Can You Keep Lifting With Back Pain?

Back pain makes a lot of people stop lifting altogether. Matt Reynolds argues that, in many cases, that is exactly the wrong response.

Your back is not a fragile mechanical structure that inevitably wears down every time you bend, squat, or deadlift. The muscles, bones, discs, tendons, and ligaments of the back are living tissues that can adapt to appropriately applied stress. If you want a stronger, more resilient back, at some point you have to train it.

Matt explains why pain and tissue damage are not the same thing, why an MRI finding does not necessarily explain your symptoms, and why deadlifts are not inherently dangerous for your back. He also walks through how he approaches ordinary back tweaks in training, including reducing load, adjusting range of motion, changing exercise variations, modifying reps and sets, and using symptoms to guide the session.

The goal is not to ignore pain or push through serious warning signs. It is to stop treating every episode of back pain as proof that your spine is fragile.

A stronger back is generally a more capable back. Instead of organizing your training around avoiding stress, learn how to apply stress intelligently so your body can adapt to it.

In this episode:

Why back pain does not necessarily mean back damage

Why deadlifts can help build a stronger, more resilient back

The problem with treating the spine as fragile

What to do after an ordinary back tweak

When symptoms may warrant medical evaluation

How to modify load, range of motion, reps, sets, and exercise selection