Lower back exercises gym

Yet if, like millions of other Americans, you’re finding the toll of sitting down all day is having a negative impact on your back, we’re here to help. While you should definitely consult your doctor if you’re struggling with long-term lower back pain, In addition, targeted exercises can increase the blood flow to the lower back area, which can help reduce stiffness. Read on to take a look at the best exercises to try if you have lower back pain. And be sure to see our guide on the (Image credit: Shutterstock) 1. Bridge exercises Bridge exercises largely target the glutes, which in turn stabilize and support the lower back. To do a bridge, lie on your back on an exercise mat (we’ve found the best yoga mats that double as exercise mats if you’re looking to invest) with your knees bent and your feet pressed into the floor. Squeezing your glutes, raise your hips up to the ceiling until they form a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement before slowly lowering back to your starting position. (Image credit: Shutterstock) 2. Lower back twist If you do suffer from lower back pain, this one will feel great and can relieve tension and tightness in the lower back. To do the spine twist stretch, start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Keeping your torso pressed into the floor, bring one knee up towards your chest, and drop that knee down to the opposite side of the body. At the same time...

There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again. By submitting your information you agree to the Hip and back pain are extremely common, but when you get the double whammy of the two of them together, it can be absolute agony. As well as keeping mobile, the NHS recommends doing some light stretches to help ease these pains, and we’ve got one that's easy and targets both, your lower back and hips (and it's actually one of my personal favourites). Whether you’re someone who works out or not, taking the time to incorporate stretches and mobility exercises into your daily routine will help prevent your body from experiencing stiffness, aches and pains in the future. Especially if you have a very inactive job where you’re sat down all day, which can contribute to lower back and hip pain. A photo posted by on This stretch, which is a staple in my own warm up and warm down routines, is called the pigeon stretch (also known as the pigeon pose). It’s actually a very popular yoga pose, but one that’s also included within many people’s fitness routines, basically because it offers an amazing stretch to the hip flexors, lower back, releases bodily tension and is even thought to help with digestion. Curious to try the pigeon pose? Here’s how you do it: • Grab a yoga mat or exercise mat and begin on all fours with your hands underneath your shoulders and knees under your hips. • Bend your right knee and bring your leg out in front of you, so your knee is just behind your righ...

You may not be able to see your back muscles without a mirror or camera, but they’re always looking out for you. They’re there to hold you up, brace against force and support your arms through movement. But to do all of that, your back muscles need something from you in return: attention. Specifically, attention in the gym or in your dedicated workout space at home. By doing exercises to strengthen your back muscles, you can help your back help you. (Related: Before reviewing various ways to strengthen your back muscles, it’s useful to be familiar with basic back muscle anatomy. The muscles in your back are a group of postural muscles in the body. These muscles are always “on” to stabilize your spine. Essentially, they hold you up against the forces of gravity, said William Kelley, D.P.T., A.T.C., C.S.C.S. and owner of Aries Physical Therapy in South Florida. They also help to move your arms and trunk in different directions. Here are some of the key back muscles: • Latissimus dorsi. More commonly referred to as “the lats,” these two triangle-shaped muscles take up most of the real estate in your back. They span from the upper arm (humerus) down to the pelvis and across the ribs. Their main function is to internally rotate, extend and bring the arm toward the midline of the body (also known as adduction), said Jennifer Novak, M.S., C.S.C.S., owner of PEAK Symmetry Performance Strategies in Atlanta, Ga. As such, the lats are heavily involved in exercises like pull-ups and l...

If that wasn't bad enough, once you experience a lower back injury, you're six times more likely to injure it again in the next 12 months. Unfortunately, active people are just as likely, if not more so, to experience lower back pain than the sedentary population. You don't need a pity party, you need a strategy. This is your three-step plan to rid yourself of back pain and Step 1: Stop What's Making Things Worse If this list seems long, it's because when you're injured, everything seems to Overrelying on treatment: Chiropractors and physical therapists can help you in the short term, but as a Doctor of Physical Therapy myself, I can tell you that once you're out of immediate, severe pain, it's up to you to take control of your situation. You are not your MRI! Inactivity: If you're injured, you probably don't want to exercise or lift again. And studies have shown that after back injuries, Living without bracing: Mastering the skill of abdominal bracing is essential for your spinal health and strength. And no, crunches and sit-ups Here's your mental checklist to memorize for safe, strong lifting: Stretching your lower back: That bent-backed, toe-touching stretch you're praying will get you out of pain might be putting you deeper in it. As I explain in the article, " Skipping single-leg training: Lunges and single-leg deadlifts are your friends when you're dealing with back pain. Both can strengthen the weak links that got you in pain in the first place. Only training on mac...

