Lower back exercises are essential for both preventing and alleviating lower back pain, a condition that affects millions worldwide. Whether you’re an athlete pushing through heavy lifts or someone struggling with daily discomfort, incorporating targeted exercises can make a significant difference. With just 15 minutes of focused training each day, you can strengthen your lower back and reduce pain over time. In this blog, we’ll explore some of the best lower back exercises to help you build strength and stay pain-free.
Lower back pain can range from a minor annoyance to a life-altering condition. In fact, the World Health Organization reports that 619 million people globally deal with lower back pain. If you’re an athlete or someone who likes to lift weights, you probably know how it feels to struggle with a set of squats or rows because your lower back can’t withstand the weight.
Luckily, the solution to both of these problems is the same. Doing lower back exercises for just 15 minutes a day can help to strengthen your back and may decrease pain over time.
Best Lower Back Exercises For Strength
1. Deadlift
The deadlift is the standard for lower back training in the gym. Contrary to what you might think, deadlifts are not inherently dangerous for your spine. “The deadlift is a compound exercise that primarily targets the muscles in the posterior chain, which includes the lower back, glutes, hamstrings, and even the core muscles,” Furr explains. “Deadlifts require you to engage the muscles in the lower back, helping to strengthen and stabilize them.”
2. Romanian Deadlift
Romanian deadlifts are essentially just the top half of a deadlift. This is your basic hinge exercise; we believe mastering the “RDL” will help you train your posterior chain and strengthen your lower back in the process.
3. Good Morning
If you’re looking for lower back exercises for the gym, we recommend the good morning exercise. “Bending over with a bar on your back rather than in your hands changes the physics of the movement, making light weights feel heavier,” says Dickson. Use this one as an efficient way to train your lower back without lifting heavy.
4. Back Extension
Most gyms have a back extension station somewhere. Look for a slanted bench with a thigh pad and foot plate.
Performing back extensions with your legs parallel to the ground will make it harder to hold your torso up at the top.
The back extension allows you to train the motion of hip extension (which uses your lower back muscles to some degree) without needing weights, and is a great introductory movement for lower back training.
Best Lower Back Exercises for Low Back Pain
1. Cat-Cow Stretch
The cat-cow stretch is a basic bodyweight exercise for back pain and stiffness. The idea is simple; slowly and deliberately moving your spine through flexion and extension increases blood flow and reduces tension.
2. Plank
The standard plank is a bread-and-butter core exercise that also teaches you to stabilize your spine and may alleviate discomfort in your lower back. This move should be your first stop when learning to train your core for back health.
3. Bird Dog
Bird dogs are a great way to introduce some basic instability to your core and lower back. By lifting opposing limbs off the ground, you challenge your abdominals to brace and stabilize both your pelvis and spine in a non-threatening and easily-modifiable environment.
4. Superman
The Superman exercise is an entry level lower back movement. This drill trains you to engage your lower back and glute muscles together without the threat of instability or the load of an external weight. It’s a great priming exercise that can help you learn to use the muscles in your back properly.
However, note that this move may not be suitable for some individuals with back pain.
How To Avoid Pain When Training Your Lower Back
If you suffer from acute or chronic back pain, know that you are absolutely not alone. Data from Georgetown University show that nearly 65 million Americans report episodes of back pain, and 8% of American adults experience chronic back pain.
Therefore, keeping your lower back safe during weight training is a critical part of both longevity and immediate safety. The last thing you want to do is throw your back out when you’re getting ready to go for a new personal record.
Benefits of Training Your Lower Back
The lower back’s muscles provide the foundation for you to get stronger, help prevent you from getting injured, and allow the bigger muscles to do their job. Here are other important benefits of training the lower back.
1. Improved Posture
A stronger lower back will make it easier to maintain an upright posture, especially during the workday when many people are sitting for hours on end. Plus, lower back strength means you’ll generally be less prone to the standard aches and pains associated with yard work, playing with your kids, and shooting hoops with your friends.
2. Increased Strength
The erector muscles run along the spine. They play an important role in spinal stability and prevent unwanted movement by keeping the spine neutral under load. This comes in handy while squatting and deadlifting, but also running, jumping, or even bending over to pick up your wallet.
Think of the lower back muscles as the foundation of a house. The stronger the foundation, the longer the house will stand. Having a stronger lower back means you’ll be more stable during heavy lifts and athletic movements, which will come in handy to athletes as wide-ranging as CrossFitters and strongwomen.
The lower back plays a role in extending the hips during the lockout portion of squats and deadlifts. It also works to keep the spine neutral during deep hinges (like good morning and deadlift) and the bottom of a squat, where the shear and compressive forces can harm the lower back.
3. Injury Prevention
We’re going to preface this one by saying that you should see a doctor if you’re having any lower back pain. Direct lower back training should not be seen as a solution to lower back pain. However, a stronger lower back may be better equipped for the general physical stressors that everyday life brings. Think of lower back training as a (possible) pain prevention plan.
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Original article published on barbend.com
