Build Back Better

Throwing out my back while deadlifting used to be a once-a-year proposition. When I found the Starting Strength guide for deadlifting a decade ago, I was delighted to learn some thoughtful benchmarks for form. Instead of just grunting max weight off the floor, I had cues for how to set up my deadlift, such as:…

A day in the strife

I was lying on my back on the gym floor, deciding between crawling to the locker room or asking the staff to call an ambulance. I’d had acute low back attacks in the past – from doing bent over barbell rows, T-bar rows, and also from deadlifting, like in this case. But I’d never before…