Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The lower back is the weakest link in our body if you really think about it. The old saying ‘you're only strong as your weakest link' is true especially if you are training for strength and hypertrophy, here are the 10 best lower back exercises for stability and strength.
The spine is the foundation of our body, every movement and rest position is heavily dependent on how strong and flexible our spine is. The most vulnerable portion of our spine is in the lower back region specially L1 to L5 vertebrae. Let's look at 10 best exercises which will help us strengthen this region.
The smaller version of Deadlift also called a mini deadlift, the Rack Pull is an excellent exercise/" title="exercise" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">exercise for you to develop your lower back strength if you are a beginner or you are recovering from an injury. This exercise will develop functional stability in your lower back
The glute bridge is a stable recovery exercise for your posterior chain. Most beginners should start their lower back exercise with this movement.
The barbell good morning exercise is performed by an inefficient squatter. This improper lifting technique for a squat could be beneficial if you tweak it a little bit and adjust the range of motion. With right movement this exercise could give you a bulletproof lower back.
Back extension can be performed in a regular manner, but the best stretch can be obtained in a hypertension machine. For a progressive overload you can do them while holding a plate.
Bird Dog is an excellent exercise to recover from a lower back injury but this exercise also helps in strengthening the lower back. This exercise can be overloaded using a resistance band.
The superman is a staple exercise for calisthenics and gymnastics athletes, this exercise develops a strong foundation for performing various gymnastic poses. The extreme level of this exercise is done on ring bars.
Kettlebell exercises are gaining traction in today's workout culture. One such kettlebell exercise called kettlebell swings is giving many people results. The importance of core strength and its development is changed drastically by kettlebell swings.
The glute hamstring is a typical exercise that always requires a spotter. Today we can easily do Glute Hamstring raises on a machine without bruising our knees and get a good stretch on our lower back as well. This exercise teaches our lower back muscles how to work with the rest of our posterior muscle chain.
In the search for the most optimal exercise for hamstring workout the Reverse Hyperextension came out on top beating out hamstring curls and Romanian deadlift. This exercise becomes even better when trained for instability with a stability ball or bosu ball. Using a stability ball creates a perfect tension for the lower back.
The side plank is done to hit your obliques specifically but remember this is a compound movement and it also engages your lower back along with your core.
Workouts are as good as the Warm-Up performed before starting the workout. A good warm up for your lower back could give you a great workout routine and prevent a nasty injury as well. You can do the following Warm-Up routine to properly engage your lower back.
In the fitness/" title="fitness" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">fitness industry there is a saying that ‘every exercise is lower back exercise if you do it wrong enough'. Don't let your workouts affect your lower back, here's what you can do to avoid it.
Form is everything, even before you consider increasing the load on your muscles you must perfect the form to correctly activate your muscles. It doesn't matter how many plates you put on if your form is constantly breaking.
You can however cheat in your heavy compound back exercise to relieve the load from your lower back. You might experience that your set is not going all the way to failure because of your lower back limitations. If you wish to avoid injuring your back while chasing failure, you're better off cheating.
The major consent in the fitness industry is changing rapidly, now many lifters believe that not lifting, but the lowering of the weight is what induces muscle hypertrophy. It is easily proven that if you can lift a certain weight you can easily hold a lot more than that and you can even slowly lower down evenore weight than what you can hold. So training in a negative range of motion is actually beneficial for you and getting better in lowering the weights safely will help you get a stronger lower back.
Your lower back is only safe if your core is strong enough to support it. Your core is the direct contact to your lower back if for some reason your core gives out the pressure on the lower back increases ten times. So incorporate some core workout not just for the abs but for the overall stability while lifting.
The most underrated topic in the fitness community is the lower back training. If you ask even a beginner they might have a better idea of how to do chest and biceps exercises but people rarely discuss how to train the lower back. Let's see how you can go about training your lower back.
Lower back is trained heavily in different compound movements like deadlifts, squats and shoulder presses. So if you already have too many heavy compound movements in your routine you can do one or two exercises for two sets. But if you are already using machines for your heavy compounds like seated shoulder press or hack squats you can easily add more work for your lower back workout with three to four exercises for three sets.
The order in which you go about training your lower back is simple. You warm up first followed by training your heavy compounds and slowly working your way to isolation and at the end you should do your lower back workout.
Your sets and reps will be dominated by how much you lift in heavy compounds. If your heavy compounds are recurring more frequently like in a full body workout or push-pull-legs routine then your lower back workout will naturally go low in sets and reps. You can increase the lower back workout in a bro split or four day a week workout plan.
The benefits of training your lower back goes way beyond being able to sit or stand for hours at a time. Lower back strength will help you get more out of life.
Lower back muscles are responsible for your upright posture. If not for your lower back, a lot of us would look like the hunchback of Notre Dame.
A strong lower back will also provide a good foundation for heavy lifts. Most of the power generation in heavy compounds comes from a strong midsection and a strong lower back will increase that strength to the next level.
A strong lower back is a guarantee for lifting for a longer time. Any experienced lifter will always advise you to stay away from injuries, injuries will not only create an imbalance in strength but also demotivate you from working out. A stronger lower back will help you keep lifting for a longer period of time
To understand better how to workout the lower back we just understand its anatomy first. Let's see what muscles do contribute in lower back strength
The spinal cord is well protected under the vertebrae. This snake-like structure moving down our backs is what contributes to lower back strength. The vertebrae L1-L5 are the biggest and most unprotected vertebrae since they don't have any other skeletal support to them. These lower level vertebrae are what helps you lift without any issue.
Not known by the general population but the erector Spinae is what holds our vertebrae in place. From the tailbone to the nape of our necks the erector spinae is a intertwined muscle which supports our smaller movements like bending over and stretching.
Your lower back needs more than just training and proper form, it needs proper gym etiquette. Re-racking the weight is also a good workout for the lower back. A good habit of how to move weight is also developed while racking and re-racking the weights. When someone says you should lift your dumbbells and plates with your back arched. Lift like you're always deadlifting, even if it's the smallest dumbbell. A healthy back will come from good habits, not just a stronger workout.