What exercises can I do to strengthen my back?

Katherinelittle24

Hey guys. So I am on this weight loss journey of mine, which is going great so far. I have lost twenty four pounds in just five weeks, and I feel incredibly proud. I'm starting to increase my exercise a little bit, like I am trying to do three or at least two separate 10 minutes walks a day. I am trying to be careful to not overdo myself because if I walk for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time, my lower back starts hurting a lot. But my question for all of you is, what kind of exercises can I do to strengthen my back? because of my weight, I do have this lower back pain and I know that in time it will go away as I lose weight but I would love to strengthen it out a bit, if that makes sense. If anyone know any exercises that could help, please let me know! Thanks

AlexBednarski

Once exercise you can do that requires no equipment is what I call the superman. You lay on your stomach on the floor and lift your legs and chest off the floor. Have your arms out in front of you also and hold for 3 to 5 seconds and lower yourself to the floor. Do that a couple of times and you should feel it in your lower back. Hope this helps!

Azdak

A better alternative to the Superman is a bird dog. You get in all fours and extend one arm and the leg on the opposite side. The key is to do it with control—keeping the back straight and the hips level; keep the core relatively stiff while extending the limbs.

It also helps to strengthen the glutes—bridges and side leg lifts to start.

There’s lots of different core exercises so you can add more when you’re ready.

canadianlbs

congrats on your changes

there can be lots of different causes for back pain, and really it's probably best to see if you can get a functional movement assessment with someone who can identify what would help you. here are some spitball ideas, but please remember i'm just guessing:

- only ever heard of one person who MIGHT be getting his own bouts of low-back pain because his abs were overactive/too strong. and even in his case that was merely his physio's guess. so ab work is usually part of the solution. i avoid crunches since they curl the spine, but i like dead bugs and planks. google for form and common warnings - you don't want your low back to 'lift' during them.

- when you walk, your gluteus medius muscles are supposed to stabilize your pelvis on each side while you move the opposite leg forward. so if they're weak your pelvis can rock quite a bit, which aggravates the sacro-iliac joints and the lumbar spine, so that could be a cause. side-lying hip abductions are my current favourite for glute med, although a lot of people recommend clamshells as well.

- you may have anterior tilt in your pelvis - tipped forwards if someone looks at you from the side. that puts a deep curve in your lumbar spine and can aggravate things. the fixes i've seen have usually been some combination of lengthening the quadriceps muscles, and strengthening the glutes and hamstrings.

but again, it's probably best to see a trainer or physio if you can swing it.

SonyaCele

I just glanced at your profile, and I would guess that your back pain is not caused from lack of strength. Try stretching to get the blood flowing to it. Stop every few minutes and do some stretches. Or if you can take a pain reliever, those are ok also. As far as strength training, your best bet is a full body workout, not just your back. Everything is all connected and works together, and the sooner you incorporate a full body workout into your exercise routine, the better off you will be.
And congrats on your weight loss, keep that up and your body will feel so good when you get down to a healthy weight. So many aches and pains will go away with every pound you lose.