"Top Ten Ab Exercises." "Cut Belly Fat Now." "Six Pack in Six Weeks." We have all seen the headlines touting a perfect, flat stomach and we have also read many of the articles and wanted those perfect abdominal muscles ourselves. What often happens though, is that we neglect the other side, our lower back. Without an equally strong low back, our posture may suffer causing our flat abs to protrude a bit.
Core
Your core consists of several muscles. The "abs" usually only refer to the rectus abdominis which runs from the bottom of the chest muscles (pectoralis major) down to your pubic bone. Both sides of the body house the internal and external obliques.
Muffin tops, or bulging midriff, may hide your obliques from sight. Moving backward, the lower latissimus dorsi are on the outer sides of the back. Several muscles run along the spine.
The erector spinae muscles are the ones that allow you to straighten your body after bending over. They are also the muscles that are strained when someone lifts with their back and not their legs.
A simple core exercise is to bend forward at the hips until your chest is parallel with the ground. Your back should be flat and your knees slightly bent. Slowly stand up straight. Once you master this, try it on one leg. This exercise will work your legs, glutes (buttocks) and low back.
Chest Lift
One of the easiest back extension or chest lift is done lying face down (prone) on the floor. Place your hands, palms down under your forehead with your elbows out to the side. Using your back muscles and not your glutes, pull your chest off of the floor, exhaling as you come up.
Let your chest and hands return to the floor in a controlled manner. Perform this exercise for 3 sets of 15 repetitions or fewer if muscle fatigue sets in. You could also hold the chest lift for 3 sets of 30 seconds each.
To make the exercise more difficult, put your arms out in front of your head and raise your chest. A second modification is to keep your hands under your forehead and then lift one elbow, twisting your spine. This exercise will work your lats on the sides of your lower back. Remember to breathe when doing the modifications as well.
Superman
Another way to work the low back is to do a back extension and raise the legs like you are flying as Superman would. Begin the exercise by lying prone on the floor or a mat. Simultaneously raise your arms overhead and raise your legs at the hips.
You should be resting on your rib cage and hip bones. Because you are lying on your lungs and diaphragm, remembering to breathe is essential. Perform this exercise for 3 sets of 15 repetitions or hold the position for 3 sets of 30 seconds.
A modification to this exercise is to do it on an unstable surface such as a Bosu ball. This will work your low back as well as your stomach muscles.
Back Extension Machine
The back extension machine is one of the most misused machines at the gym. To properly work your lower back on the machine, adjust the upper pad above your hip bones, then bend forward at the waist and while exhaling, return to the starting position.
Beginners can put their hands behind their back and move them to their chest and eventually overhead to progress the exercise. Perform this exercise for 3 sets of 15 repetitions.
If this exercise is done properly, moving your arms above your head will be all you need to progress the exercise. Holding heavy weights at your chest will cause you to cheat by recruiting muscles other than your low back.
Summary
Doing low back extensions and variations of them will allow you to develop or maintain good posture. The erector spinae are endurance and postural muscles that work all day long as we stand and sit. Consistently working the low back muscles will help in not straining the muscle during lifting and allow for erect posture after a long day of sitting or standing.
References
- Anatomy for Strength and Fitness Training: An Illustrated Guide to Your Muscles in Action; Mark Vella
- Big Back Pain
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