Muscle Up - Back

Your back is the key to your strength and mobility.  As important as the stack of bones, that makes up the spine, might be the muscles wrapped around it and attached to it that allow us to bend, twist and rotate or stand erect, are just as important.

Equally though, the spine is also one of life’s biggest trouble spots.  Around 80% of the population suffers some form of back pain, active people as well as couch potatoes.  Most of the back pain comes from any of the half-dozen, or so, muscle groups that support the upper, middle and lower back..

Most people would not experience back pain if they had a specific back exercise program, and I’m not talking about a weight training program to keep the muscles strong.  Your back muscles already carry a heavy load, every second of the day, your own body weight.  That means that they will quite tight from a lifetime of lifting, so it is important to incorporate stretching and flexibility training into your day to loosen the back muscles and take some of the tension away from them.

It is impossible to say which of your back muscles are the most important, each of them performs a specific task and rely on the integrity of the other muscles to be able to do its job well.  If one muscle, or muscle group is weaker than the others, it can lead to serious imbalances and back pain.  The stronger and more flexible your back is, the better you will feel.

Work your Abs for your Back

By far the best way to strengthen your lower back is to work on your abs.  Often when an individual presents with lower back pain, it is because they have neglected their abdominal workout.  The abs support the back and aid in lifting, twisting, bending or standing up straight.

Make sure you do your abs workouts but don’t just focus on the abdominus rectus, or the six pack, spend as much effort on the obliques and transverse abs.  The previous article has a number of very effective abs exercises.

Flex Time

Before you do any back exercises, be sure to spend 10 minutes warming up and stretching.  If your hamstrings are tight they will place an increased load on your pelvis, limiting the range of movement through the hips.  This will result in a tightness above the pelvis and into the lower back.  The more your warm up and stretch, the more responsive and flexible your muscles will be.

Back Extensions

Back extension exercises are particularly beneficial for the erector muscles.  However, there is a serious risk of injury if this exercise is not performed correctly.

Position yourself on a back extension frame, with your ankles tucked behind the lower pads and your upper thighs, not hips, resting on the upper platform.  Have your arms crossed over your chest and your body held straight so that it is roughly aligned with your legs.  Under NO circumstances should you hyper extend your back beyond this position.

Bending at the hips, slowly lower your upper body toward the floor until your torso is roughly perpendicular to the floor.  Pause then raise your torso back up to the starting position, without hyper extending!

Good Morning Exercise

Stand with a lightly weighted barbell positioned across your shoulders, feet shoulder width apart and your hands holding the barbell, palms facing forward.  Keeping your back straight and a slight bend in the knees, bend at the hips until your torso is roughly parallel with the ground with your head up and chest out.  Return to the starting position and repeat as many times as you can while maintaining proper form.  When your form begins to fall apart, stop.

Romanian Dead Lifts

The Romanian dead lift is a modified version of the stiff legged dead lift and is much gentler on the lower back.  Start with a lightly weighted barbell.  Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, shoulders back and down and chest out.  Push you backside out and bend your knees as you grasp the barbell, with hands facing toward you and slightly wider then shoulder width apart.

Keeping your head up, chest out and backside pushed back, straighten your body at the hips to lift the barbell off the ground.  Allow the bar to travel as close to your legs as possible and straighten your knees and hips to bring the bar to mid-thigh level.  At the highest point of the lift, your shoulders should be back and down, your chest and head up and the barbell resting on your thighs.

Slowly lower the barbell toward the ground, keeping it as close to your legs as possible.  Bend only at the hips and allow your knees to bend slightly and keep your backside pushed as far back as you can.  Stop lowering the barbell before the weights touch the ground and begin the second rep.  Only do as many reps as you can while maintaining good form.  Stand sideways to a mirror and watch your form in the mirror.

T-Bar Rows

Stand astride a T-bar rowing machine, an Olympic Bar with a weight on only one end is a good substitute, with your feet slightly less than shoulder width apart.  Using a narrow grip, hold the weighted bar off the ground with your knees and hips bent and back straight.

Using the arms and upper back muscles, you should feel your shoulder blades moving together, lift the bar to your chest with elbows close to your body.  At the top of the lift, squeeze your shoulder blades together.  Slowly lower to the ground and repeat.  Do not attempt to use momentum by swaying or rocking, keep your body in a fixed position for the entire exercise.

Bent-over Rows

Take up a position behind a weighted barbell, with feet shoulder width apart, hands gripping the bar slightly wider than shoulder width and palms facing inward.  Keep the knees bent, back straight and head up at all times.  Keeping your body straight, and parallel to the floor, lift the barbell until it touches your lower chest and your elbows are pointing at the ceiling.  Lower and repeat.

One-Arm Dumbbell Rows

Use a bench for this exercise and rest one knee and the hand on the same side, e.g. left knee and left hand, on the bench so that your torso is parallel to the floor and shoulders and hips are in a straight line, front to back and left to right.

Grasp a dumbbell in your free hand and lift it toward the shoulder on that side, elbow pointed toward the ceiling and without moving the lifting shoulder.  Lower the dumbbell to the starting position and repeat.

It doesn’t matter what muscle groups you are working on any particular day, one of the most important parts of any workout is the stretching and cool down after the workout.  This is especially important for your back, so make the time to stretch and cool down properly.

Tomorrow’s article draws our attention to the seat of many of our lower back problems, the buttocks.