I've noticed two problems when I lift.

1) When trying to bench, my left hand, the "thumb" part, near the wrist, hurts. It's like something was ripping. I think it's because the bar bends back and I guess stretches something further than it can go. I just don't know what. If it's a muscle or ligament or what... I've switched to dips for now. I've attached a picture of where it feels like it hurts.

2) My lower back keeps rounding. I mean, I tried to just do Good Mornins with no weight, and I couldn't go lower than 45º without it rounding. What kinds of stretches would be best for this? I think this may be a reason why I busted my knee doing squats too.

Thanks in advance.

PL

Have you tried open-palm gripping the bar, instead of closing a fist around it?

I've noticed two problems when I lift.

1) When trying to bench, my left hand, the "thumb" part, near the wrist, hurts. It's like something was ripping. I think it's because the bar bends back and I guess stretches something further than it can go. I just don't know what. If it's a muscle or ligament or what... I've switched to dips for now. I've attached a picture of where it feels like it hurts.

2) My lower back keeps rounding. I mean, I tried to just do Good Mornins with no weight, and I couldn't go lower than 45º without it rounding. What kinds of stretches would be best for this? I think this may be a reason why I busted my knee doing squats too.

Thanks in advance.

PL

1. The tendons in your wrist are weak. This used to happen to me when I first started lifting. Grip training as well as improving the strength of the extensors and flexors of forearm will eliminate this.

2. Doing the motion without weight and holding it. Push the motion, along with seated twists.

Yes, I have tried open palm and it still hurts. I pretty much have to put the bar at the bottom of my hand so it's not pressing my hand back. Does that make sense? Basically, it's as low on my palm as it can be and I am afraid it will fall off if I hold it like that.

Weak grip? I can do like 7 or 8 pull ups no problem. Or does that not count since I only weigh 145lbs? By the way, I am only benching 105lbs... :(

Thanks.

PL

Weak grip along with flexors and extensors, read what I posted above...

What exercises are good for the flexors and extensors then? I know farmer's walks are good for grip, right?

PL

Curls and Reverse curls with the Flat bar. Don't bother trying to isolate the forearms. It's a waste of time. I did that for a while and it basically took a day out that I now use for lower back solely.

The FB stuff will definitely improve your grip and your forearms along with working your biceps to boot. Also If you do rack pulls and DL's avoid using straps at all costs. It's a crutch and you can't use them in comps. That'll give you an Iron grip.

Flat bar is just a barbell, right? I can't afford any of those fancy curvy bars. Can I alternate reverse curls and curls in the same exercise, or should I do them on different days? Like 1set curls, 1set RC, etc, vs a given day for curls and then next week do RC instead?

I will follow your advice, to infinity and beyond!

PL

The pain in the hand seems straange to me because of the area. I hope you don't have a stress fracture. I don't think that's what it is, but it's possibble. I also wonder if you might have a pinched nerve there. That's the area where there are some really sensitive nerves. The thing is your wrist should not be bending far enough back to put enough pressure on that spot to cause pain. What Akira said about weak wrists makes sense, but they must be really weak to cause you pain while benching.

As for your back, it sounds to me like it's either extremely weak or you have extremely tight hamstrings and glute. Probably the latter, but it's hard to say for sure. I'd start stretching the hamstrings and glutes. Make sure you do the stretches properly, it's easy to round your back while stretching and never get get a true hamstring stretch. Form is crucial. You obviously know not to attempt any heavy weight if your back is rolling like that. Figure out how to correct that problem before you get hurt.

For flexor and extensor work, a tennis ball and a set of thick rubber bands will help you out on those. Squeeze the tennis ball to work out the flexors (or get a Captains, ultimately it'll be better for you), and with the thick rubber bands put them over their fingertips and stretch out all your fingers at once, holding for a count of 3. Do 3 sets of 12 with each hand. Working your extensors will practically double your hand strength.

As for your lower back rounding, try clenching your buttcheeks like you're in a prison cell with Big Gay Bubba and flexing your abdominals. Also, roll your chest forward a little bit if you think it might help. This will lock your back into one place. Do hypers too to strengthen up your lower back.

Wouldn't I rather relax my buttcheaks to make it not as painful?

Captains?

I did that rubberband thing. It kicked my ass. I feel like a pansie... :(

I still think I have a good grip, though. What's a good test to see if it's good or not?

PL

Wouldn't I rather relax my buttcheaks to make it not as painful?

Captains?

I did that rubberband thing. It kicked my ass. I feel like a pansie... :(

I still think I have a good grip, though. What's a good test to see if it's good or not?

PL

Flexing your abs and clenching your cheeks together is going to make it a lot more difficult to round your back while lifting. It'll help with form. Also on all your warm-up sets make that the time to go slow and examine your form to make sure you're doing it probably.

Captains of Crush, the handgrippers from IronMind.com. Also a good way to test your grip :glasses1: Glad you liked the extensor training.

No, I was joking about the buttcheek thing. If a guy is trying to savagely rape me, I should go with it instead of resisting, right? Don't worry, I have a twisted mind, it's probably better that you didn't catch what I was saying.

PL

No, I was joking about the buttcheek thing. If a guy is trying to savagely rape me, I should go with it instead of resisting, right? Don't worry, I have a twisted mind, it's probably better that you didn't catch what I was saying.

PL

I'm happy to report that I didn't catch it either!