Easy home exercises to strengthen the spine
Sweat25’s Aisling Quinn on becoming more flexible...
SPINE MOBILITY
WE did a lot of work in a crunch position yesterday so today we’re going to counteract that flexion with some extension work that focuses on opening the chest, and creating length and mobility in the spine.
It’s easy to cheat with postural exercises like Spine Twists because a lot of the benefits are found in the effort you place in creating resistance within the body. If you don’t grow tall or really lengthen the arms far away from each other, you’ll miss the benefits of mobilising your spine whilst working the postural muscles all along the spine and mid-back.
If your lower back starts to feel tight during these exercises, go back to your cat stretch or child’s pose. Open Leg Rocker is a lovely exercise because you get to massage your spine — it rounds on the way down and restacks on the way back up. If my lower back ever gets tight, I love spending a few minutes doing these exercises to get some mobility back into my spine.
TARGET MUSCLES:
Core abdominals, obliques, scapula stabilisers, deltoids
STARTING POSITION:
1. Sit up straight on your mat with your legs straight together. 2. The arms are stretched out to the sides at shoulder height.
MOVEMENT:
1. Inhale to prepare and lengthen the body. Think about lifting up through the crown of your head and growing taller. 2. Exhale to engage the core abdominals and twist the body to the right, starting from the ribcage and maintaining a neutral spine. Don’t slouch or collapse your torso. 3. Inhale to return to the start position, restack your spine and repeat on the other side. 4. Repeat 6 times.
TIPS:
Avoid hiking the shoulder towards the shoulders.
Pull your arms away from one another, think about creating resistance, and ensure that both shoulders are of equal level.
Try not to lean forwards or backwards when twisting.
Ensure the twist initiates from the ribcage, using the oblique abdominals and not from moving the arms.
Maintain equal pressure through both sit bones.
If hamstrings or lower back are tight, sit on a small cushion, bend the knees or fold your legs as necessary.
2. SWAN DIVE TARGET MUSCLES:
Back extensors, trapezius, neck extensors, posterior deltoid, scapula stabilisers, glutes, hamstrings
STARTING POSITION:
1. Lie flat on your stomach with the legs slightly wider than hip distance apart. 2. Push the torso upwards into a cobra position, hyperextending the spine. 3. The hands are slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
MOVEMENT:
1. Inhale to engage the core abdominals, draw the shoulder blades back and down away from your ears, and “dive” down towards the floor, reaching your arms out in front of you in a “ten to two” position. 2. The legs raise up into the air as the torso touches the floor. 3. Exhale to keep momentum, raise the upper body back up into extension and let your arms catch you back in the cobra position. 4. Simultaneously drop the legs back down to the floor. 5. Continue “rocking” back and forth a couple of times, using the breath to keep momentum. 6. Inhale to return to the starting position and slowly lower back down onto your stomach, and then into a shell stretch/child’s pose.
TIPS:
This movement can place pressure on the lumbar spine so maintain strong engagement of the core abdominals to support the spine.
To make this exercise easier, start by lying flat on your stomach with your arms and legs spread in a start shape. Exhale to raise all 4 limbs a couple of inches off the floor, inhale to lower.
To make this exercise harder, don’t let your arms catch you when you lift back into extension – so that you really are rocking your body like a rocking chair.
3. OPEN-LEG ROCKER TARGET MUSCLES:
Core abdominals, rectus abdominis, spinal flexors, adductors, hamstrings
STARTING POSITION:
1. Sit upright with two straight legs in the air and apart, balancing just back of the sit bones. 2. Hold onto the ankles with the hands if flexibility allows. 3. Open your chest, and slide your shoulder blades back and down to create length in your neck and spine.
MOVEMENT:
1. Inhale and round your spine, allow the body to rock back without allowing the head to touch the floor. 2. Exhale to engage your core abdominals and roll back up to the starting position without letting the legs lower to the floor. Restack your spine and sit up as tall as you can whilst maintaining height in the legs. 3. Pause at the top and repeat 8 times.
TIPS:
Controlled momentum combined with core abdominal engagement will help you roll back up to sitting.
Keep your chin tucked in to avoid injuring your head on the roll down.
Maintain the same distance between your legs and your chest throughout the movement.
If you are finding it too difficult to hold the ankles, bend the knees and hold underneath the knees.
To join one of Aisling’s online classes visit sweat25.com. Prices range from €5 for the beginners class to €8 for the specialist class and numbers are limited to nine per session.