So far I’ve tweaked my back 3x this year due to back squatting.
Once in February, and twice in April (the same week) and it typically occurs on the 4th or 5th set and usually because of me doing something dumb (doing 3 heavy working sets at 6-8 reps and then throwing in a “bonus” set and adding more weight OR lower weight but more reps
The twice in April was me being dumb and then trying Hack Squats 3 days after tweaking my back and triggering it even worst
Now I’m somewhat recovered but still have like some minor soreness on the lower lumbar so want to avoid back squats for a while
I am wondering if so as long as I incorporate leg press, bulgarian split squats and say leg extensions if that can hopefully maintain or progress some strength and muscle without taking a significant loss from not back squatting
I also notice most of the time I also injure myself is if I try doing heavy weights on less sleep (4-5 hrs) after gyming for 7+ days straight so will also probably try to have better rest days since I also read more that CNS recovery and sleep play a huge role as well so will probably try to take that more seriously as Im getting sick of tweaking my back and now its causing me anxiety doing anything back or leg related