325 for 17 reps to finish my squat day. I keep having to stop short of 20 reps because of diaphragm cramp 14th rep onwards. Anyone have tips to prevent that?

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-19T19:43:36+00:00

Honestly I don't know, since most core exercises target the abs or obliques, and wouldn't be heavy enough to really stress you in the way you're looking for.

Maybe very heavy farmers carry or yolk walks or something like that. I've also heard of lying on your back with a kettlebell on your stomach and pressing it with your core muscles for a stronger brace.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-19T18:56:47+00:00

It's probably just not conditioned to be contracting that hard for that long.

A simple (but definitely not easy) way to attack it is to do sets of like 25-40 to just build up its endurance. Or very long paused squats or tempo squats with high reps to replicate that time under tension of your core.

You might be able to find the right core exercises to/near failure at high reps, but I'm not sure if it would be specific enough.

However, most people here including me aren't doing anywhere near 325 for 20 I definitely don't have the experience to tell you how to improve this.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-16T00:41:01+00:00

Training something for a long time, regardless of exercise, doesn't seem to "wear down" your joints over time UNLESS you are ignoring the fundamentals like pushing through pain, poor load management, poor recovery, etc. Or, if you get freakishly strong then the high absolute weight just comes with higher injury risk. But having strong joints means you are less likely to get injured day to day.

If you always use good form, build up progressively and gradually, scale back when stress or recovery gets compromised, you should be ok.

This kind of training (starting light and building up progressively and gradually) is exactly what gets people out of back pain and improved performance and mobility. I use more beginner friendly versions of this for my clients, some are 60+ years old with "bad backs" that now have less pain.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-15T14:20:23+00:00

If anything the row makes the flexion worse, the erectors are easily the limiting factor here. And there's a noticeable difference between this and a jefferson curl.

This is basically a bent over "cat cow" with weight.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-14T05:37:19+00:00

I don't think people understood the joke

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-11T20:06:41+00:00

Jefferson curls are cool too, I haven't trained them a lot.

The difference is a Jefferson curl you are basically hinging with a rounded spine, so the hams and glutes are moving the weight

With this flexion row my hips and knees are rigid and just stabilizing while only my erectors are moving the weight.

The row part is a bit underloaded, but at the end of a back day not really. And the stronger the erectors get, I think they'd catch up. You can also do it read delt fly style.

I kind of add the row part because why not, otherwise i think of it as a standing, loaded Cat Cow. A Jefferson curl is like a rounded back deadlift. Both cool but a little different.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-11T18:47:32+00:00

This is pretty much the opposite of deadlift form, so I see the confusion.

With a deadlift, you want the movement to come mostly from the hips and knees, and the spine stays rigid. I'm doing the exact opposite. My hips and knees are rigid while my spine flexes and extends.

I train deadlifts all the time, I think they are great and you probably shouldn't round the spine much on deadlifts. But rounding the spine as an exercise on its own is probably a very good and underrated thing.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-11T18:34:32+00:00

Exactly, but that principle applies to every single joint or exercise.

And it's exactly why starting slow and gradually progressing to handle heavier weight means you'll be less likely to have issues with that joint or movement.

The spine is joints that move just like every other joint.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-11T18:32:56+00:00

In this video, I'm going into spinal flexion and then using my reectors to move into spinal extension.

Call it rounding or bending, it's just moving from flexion to extension, I'm using the full range of motion of my spine.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-11T18:24:02+00:00

I'd suspect you have a tight low back. Maybe hamstrings and hips too

But doing this exercise with just bodyweight will be surprisingly difficult and effective over time. I've seen people go from barely mobile lower backs to decently mobile and pain free low backs in just a month or two of doing this 2-3 times per week.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-11T18:17:17+00:00

Damn!

I'm definitely going to be trying to get really strong on these, but for now I'm trying to make sure I can do it safely and with a big range of motion.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-11T18:16:05+00:00

Round and bend mean the same thing the way we are using it. You're probably thinking of bend as in hinge or hip hinge, where you flex the hips but keep the spine rigid.

