Anyone who has dealt with chronic back pain can try these exercise tips to save and protect your back. The good news is that there are easy ways to protect your back while exercising that will keep you on track to maintaining a healthy body — no matter what type of exercise program you might be following.
I got something for you to do in the gym today.
You can do three exercises to help save your back from Coach Chris of Critical Bench.
Enjoy!
~ Rick
Here are three ways and in all honesty, do all three of them to help save your back.
Do it 1-2-3 and repeat it two or three times through.
If you can implement this very quick routine once or twice a week to what you’re currently doing, I think you will start to feel the difference when performing other lifts, and your body will feel better at rest.
It might start to alleviate some of the back discomforts that you have. (I know that’s a hot topic.)
We have an amazing product called Fix My Back Pain that can help you with your back pain.
And so these are three exercises that, when done properly, with the stability ball, can do so much to fire your erectors to give your glutes and your hand’s strength to engage that whole posterior chain. And to develop those muscles a little bit more, you will feel better when you start doing your deadlifting, squats, and some of those most crucial lifts.
Let’s get going.
Exercise Tip 1. Stability Ball Prone Y.T.I
First, you are in a prone position. You want to set that stability ball right in the center of your body between your belly button and your chest.
Strong Plank Position, Arms in a “Y” and then the “T” and then an “I.”
You’re making letters with your arms. I’m going to hold each position for 10 seconds. Notice my head is neutral.
The key here is to stay tight throughout your whole body. This will make breathing a little bit more challenging. That’s good. It makes you breathe with your diaphragm while keeping your abs tight.
Okay, that’s the Stability Prone Y.T.I.
Exercise Tip 2. Leg Bride on Stability Ball
Now let’s do a Leg Bridge in a supine position.
I am down on the floor legs are on the stability ball. Lower than the calf, the big calf muscle, between there and your ankle, that’s where you want the ball. You could push the ball a little further to make it more challenging. Palms are up, squeeze the glutes, then raise the hips and body straight. Squeeze it, hold it for 5 to 10 seconds and relax.
Repeat that as many reps as you want. I’ll do three. Again, 5 to 10 seconds. If you want to hold it for longer, 15 or 20, that’s fine. Squeeze the glutes.
The arms here create a little bit of a helping lever, but if you want, you can even do it right here, and just the elbows on the ground make the balance a little bit more challenging but very effective.
Exercise Tip 3. Reverse Stability Ball Extension
You got the Prone Y.T.I., Supine Bridge, and then finished with Reverse Type of Extension.
You want to put your stability ball up on top of a platform.
It’s hard to find an area for a stability ball that’s big enough or high enough to get the positioning. The best thing to do is get aboard, put some riser under it, and set the ball up on top of it, and you want your body in an inverted “V” shape.
My hips are at the top, supporting myself with my hands, and squeeze my glutes, and raising my legs.
Somewhere in that 8 to 12 range is fine. As you get better at those, you can start to hold a prop between the feet like a medicine ball or something like that.
If you do those three exercises in 2 to 3 cycles once or twice a week, you will improve the strength in your lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. Your back will feel better, which will transfer to better lifts like deadlifting and squatting, supporting all those muscles that help you with those big lifts.
Thanks for watching.
Give those three exercises a go in the gym today to save your back.
Coach Chris
