GinThePoet Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 I'm new to strength training. Starting off with some dumbbells and body weight exercises, but I'd like to target my lower back. I have a history of lower back pain due to (I think) weak back muscles which hold my spine in place. What are some good moves I can do with just my body weight and/or dumbbells to strengthen this area? All advice is welcome and appreciated! Thanks! GinThePoet Quote LVL 1 Dwarf Adventurer -- [sTR: 2 | DEX:1 | STA: 1 | CON: 3 | WIS: 4 | CHA: 4] -- My Current 6-Week Challenge Thread -- "Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don't see it yourself." Link to comment
Bolson32 Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Probably nothing better for low back strength than proper Squats and Deadlifts. Quote "I've torn a hamstring tendon and re-injured my knee, lower back, and upper back while doing yoga. Don't get me started on shin splints. You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't, so might as well be strong." - Some guy on the SS forums. "Heavy is dangerous, but light is no fun." - Mark Rippetoe "Squats are a good assistance to bring up your curl, as a bonus you can do your squats while your are still in the curl rack." - SJB Link to comment
GinThePoet Posted June 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Probably nothing better for low back strength than proper Squats and Deadlifts. Thanks, Bolson32! Still working on perfecting my squat! Quote LVL 1 Dwarf Adventurer -- [sTR: 2 | DEX:1 | STA: 1 | CON: 3 | WIS: 4 | CHA: 4] -- My Current 6-Week Challenge Thread -- "Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don't see it yourself." Link to comment
stevembk Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Air squats, goblet squats (good form!) planks, bridges (floor and swiss ball), bird dog movements stretching and Yoga helps too. Quote USS & NBAC Masters swim coachCurrent: lifter, runnerFormer: triathlete, cyclocross racer, NCAA swimmer Current games: Borderlands 2, Runescape, Star Ocean, Dragon's Dogma Link to comment
GinThePoet Posted June 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Air squats, goblet squats (good form!) planks, bridges (floor and swiss ball), bird dog movements stretching and Yoga helps too. Wow, thank you! All great ideas! Thanks, stevembk! Quote LVL 1 Dwarf Adventurer -- [sTR: 2 | DEX:1 | STA: 1 | CON: 3 | WIS: 4 | CHA: 4] -- My Current 6-Week Challenge Thread -- "Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don't see it yourself." Link to comment
Waldo Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Bridges, superman hold, reverse hyper, elbow lever, back lever Quote currently cutting battle log challenges: 21,20, 19,18,17,16,15,14,13,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 don't panic! Link to comment
GinThePoet Posted June 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Bridges, superman hold, reverse hyper, elbow lever, back lever I will have to google some of those! Thanks so much, Waldo! Quote LVL 1 Dwarf Adventurer -- [sTR: 2 | DEX:1 | STA: 1 | CON: 3 | WIS: 4 | CHA: 4] -- My Current 6-Week Challenge Thread -- "Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don't see it yourself." Link to comment
I-Jo Posted June 14, 2013 Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 super man is super easy face down on the floor- arm can be at your side- right in front of you or straight out in front. you can lift the lower back (NOT BUTT) with legs straight- so your legs rise off the floor by about 4-6 inches. you can lift your upper back- so your chest/head/arms rise off the floor 4-6 inches. OR you can lift both at the same time. You can do this as a hold (so lift and hold) or you can do it as reps. I like do to Jillian Micheals version (god help me) where you have your amrs in front of you straight out- and when you lift your upper body at the top of the lift you contract your back and pull the arms to 90* - so you get a two-fer in there. Return arms to the front position (like super man flying) then relax to the floor- later rinse repeat. Quote Link to comment
GinThePoet Posted June 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 super man is super easy face down on the floor- arm can be at your side- right in front of you or straight out in front. you can lift the lower back (NOT BUTT) with legs straight- so your legs rise off the floor by about 4-6 inches. you can lift your upper back- so your chest/head/arms rise off the floor 4-6 inches. OR you can lift both at the same time. You can do this as a hold (so lift and hold) or you can do it as reps. I like do to Jillian Micheals version (god help me) where you have your amrs in front of you straight out- and when you lift your upper body at the top of the lift you contract your back and pull the arms to 90* - so you get a two-fer in there. Return arms to the front position (like super man flying) then relax to the floor- later rinse repeat. Thanks, I-Jo! Sounds super easy AND helpful! Thanks for the explanation! Quote LVL 1 Dwarf Adventurer -- [sTR: 2 | DEX:1 | STA: 1 | CON: 3 | WIS: 4 | CHA: 4] -- My Current 6-Week Challenge Thread -- "Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don't see it yourself." Link to comment
