Illustrations: Everkinetic (Greg Priday), CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped, resized & combined
Lower Back
Stand with feet hip-width apart, the bar over mid-foot and touching your shins.
Hinge at the hips then bend the knees to grip the bar at shoulder width, back flat and chest up.
Pull the slack out of the bar until it is tight, engage the lats as if pinning newspapers in your armpits, breathe in and brace.
Drive your feet through the floor and keep the bar dragging up your shins; hips and shoulders rise together.
Once past the knees, push the hips forward to stand tall, locking the glutes without leaning back.
Lower the bar by pushing the hips back first, only bending the knees once the bar clears them.
Rounding the back because the hips shoot up before the shoulders.
Letting the bar drift away from the shins, which makes the weight feel far heavier.
Hyperextending and leaning back at lockout.
Dumping the bar from the top instead of controlling it down.
Film a set from the side; a rounded back is easier to see than to feel.
Use a mixed grip or straps only when your grip is the limit, not your back.
Reset every rep on heavy sets instead of bouncing the plates off the floor.
Sign up free to log sets & weights, save favorite moves, add your own, and see your strength chart climb week after week.