Page 115 - Muscle & Fitness (February 2020)

REASON #1:

YOU’RE WORRIED

ABOUT THE WRONG

PART OF YOUR BACK

our problem might not
be a problem at all, says
Shallow. The area of
concern is the lumbar
Yspine—between your
rib cage and your pelvis.
Rounding the thoracic spine
or upper-back area—which
extends from the base of your
neck to the bottom of your rib
cage—is far less problematic.
“The thoracic spine is sup-
ported by your ribs,” Shallow
says. “Many of the strongest
deadlifters in the world round
there.” (For proof, pull up
videos of the late Russian
powerlifter Konstantin
Konstantinov.)
The upper back isn’t immune
to injury, of course, but round-
ing it forward on the deadlift
doesn’t usually cause prob-
lems. Focus on the lower back

instead. If it bows out at any
point in the lift, you may be
setting yourself up for injury.
To fix that, read on.

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