LOWER BACK
If lower back pain is the bane of your life, strength training could be the antidote
It’s estimated that 80% of adults will suffer from lower back pain at some point in their lives. By virtue of being a bipedal hominid (walking upright on two legs), back pain is largely unavoidable.
Technology doesn’t offer much insight into fixing the problem either, unfortunately, since MRI scans of the spines of pain-free patients are largely indistinguishable from those suffering from lower back pain.
Take a more mechanistic approach to the body and tight quads, weak glutes, leg length discrepancies or a weak core are often highlighted as the root cause of lower back pain; even if there’s very little evidence to support this approach
THE COACH
as a successful treatment. After all, if curing lower back pain was as simple as stretching your quads, doing planks or wearing corrective orthotics, the statistics would be flipped on their head.
So if lower back pain is largely unavoidable and difficult to pin down to a single root cause, what can be done about it? Well, the best approach is to bulletproof your back by making it stronger. And even if you already suffer from back pain, which would you rather have? A weak back that’s sore all of the time or a strong one that’s sore but is better able to resist the stress of everyday life and mountain biking? It’s a no-brainer, right?
Now, we’re not saying that having good hip mobility and a stable core isn’t important for back health, we’re just making a case that the lower back needs some direct strength work. And if you’ve become rigid and protective of your lower back, we want to get you moving again in a safe, controlled manner with exercises like the Jefferson curl that improve flexibility and strength at end range of motion. After all, a strong back isn’t much use if you can’t safely pick up a pencil from the floor.
With seven cervical, 12 thoracic, five lumbar, and five sacral vertebrae forming the spine, we’ve split the training into two parts. Yes, a lot of the exercise here will overlap with the upper back and neck series to come, but this month the focus is on strengthening the lower back.
SUPERMAN HOLD
Lay on your front with your arms stretched out above your head. It is important to engage your core and then your glutes before any movement starts. Bringing your hands, feet and chest off the ground at the same time, focus on extending your lower/mid back. Hold for 3-5 seconds then reset your position. Once you are comfortable with the movement, you can perform small, repeated sets or sustained holds. Just don’t over-do it.
SHOULDER-TAP PLANKS
Holding a push-up position, bring your belly button to your spine and in a semi-hollow position take one hand off the ground and tap the opposite shoulder while tilting as little from side to side as possible. Repeat as long as possible for each set. With a small rest between (or in rotation with superman holds and side planks) perform 3-5 sets up to once a day.