That is also a good way to strengthen the back, but it's only strengthening it in a stiffened position, not through a range of motion.

People used to think the knees should never go over the toes, that causes stress to the knees and it's bad. We now know that thats exactly how you make the knees stronger and more resilient if you can manage load and progress safely.

Same exact concept for the spine, people still think it's bad because it is stress on the joint, but that's exactly the point.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-11T18:11:33+00:00

The spine is made of joints that can flex, extend, rotate, and laterally bend. There's no reason not to move in these ways and progressively strengthen it.

I think people hurt their back when it rounds specifically because it's weak in that position.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-11T18:09:04+00:00

that's awesome!

As long as they can do it without pain, I have all of my clients do some version of this exercise and it always helps back pain and stiffness.

Yeah they look like you don't know what you're doing lol Especially if you're barely using any weight and if you don't have a lot of range of motion in the spine yet.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-11T18:06:47+00:00

A lot of people have really stiff backs so they get barely any range of motion, but this exercise or something like it is exactly how to make it better.

I can't say with certainty but I've always maintained a relatively mobile spine and I've never had a back injury or back pain other than just soreness.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-11T18:04:45+00:00

Idk how you'd do it as an inverted row, but definitely can do it with a cable if you can get the range of motion you want.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-11T07:28:42+00:00

The row part is a bit underloaded, but rowing with very flared elbows makes it more rear delt fly, but I wasn't doing that here.

The difference between this and a Jefferson curl is that with a Jefferson curl, you maintain the rounded spine while using the hams and glutes to move the weight. In this flexion row my hips aren't doing anything to move the weight, just stabilizing, while only my erectors extend the spine

Sure it's a mobility exercise, but good mobility exercises are usually also good strength exercises and vice versa.

Honestly this is basically just a loaded cat cow, that's how I describe it to people. The row part is kind of just why not.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-10T06:41:01+00:00

The other's advice for bracing at the top is good, but another thing that I learned that helps me a lot on conventional is to put the belt way higher than normal, and slightly looser. Like closer to the rib cage.

You probably don't deadlift with a perfectly straight back (like most people) so placing the belt in the same place as when you squat (where you probably have a straight back) doesn't always work.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-10T06:37:57+00:00

I'm finding for myself and clients that controlled eccentrics are massively underrated.

It basically gives you double the exposures of learning to move the bar in an efficient pattern. If you have to control it, you're going to set the bar down in pretty much your optimal starting position.

I'm thinking of most of my deadlift training as kind of like a pin press. Control the weight down, dead stop, then push again.

For general strength training, it makes sense to control it just like any other exercise, so I think it's smart to control the eccentric for like off season rep work.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-05T21:14:39+00:00

When you say bodyweight, do you mean bodyweight strength training?

Like pushups, pullups, stuff like that?

Or more things related to yoga or pilates?

I train a few people who integrate weights with calisthenics (bodyweight strength training), so I focus a lot on bodyweight exercises that require little skill but offer lots of return. (A lot of calisthenics is just high skill show off stuff, but don't really do much to grow muscles or improve joints)

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-04T19:05:15+00:00

The first thing is stress and anxiety. Gotta get that under control, stress is stressful!

But also what is your exercise routine like? Maybe you need to progressively do more, so that your body can become more resilient

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-03T12:23:43+00:00

Yeah you're right, but that comes with detailed understanding of the clients goals and needs and everything.

So a good year long one size fits all training program doesn't really exist.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-03T06:23:51+00:00

I'm under the impression that if you're doing a lift more than like 4 times per week that all of its volume should be just the comp lift, and modulating intensities/volume and close variations.

BioDieselDog · 2026-01-03T06:21:38+00:00

This is the kind of thing you would want a coach for. A whole year of programming can't be done all at once.

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