Back Exercises / Strengthening

[Craig Sheppard]

I came across this web site that recommended these excercises for strengthening your back:
http://www.nismat.org/orthocor/programs/lowback/backex.html

My question though is don't you need some sort of light weight program to actually strengthen your back muscles? These seem to be more like stretches than exercises. Or am I misunderstanding that doing these exercises will actually strengthen your back?

[tennisfitness]

I came across this web site that recommended these excercises for strengthening your back:
http://www.nismat.org/orthocor/programs/lowback/backex.html

My question though is don't you need some sort of light weight program to actually strengthen your back muscles? These seem to be more like stretches than exercises. Or am I misunderstanding that doing these exercises will actually strengthen your back?


Without commenting on the particular exercises that you cite, nor whether these or others are appropriate for you (since I don't know anything about your health or fitness), the short answer is that yes, body weight or "no" weight exercises can be used to strengthen someone's body. A lot depends on the exercise being used, the current condition of the person, and the intensity (e.g. number of repetitions used) of the exercise.

tennisfitness :)
www.tennisfitness.net

[scotus]

The list of exercises is a combination of stretching, posture-correcting, and strengthening. Some of these are used quite a bit in yoga and pilates, and can be arranged to give you quite a demanding workout.

[KuramaIX]

Why not get a lil muscles in your back :)

[Cavaleer]

Dig ditches if you really want to use your core muscle groups. Pick-ax and shovel are all you need. Do it for an hour or so and tell me how your lower back and abdominals feel. Seriously. Then stretch afterwards.

[netman]

You need to balance stretching and strengthening when targeting your core. To much stretching of the spinal muscles and connective tissue can set you up for injury. The purpose of these muscles and tissues is to arrest violent movement so you don't push the joints of the spine outside their ROM. So while they need some flexibility, it needs to be combined with enough strength to counteract the stupid things you do to your spine like hitting a twist serve or open stance forehand. :)

You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about the back, how it really works and how to protect and train it by readinng Dr. Stuart McGill's book "Low Back Disorders - Evidence Based Prevention and Rehabilition". This is real science, not personal trainer guesswork and mythology. Bit dense at times, but his training methologies really work. Dr. McGill is the guy the pros go to when they have exhausted all other avenues to treat back problems. Good stuff.

-k-