Inquisitive.me

“You can either have a PR in deadlifting at 50 or pick up your grandchildren when you’re 80.”

As a physiotherapist, I feel that claim running up my spine.

Yes, pun intended.

The message seems clear: chase strength now, pay for it later.

Hold on. Why are those our only options?

In a video I watched, spine researcher Stuart McGill discusses a middle-aged man’s goal of setting a deadlift personal best. The conversation shifts towards being able to play with his grandchildren on the floor at 80.

A lovely goal. No argument there.

But the message I took from the exchange was that he had to choose between the two.

I can understand discussing the trade-offs of chasing a maximal lift. Training for a personal best involves different demands from training to stay active. Goals, injury history, recovery and how someone trains all matter.

But deadlifting at 50 doesn’t automatically cancel your ability to pick up a grandchild at 80.

That’s quite a prediction to make about someone’s next thirty years.

In my practice, I see far more people with back pain who barely exercise than powerlifters with back pain. That doesn’t prove lifting prevents pain—my waiting room isn’t a research study.

What I do hear, repeatedly, is this:

“I know I should watch my posture.”

“I know I should always lift with a straight back.”

Recently, someone in group therapy asked me whether they were even allowed to rotate their spine. They thought twisting could cause back pain.

They weren’t asking about a maximal deadlift. They were asking whether they could turn their back.

That’s the part that concerns me.

Somewhere along the way, advice about managing a demanding task becomes a rule for every movement. Keep it straight. Don’t bend. Don’t twist.

And people end up wondering whether they’re using their own body incorrectly.

The research gives us reason to question those rules. A systematic review found low-quality evidence that greater lower-back flexion during lifting was not a risk factor for developing or continuing to have back pain. A later laboratory study found that manual workers with a history of back pain actually bent their lower backs less during lifting than workers without that history. Neither finding gives us one perfect technique, but both challenge the idea that bending itself is the problem.

How much you lift, how often, how tired you are and what you’re used to still deserve attention. You can take those things seriously without treating every bend as damage waiting to happen.

Take a box.

You might squat down to pick it up. Fine.

Now put it into the boot of your car.

Try squatting your way through that entire task. At some point, you’ll probably end up auditioning for a very awkward exercise video.

You’ll lean forward. You’ll reach. Your back will move.

A useful rehabilitation goal is to prepare you for that task, including the positions you actually need to use.

Build a back that can handle more of your life.

That might mean starting with a lighter box, a smaller movement or fewer repetitions. Then gradually doing more as your tolerance improves. Different tasks may call for different strategies.

You don’t need to turn every lift into a posture exam.

Think about your fingers. Imagine being told to keep them straight whenever you carry something because bending their joints is dangerous.

Opening a jar would become quite an event.

Your spine is more complicated than a hand, of course. But the comparison exposes how strange a blanket “don’t bend” rule sounds when we apply it elsewhere.

If we were meant to have one long, rigid bone instead of a spine, we’d effectively have a stick up our arse.

Imagine loading the car with that.

I had back pain almost daily in my late twenties. Now, in my late thirties, after three years of consistent deadlifting, I rarely have it.

That’s my experience, not proof that deadlifts are a universal treatment. But I can pick up my 35-kilogram dog when I need to, without holding a committee meeting about my spinal position first.

That freedom matters to me.

So yes, talk about the demands of a deadlift personal best. Help people make informed choices about their training and their future.

But give them more than a choice between a barbell now and their grandchildren later.

Stop wrapping your back in cotton wool.

Move it. Load it gradually. Give it time to adapt.

🧪 Let’s Experiment

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What do you want your back to help you do at 80?

Pick up your grandchildren? Carry your shopping? Get your slightly uncooperative dog into the car?

Let that give your training a direction.

🎯 Try This:

Choose one task you want to keep doing. Find a version you can comfortably manage now—a lighter object, a shorter carry or lifting from a higher surface.

Practice it a few times this week. Then consider what one small next step could look like: a little more weight, another repetition or a slightly greater reach.

You don’t have to take that step this week. First, see how your starting version feels during and afterwards. If you’re unsure where to begin, a physiotherapist can help.

🧠 Final Thought:

Picking up your grandchildren at 80 is a lovely goal. Give your back some practice along the way.

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