Strengthen Lower Back
Four Methods to Strengthen the Lower Back
If you need to strengthen your lower back, you will discover that you have multiple options but four in particular that are highly effective. Your back is used for everything you do in daily life, especially the lower back. Bending, walking, picking things up, and even coughing all use back muscles. Therefore, it is important to do what you can to keep it strong.
The goal is to strengthen the lower back to prevent back injury. For instance, if you are the sole breadwinner of the household, you cannot afford being off work for weeks because of a strained back or even herniated disk. The best way to avoid such problems is keeping the back strong, again the lower portion primarily. With this, you would avoid invasive medical procedures, even surgery.
We wanted to provide you with four exercises that work great to strengthen the lower back and when done daily, you will be amazed at the difference. Of course, maintaining good posture is imperative. For this, be sure to stand or sit upright, which helps by taking pressure off the back. The goal is to keep the spine aligned so the head, shoulders, and hips are all vertical.
The following four exercises to strengthen the lower back are associated with Pilates but keep in mind that many other exercises would also prove highly beneficial. Millions of people use Pilates, which is designed to correct imbalances through strategic stretching.
- Side Bend or Lateral Bend – The side bend or lateral bend is an excellent way to strengthen the lower back, which involves sitting straight as if feeling the ribs moving upward. You would keep your hands to your side and then inhale. As you reach one hand at a time toward the floor while bending at the waist, you would then exhale while keeping the buttocks and hips in the chair. Then as you move back to the starting position, you would again inhale. This exercise should be completed five to ten times.
- Single Leg Stretch – This Pilates exercise also helps strengthen the lower back, which beings by lying down on the floor, and then lifting the head and shoulders up toward the stomach at the same time having one knee pulled in to the chest and the other leg extended out at 45 degrees. You would pull one leg in, returned to the extended 45-degree angle, and then pull in the second leg, going through 10 to 20 repetitions while inhaling and exhaling deeply.
- Swimming – Another Pilate’s exercise that helps to strengthen the lower back is called “swimming”. You would start by lying down on your stomach, extending your arms out in opposite directions. Next, pull your stomach up and then hollow it out to the pelvis keeping your head and chest elevated just slightly. As you extend lifting the opposite arm and leg, you would inhale and then when they are lowered, you would exhale. The goal is to complete 10 repetitions, holding each position for 10 seconds.
- One-Leg Balance – The last exercise to strength the lower back is to stand up straight and then put your weight on one leg while slowly lifting the other leg so it is just barely off the ground. Hold the position for 10 seconds and then switch to the other leg. For this, you want to exercise both legs five times.