifts in the future. And to reiterate what the others said, don't use the bands all the time.