Exercise For A Better Back
September 1, 2009
Has your back pain ever kept you away from working out? Or do you fear that you might face this problem in future. Your lower back muscles are meant to give you stability and not meant as much for acceleration and power (the quadriceps).
Hence your back exercise should strengthen your back without being harsh on it. Some of the back exercises we do tend to put our back under a lot of pressure which can result in an injury. These can be the Roman Chair hyper extensions, superman or reverse abdominal curl. Many back extensions tend to provide compressive penalty over our spine.
Here we aren’t blaming all back extensions, and all back exercises won’t hurt you if you do them properly. We are only telling you to be careful when you pick your back exercises as the spine is a fragile structure and high pressure can damage it.
Mentioned below are some relatively simple workouts for your back which would give you stability without actually hurting your spine:
Curl-up: Lie on your back with your feet together, keep your knees bent, arms should be folded on the chest, as you gradually curl up till your shoulder as well as your upper back (and not your lower back)come off the ground. Go to the start position and repeat it for 10 times. This will strengthen your deep abs muscle, which will support the low back.
Planks: Lie facing down on floor and support yourself on your elbows, lift your body up and make sure the only contact points with the floor remain your elbow, toes and your forearms. Hold the body tight and don’t let your mid sag or hang down.
Side bridge: Lie sideways and prop your body on a single elbow as your bicep becomes perpendicular to the floor. Lift the hip as you support yourself on the elbow and your foot’s side. Employ the core muscles as you hold your torso tightly, your heel and shoulder should be aligned.
Bird dog: Come on all your fours, keeping your back straight, take an arm out in front as it come in line with your back’s plane. Maintain the position 2-3 seconds, as you come back to the start position. As you become more comfortable, stick your opposite leg behind you. Do this 10 times on one side before switching sides.
Comments
Got something to say? Join the conversation and leave a comment below.