Lower Back Workout for Home

conor678

Hi,
I've recently quit the gym but am keeping up my strength programme through various resistance training. However I would like an exercise to work the muscles in my lower back.

I currently do one were I lie on my stomach and raise my head and hold it for a second then go back down and repeat 12 times.

Does anyone know any other exercises that improves strength in that area?

Thanks, it would be very much appreciated!

Scuba Ste

Hyperextensions, reverse hypers, good mornings. You can try to improvise with equipment for hypers or reverse hypers but GM's you can do with a bar. google examples.

TommyKnocker

Hi Conor

You can modify your existing exercise whereby you raise both your chest and feet off the ground. Also if you have a Swiss Ball you could try hyper extensions and reverse hyper extensions.


Best Regards,

M

conor678

Hi
Thanks for the info, I'll give it a try.
Much appreciated

BJohnson

B-Builder wrote: »

You can modify your existing exercise whereby you raise both your chest and feet off the ground.

I would be very careful with this exercise. It's one that a lot of people do, but it puts a tremendous amount of compression through the spine by forcing the paraspinal muscles to contract very hard, squeezing the spine like it's in a vice. The safety limits of how much force you can safely put on the lower back is 3300N. Lying flat on your stomach and lifting both the head/hands and legs at the same time imposes 6000N - nearly double the safety limit. If the OP either has low back pain or is predisposed to it, it can do much more harm than good. Here's the source:

Mcgill, Stuart. "Normal and Injury Mechanics of the Lumbar Spine." Low Back Disorders. 1st ed. Champaign, ILHuman Kinetics Publishers: Human Kinetics Publishers, 2007. 107.

d'Oracle

conor678 wrote: »

Hi,
I've recently quit the gym but am keeping up my strength programme through various resistance training. However I would like an exercise to work the muscles in my lower back.

I currently do one were I lie on my stomach and raise my head and hold it for a second then go back down and repeat 12 times.

Does anyone know any other exercises that improves strength in that area?

Thanks, it would be very much appreciated!

What is your strength programme like?

TommyKnocker

BJohnson wrote: »

I would be very careful with this exercise. It's one that a lot of people do, but it puts a tremendous amount of compression through the spine by forcing the paraspinal muscles to contract very hard, squeezing the spine like it's in a vice. The safety limits of how much force you can safely put on the lower back is 3300N. Lying flat on your stomach and lifting both the head/hands and legs at the same time imposes 6000N - nearly double the safety limit. If the OP either has low back pain or is predisposed to it, it can do much more harm than good. Here's the source:

Mcgill, Stuart. "Normal and Injury Mechanics of the Lumbar Spine." Low Back Disorders. 1st ed. Champaign, ILHuman Kinetics Publishers: Human Kinetics Publishers, 2007. 107.

Cheers BJohnson

You learn something new every day. I now know no to do this exercise myself any longer or indeed recommend it to anybody else.

To the OP, Please ignore this portion of my post. I assumed as it was shown to me by an instructor in my gym it was safe and ok, but best not to take the chance.


Best Regards,

M

iceage

BJohnson wrote: »

I would be very careful with this exercise. It's one that a lot of people do, but it puts a tremendous amount of compression through the spine by forcing the paraspinal muscles to contract very hard, squeezing the spine like it's in a vice. The safety limits of how much force you can safely put on the lower back is 3300N. Lying flat on your stomach and lifting both the head/hands and legs at the same time imposes 6000N - nearly double the safety limit. If the OP either has low back pain or is predisposed to it, it can do much more harm than good. Here's the source:

Mcgill, Stuart. "Normal and Injury Mechanics of the Lumbar Spine." Low Back Disorders. 1st ed. Champaign, ILHuman Kinetics Publishers: Human Kinetics Publishers, 2007. 107.

Wow...so thats the end of "supermans" for me then. Thanks BJohnson.

ThOnda

In my aerobic classes, we have raised only head (with hands crossed on the forehead), hold, move to one side of the body, going back to the middle, lay down. Up, to the other side and back. Everything in the rhythm of the breath, therefore the time up was 10-15 seconds.
Works quite well, but swimming is better