If you are feeling that your mid-section is weak, or you often feel pain in your lower back, then you need to do some strengthening exercises for the core.
The core is what holds your body weight, so you need to keep it strong, especially if you are overweight. This includes your abdominals and chest at the front of your torso, and upper and lower back at the back.
In this post, I will focus on the back side – upper and lower, and give you 5 very easy and well targeted exercises you can do to strengthen this part of the body, so you feel strong and ready to lift not only your own body weight, but also carry everyday life weight (ex. groceries) with more ease.
To perform these exercises you need a set of weights (1-3 kg), or two small bottles of water if you don’t have dumbbells, and an exercise mat. Let’s begin.
1. One Arm Dumbbell Row
Go to your kitchen bench and put your left elbow on the bench, holding the weight in your right hand. Take a step back with the right leg, and lift your butt up towards the ceiling, so your torso is straight, not hunched forward. Now start with your right arm hanging down, and pull the elbow up towards the ceiling and back down.
Remember not to raise your hand towards your shoulder because this is not a bicep exercise, but rather, think of lifting the elbow up and backwards.
This exercise strengthens the upper back, and especially the lats. Do 20 repetitions on each side.
2. Standing Back Leg Raise
Stand straight holding the back of a chair in front of you. Always keep your abdominals engaged so they work with every exercise and give you a strong feeling.
Now stand on the right leg while lifting the left backwards. The standing leg (right) should be slightly bend because it releases the tension from the lower back. The working leg (left) should be straight with the toes facing forward, not side.
It is important to keep your leg straight as you take it back, do not bend the knee. Also, your upper body (from the waist up) should not move at all (it tends to go forward and back).
Perform 20 repetitions on each side. This exercise strengthens the lower back, as well as the buttocks, and the back of the legs.
3. Arm And Leg Raise
Go onto your knees in table-top position. That is putting your hands and knees down, so your body looks like a table. You need to have a straight back so engage your abdominals in and lift your butt back and up slightly. Your eyes should be facing down so you won’t put any stress on the neck.
From here inhale first, and as you exhale slowly lift right hand and left leg (opposite arm and leg). Inhale as you go back down and switch. Your arm and leg should be at the same height as your torso. If you feel like you are out of balance, then maybe one of the two parts (arm or leg), or both, are at the wrong height.
Alternate 20 repetitions.
4. Pelvis Tilt
Lay on your back, bend the knees and bring your heels a little closer to your butt. Relax your arms by your sides. Now squeeze the butt and start lifting up towards the ceiling as you exhale.
Try to lift the back as well and have a straight line from shoulders to knees. This means you need to lift the entire back as well. If it is too hard at the beginning to go all the way up, then go as far as it feels comfortable and slowly work your way up. Inhale as you lower back down slowly, softly tap the ground and go back up again.
Keep your movements slow and smooth, not sharp. Perform 20 repetitions.
5. Back Lift
Lay on your belly. Your arms could either relax by your sides, or you can put your hands close to your ears, with bend elbows out to the side. Inhale first, and as you exhale lift your head, arms, and upper torso slightly off the floor.
When you are lifting up, your eyes should be facing down so there is no stress on the neck. You should feel the lower back muscles working. Go back down and repeat.
If it is difficult to lift at the beginning, you can leave your hands touching down instead of lifting them up, and as you slowly get stronger, then take them off the floor. Perform 20 repetitions.
Conclusion
So here is your 5 awesome exercises to help you get your back muscles strong and healthy.
If you had some lower back pain due to sitting job and/or lack of exercise, then you should see improvement withing the first week. If you can, do these exercises 3-5 times per week for best results, and combine them with abdominal exercises, for a complete core workout, which you can find in another post of mine linked here:
Try these exercises at home and I would love to hear from you in the comments below, if you had some results, or pain improvement, or any questions you might have.