back pain during squats preventing lifting optimum weight

bigdogbarking

Hi guys, I'm just after a wee bit of advice/opinions.

I'll begin with a bit of background.

Just getting back into training relatively heavy, after a lenghty/lazy period of little or no training,I let myself go from looking my best to an embarrassing lump of a man. Anyway,I left my ego at the door and went back to basics and decided to build back up from scratch because i was shocked at how little i could lift compared to about 2 years ago! Although i held on to most of my muscular thickness( beneath all the flab )my strength was only about 60% of what it was previously

i had a month of conditioning to slowly wake my muscles back up and then I stumbled across the '5x5' training program that seems to crop up on every fitness forum so decided to give it a try as it basically covered all the compound lifts and was just along the lines of what i was after.

In about a month i took my Deadlift and Squat from an uncomfortable and less than perfect rep series of 80kg up to a more moderately comfortable but strict-form 120kg, and bench up from 50 to 90kg so i'm happy with my progress so far, especially in body fat levels but my main concern is niggling back pain when i put the Squat bar on my back once i put on more than 100kg and when i lift it off again i get a pain too.

During reps as long as i keep my form perfect and push through my heels i don't have any pain but i don't feel confident enough to load up the bar above 120 for fear of injuring myself, but now i feel as i'm not getting enough from the squats.

Should i just drop the weight a bit and increase the reps or should i just keep loading the bar and focus on extra core work to strengthen my back?
The legpress is out of the question too as although i can load it up with an ego boosting number of plates on each side,i just find it too uncomfortable and it just kills my back off altogether

If i drop the weight though will it inhibit any strength gains? i mean surely i can't get stronger using lighter weights and more reps but on the other hand i won't get any stronger with an injured back.

Thanks guys BDB

d'Oracle

Can't help but think you need to see a Physio.

Even if its some sort of "functional issue" if the issue is your back, then its best that you get someone to look at it.

Khannie

Agree 100% with d'Oracle on this one. Nobody on here's qualified to give you advice where there's the potential for serious injury involved. I'd see a physio and / or someone qualified to advise on your form.