Is back strength or back endurance my problem?

[Isshinryu88]

I can grapple for a decent amount of time without my back complaining too much. But when practicing falls, or being thrown more so, I can only go for a few sets before my back starts to give out.

 

It begins to feel stiff at first and then it begins to lose strength. If I go beyond the point wher it feels weak, I usually injure myself to the point where I can't do anything for a few days. I learned a long time ago how things feel as they progress (regress?) so I stop after I feel things start to wear down.

 

I've always assumed it was an endurance issue, but since I can grapple for a longer period of time and it's the falling that really gets things worked up, I was wondering if maybe it was a strngth issue.

 

Or is it possibly something else all together?

 

Thanks!

[White Warlock]

More likely it is a balance issue. Weak abdominals causes the back to work too hard. Other things as well.

 

Then there's also the possibility that you're straining your back when 'not' in class, such as at your job (extended periods of time sitting or standing), or at home (sitting in front of the computer too long).

 

And then, there's also the possibility you injured your back sometime in the past... in which case you'll have to accept the fact that back problems will plague for the rest of your life.

[bigpopparob2000]

It might be neither. I had a similar problem once. When I was in high school, a friend from church invited me to try out his ninjitsu dojo. They tried teaching me rolls and falls when I first got there, but the back pain was horrible. I had a really strong back, too; I weighed 190lbs and squatted 405lbs at the time.

 

I didn't continue the lessons because of the back pain, but I continued working out every day. When I got into college, the back pain became consistent. I could lie on my bed and it would hurt. Then one day, I was looking through my text book for the Health class I was required to take. In the back, I found pictures and descriptions of various exercises and stretches. One stretch really intrigued me, the pike stretch. This is the stretch where you sit on the ground with your legs straight out in front of you. You stretch by leaning forward and trying to touch your toes with your fingers.

 

I had done this stretch many times in the past, and I could reach well beyond my toes. However, in this picture, the person had his head tucked all the way down to his thighs, something I had never done. I worked on it for a while and got my forehead touching my thighs before too long. The relief was incredible. It felt like I had unwound a knot in my lower back that I had never known existed. I've yet to have any back bain since.

 

My problem was that my back was so tight and stiff. Try the pike stretch and the bridge on a regular basis and see if you don't end up feeling a lot better.

[Vito]

while i have no real way to know, it could be niether... but im guessing both.