For many years I have used the deadlift as my main compound movement. This year, I decided to focus on the squat instead. This was done partially just to mix things up, but the squat is a natural movement that I wanted to explore more.
I have experimented with a number of positions, and at times have made good progress. However, once I get into the heavier weights, it always seems to lead to lower back pain on the day after. While it could be true that something in my form is not correct, I have begun to question whether the movement itself is responsible for the problems.
If you try to imagine what would have been functional movements for hunter-gatherers, it's easy to see that the deadlift would be a primary movement. The squat, however, I'm not sure about. There's no doubt that they would have performed bodyweights squats much more than people do nowdays. But whether they would have performed a heavy weighted squat is debatable.
If they lifted loads on their shoulders, it would have been for carrying these loads over a distance, and hence the loads would have been fairly light. The only time a squat would take place with this weight would have been the initial pickup of the weight and the final putdown.
I wonder too about the forces on the spine with the squat vesus the deadlift. It just feels like the spine can extend more with the deadlift, versus more of a compression feeling with the squat. Surely, some research has been done on this. I would like to learn more about the biomechanical effects of the two movements.
