Posted here because those other fitness subs are overly moderated. Hoping to get soms insights.

Hi, I have trouble finding information about this topic of ‘bracing’ the lower back before the lift. For years I have been squeezing the lower back/ spinal erectors during a lift, but it always ends up in me having a really sore lower back.

I lift during my dayjob (grocery delivery in crates of 10kg-25kg) and I always thought I should brace the lower back. Lately I was having issues with my golf swing and had shitty lower back pain after some swings. So I tried to loosen the lower back with a lot of foam rolling/stretches. I tried to relax the back completely and it makes shit much more easy.

So I tried the same with squat, focusing on bracing my core, but keeping the lower back straight, but not overly tightened. This also made me way more flexible during the lift and I had more upper back flexibility (in a good way).

So now back to work. Today I tried to focus on keeping the lower back loose while keeping good form. I tightened it a few times and I literately felt my spinal erectors twitching afterwards and tensing up.

So my question is, should I stop bracing my lower back so hard? I always did this because I feared any injury, but now it feels counter productive. Does anyone have some insight?