Rounding back during dumbbell swings

Muscledog95 · 06-22-2009, 05:13 PM

I constantly round my back when doing db swings in my conditioning routines. No matter how light I go, my back rounds. My hips and legs are doing most of the work however. It seems my back always round when I pick something off the floor (sandbag, dbs, people etc,). Anyone else have a problem keeping their back arched during dumbbell swings?

kenzo242 · 06-22-2009, 05:31 PM

There can be a couple of issues from postural awareness to tight muscle affecting this movement. With every exercise you do, you need to keep your chest up and shoulders down. This can be hard for some to grasp, they don't have the coordination to make this happen unless physically put in this position by an expert. You may also have really tight hamstrings, inner thighs and abs. These muscles attach directly to the pelvis and when tight can cause the compensation you're talking about with the swings. Try foam rolling/smr and then stretch these areas and then do the exercise with the postural cues I gave. Good luck!

**Standard** · 06-22-2009, 09:55 PM

Are you talking about upper or lower back rounding? Upper wouldn't be much of an issue but lower does have a higher potential of injury. Do you have the same issue with snatches?

kenzo242 · 06-22-2009, 10:34 PM

The upper back rounding is just as bad as the lower back. Upper back musculature needs to be held in a stable position (chest up, shoulders down) in order to get the proper recruitment of the muscles for any upper body exercise and lower body for that matter. Postural stability is just as important as core stability in that it reduces compensation and injury. Which when all is said and down equals increased strength.

**Urban** · 06-23-2009, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenzo242

The upper back rounding is just as bad as the lower back.

not really. in fact, rounding of either under load isn't really THAT bad, it's the change from rounded to arched under load that has the greatest potential for injury. This tendency is FAR greater in the lumbar spine than it is in thoracic spine since you can "lock out" a back heavy lift like swings or deadlifts without changing much in terms of upper back rounding. The lumbar spine however is the part of your back being erected if you perform the lift with a round back and that DOES increase the risk of injury significantly.

While the of the spine are similar throughout, its FAR less likely that he's going from rounded to arched under load in his upper back and if he is, it's MUCH less severe than what would typically cause injury, especially in lower back where there's greater instability to begin with.

In short... you are wrong.

kenzo242 · 06-23-2009, 08:26 PM

I don't know how much anatomy urban has studied but rounding the thoracic spine under sub max loads can injury the musculature of the upper back and also the neck. When you lift, no matter what the exercise, you need to keep you chest up and shoulder down. Think of a soldiers standing before their drill Sargent with perfect posture. That's how yuo want your back to look while bending over to do swings, deadlifts, lying on your back and benching. Look up Postural Stabilization on google and you'll see lots of research on the topic and examples of why it's important. Bad posture in the upper and/or lower spine is not good and leads to injury in those areas. If you have any formal training or studied anatomy you would understand that. LAte

Mr Gorgeous · 06-23-2009, 08:52 PM

I would like to see where this goes. After being a bit of a form nazi I'm starting to think some back rounding isn't too bad. Zercher deads come to mind.

Muscledog95 · 06-23-2009, 09:09 PM

Form follows function. In all aspects of life, the back rounds, whether you want it to or not. However, I do see the merit of keeping the back arched when working with weights for reps. Thats why the question was posted. Useful posts from both sides of the fence.

Mr Gorgeous · 06-23-2009, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muscledog95

Form follows function. In all aspects of life, the back rounds, whether you want it to or not. However, I do see the merit of keeping the back arched when working with weights for reps. Thats why the question was posted. Useful posts from both sides of the fence.

Exactly. This is why it seems useful to build a stronger back while in rounded back situations.

kenzo242 · 06-23-2009, 11:05 PM

Guys, all I was stating is that a rounded upper back shows a lack of postural stabilization. 99 out of 100 reps you'll probably be fine. It only takes that 1 time and you injure yourself. You can recondition the upper back not to round by lightening the loads a bit and have a trained professional observe and give verbal feedback. LAte