Rooks Posted June 14, 2013 Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 Since you have dumbbells you could try Romanian Deadlifts. More focused on the hamstrings, but it gets the lower back a bit as well. http://www.coreperformance.com/knowledge/movements/romanian-deadlift-dumbbell.html Quote Link to comment
GinThePoet Posted June 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2013 Since you have dumbbells you could try Romanian Deadlifts. More focused on the hamstrings, but it gets the lower back a bit as well. http://www.coreperformance.com/knowledge/movements/romanian-deadlift-dumbbell.html Thanks, Rooks! Quote LVL 1 Dwarf Adventurer -- [sTR: 2 | DEX:1 | STA: 1 | CON: 3 | WIS: 4 | CHA: 4] -- My Current 6-Week Challenge Thread -- "Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don't see it yourself." Link to comment
KingZora Posted June 20, 2013 Report Share Posted June 20, 2013 Probably not exactly what you are looking for... but learn to swim butterfly! This will strengthen your entire back (upper and lower) along with being a serious core workout and a great endurance builder. Quote LVL 3: Zoran Warrior STR:9 | DEX:5 | STA:10 | CON:5 | WIS:12.75 | CHA:9 Current Challenge: Not Really A 6 Week Challenge Challenge Previous Challenges: 1st, 2nd "The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. Good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant." Link to comment
El Exorcisto Posted June 21, 2013 Report Share Posted June 21, 2013 Your back may be part of the problem, but like the rest of us when we started, your core is probably terribly deficient. Planks are key, and if you can knock normal planks out for a good while, lift a leg and see how evil that feels. They did a lot for getting my back ironed out in a hurry. Honestly though, by back didn't start feeling good until I started deadlifting. I started doing Romanians at a measly 65 lbs, and that night my back felt better than it truly ever had. Since then I've started Stronglifts, and with each progression on my deadlift my back feels better than it did the session before. Make sure your form is good and start out light, but nothing fixes a crappy back like ripping heavy ass weight off the floor. Quote My training log Spoiler 2016 Hudson Valley Strongman presents Lift for Autism (USS), April 16th Contest report 2015 Hudson Valley Strongman presents Lift for Autism (NAS), April 18th Contest report Eighth Annual Vis Vires Outdoor Strongman Competition (Unsanctioned), August 1st Contest report "What's the difference between an injury that you train around and an injury that you train through?" "A trip to the hospital" Link to comment
Tau'ri_Ranger Posted June 21, 2013 Report Share Posted June 21, 2013 Lots of great advice above for exercises for the back. I'll add another note that tight hamstrings can have an effect on the back, so work on the flexability too. Quote Human Ranger Level: 2STR: 5 DEX: 3.5 STA: 2.75 CON: 2.5 WIS: 6 CHA: 5 Challenge #1 Link to comment
stevembk Posted June 21, 2013 Report Share Posted June 21, 2013 Lots of great advice above for exercises for the back. I'll add another note that tight hamstrings can have an effect on the back, so work on the flexability too. Yes! Hamstrings are huge in dealing with low back pain. Tight hamstrings will pull your pelvis forward causing too much arch in your lower back. Planks also help strengthen these too. Also stretch and roll your hamstrings. Quote USS & NBAC Masters swim coachCurrent: lifter, runnerFormer: triathlete, cyclocross racer, NCAA swimmer Current games: Borderlands 2, Runescape, Star Ocean, Dragon's Dogma Link to comment
marionette Posted June 21, 2013 Report Share Posted June 21, 2013 Yoga poses that help with lower back are things like Locust pose and its variations. They are a lot like superman. Quote Human AdventurerStr: 3 | Dex: 2 | Sta:2 | Con:3 | Wis:3 | Cha:2I've got no strings to hold me down, to make me smile or make me frown... Link to comment
katpower Posted June 25, 2013 Report Share Posted June 25, 2013 Fire hydrants - partly just for lthe lol's. Quote Living Less Lardy http://www.myfitnesspal.com/shadowkat57https://www.fitocracy.com/profile/shadowkat Link to comment
courtney_gray Posted June 26, 2013 Report Share Posted June 26, 2013 I'm a big fan of yoga for Back strengthening - I know a few people mentioned locust but cobra, bridge (and wheel once you get strong enough is also great for toning other parts of your body as well) Always important with back strengthening to take it easy and really feel it out - the line between "Good" hurt and "bad" hurt can pop up quite quickly during spine strengthening. As always, working all over your core will also help to strengthen your back. I also have a lot of back pain and have been using Yoga to help moderate it for years - Good Luck! Here are a few poses btw for spine strengthening: http://yoga.about.com/od/anatomicalfocus/a/spine.htm Quote *~Druid* A healthier, more conscious lifestyleWandering Barefoot Traveling Yogi The man who never alters his opinions is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind.William Blake (1757 - 1827 Link to comment
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