Your spine is amazing! Consisting of 33 bones called vertebrae, intervertebral discs, numerous muscles and ligaments, and dozens of nerves, it’s capable of lifting and supporting huge weights. But, as strong as your spine is, it is also easily injured. Ironically, even very strong people can hurt their lower backs doing the most mundane tasks, such as taking out the trash or mowing the lawn. In fact, one in eight adults experience chronic, persistent back pain, and more than two-thirds of all men and women will experience some kind of back pain during their lifetimes ( One of the best ways to prevent back pain is to strengthen your lower back muscles. A lot of exercisers tend to avoid lower back training because they believe that their lower back muscles get enough stimulation during the rest of their workout. While that may be true for some people, if your workouts aren’t built around deadlifts, back extensions, power cleans, and good mornings, you will probably benefit from some additional lower back training and even a weekly lower back workout. Don’t let your lower back become the weak link that undermines your training. Instead, make lower back training a priority. A stronger lower back will have a positive effect on many of the other exercises in your workouts. It could also prevent back injuries and lower back pain. In this article, we reveal our seven favorite lower back exercises and provide you with a sample workout designed to help you build a more muscular, res...

When was the last time you got a sick lower back pump? Never? Well, you’re not alone. The idea of training the lower back in isolation is still prettyunderground. But if you’re not doing at least some isolated lower back training, you’re missing out on all kinds of performance and back health benefits. We'll cover why and how to target your lower back,plus you'll learn5 great exercises to improve your weight training. The Lower Back The two main muscles of the lower back are the erector spinae and the posterior obliques. When both of these muscles are engaged without movement under load—tight but not in motion, similar to a plank—this static contraction stiffens the trunk and helps protect the spine against heavy loads such as during a deadlift or squat. Lower Back Performance Benefits As Louie Simmons, Dave Tate, and other powerlifting icons have discussed, when it comes to most heavy squat and deadlift styles, either the lower back or the upper back often give out long before the legs do. Furthermore, with the exception of most pull-up and dip styles, the lower back is used in all of the compound lifts, especially the Squat and Deadlift but also the Overhead Press, Bench Press, and Row. By having a stronger lower back, you can produce more force against the weight in these exercises, and do it safely. Now, it is possible to safely deadlift with a rounded back. The ability to deadlift safely with a rounded back depends partly on having superior breath control, but mainly ...

Stevica Mrdja / EyeEm Whether it’s chronic, acute or episodic, low back pain is a common problem among adults, causing more disability around the world than any other condition. At least one-fourth of U.S. adults report having low back pain in the last three months, national survey data shows. And Common causes of lower back pain include overuse injuries (from doing the same form of exercise over and over again), muscle or ligament strains or sprains, trauma (from falling down, for example), degenerative discs, spinal stenosis, Applied Ergonomics found an association between static sitting behavior and chronic low back pain among people who worked at a call center. Lower back pain is “usually due to a combination of deconditioning and poor body mechanics,” explains Robert Gillanders, a physical therapist in the Charlottesville, Virginia, area. What’s more, a history of back pain likely means there’s more to come. “If you’ve had an injury in the past, you’re probably going to get it again,” he adds. Remedies for relief When lower back pain strikes, you don’t need to take it lying down. On the contrary, you should keep moving by To relieve low back pain — whether short-term or chronic — you can apply an ice pack or heat (whichever you’d prefer) and use a foam roller to release tension in the lower back, Gillanders recommends. It can also help to engage in diaphragmatic breathing, says Alex Garreau, a physical therapist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. As you inh...