If we are taught to never lift with our backs, why are there popular exercises like Romanian deadlifts and good mornings which has you specifically lifting with your back?
In: Biology
There’s like 30 back muscles.
If you lift using 30, it’s fine.
But most likely you are lifting using just 1 major muscle
Those generally aren’t lifting with your back. The movement comes from your hips (driven by the hamstrings and glutes, mostly) while your back muscles are being used to keep your torso rigid.
That said, lifting with your back is a lot less dangerous than is commonly thought. Provided you understand how to brace. This is why things like stone/sandbag lifts, where you pretty much have to lift with a rounded back due to how low you have to get, can be done without injury.
RDLs hit your glutes and hammies when done right. Back is used to brace your upper half.
Even with deadlifts though, the top part of the spine can have a slight curve, as long as the bottom half is properly bracing the torso and you hinge at the hips properly. Your form needs to be very good though, because yes you can hurt yourself. Me personally, I have trouble keeping that mind muscle connection on heavier weights and don’t do deadlifts. There’s other exercises I can do to target those muscles.
You are taught not to lift with your low back in a disadvantaged position that is high risk for disc herniation. When fully flexed in the lumbar spine, your lumbar discs are at the most vulnerable position they can be. Loading that with heavy weight is asking for injury. RDL and good mornings are designed to be done with a neutral lumbar spine, and you lift by engaging your entire posterior chain (all your erector spinae, glutes, hams, etc) not just your low back.
“Don’t lift with your back” is just a very shortened cue to remind people not to bend over and jerk up a bunch of weight with terrible form.
Doing workouts in a gym, you’re able to have ideal form and properly brace your muscles. If you’re on a job site, that’s less likely to happen if you’re lifting some oddly shaped thing at a weird angle. Also, it’s easier to maintain proper form for a 30 minute workout than several hours of working or moving furniture etc so it’s a safer bet to prioritize lifting with your legs.
Simplicity of messaging, that’s why. It’s the same reason kids are taught the pullout method doesn’t work. When anyone does lifts “with their back”, they’re doing so by using internal bracing, for that specific reason, only doing it a minimal amount of times, and with a lot of practice. Someone who is “on the job” usually isn’t an athlete, is doing repetitive and improperly balanced fast-paced work, so it’s easier to say don’t do it.
In a gym those exercises involve more of an upwards pull with the core and a push with your legs, with the weight very close to your center of gravity. Also you have a really good grip and the weight isn’t likely to suddenly shift or slip.
When you lift a big box or piece of furniture and youre leaning further over it, you can’t get it as close to your center of gravity so you end up pulling against your back muscles in a different way.
It’s still safe enough when you’re in control but the injuries usually happen when you’re lifting things that can shift, or slip, or the person you’re lifting with drops it, and you inevitably don’t want to drop the TV or fridge or whatever and that’s when you suddenly twist or pull harder and pop goes your back
RDL engages your glutes and hamstrings primarily; if you find your back carrying most of the load you are not doing them correctly and will likely get hurt. DL are meant to engage in sequence the largest and then progressively smaller muscles throughout your body; and it all starts with glutes.
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Short answer: when exercising you are concentrating on good form.
When moving boxes your concentrating on the box and forgetting to use proper form, twisting and just putting yourself at risk.
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