The lower back is one of the most complex, distal joints in your body. It starts from the sacrum and ends with the lumbar spine, which runs from your lower back to mid back. As a result, a large amount of stress is placed on this complex area which makes it prone to various injurious physical stresses like trauma, injury, stress, and strain.
These exercises can help strengthen the back muscles, improve posture and reduce or even eliminate pain. The following simple 5 lower back exercises for women will provide you with an efficient way to keep your body healthy.
Lower Back Exercises For Women
Lower back stretches are an essential part of the warm-up routine. The stretches will help you maintain a flexible spine which will reduce the risk of injury, improve your posture and maintain good physical health.
Romanian Deadlifts
The Romanian Deadlift is a full-body exercise that focuses on building a bigger back. It requires strength, balance, and stabilization of your upper body while pulling heavy weights from the floor. The benefits of Romanian Deadlifts include improved posture, decreased back pain, better endurance in general, and much more!
Here is how you do this exercise:
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and hold the bar in front of your thighs with an overhand grip.
- Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, bend at the hips and lower the bar to just below your knees.
- Reverse the motion by thrusting your hips forward and pulling the bar back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
The Romanian deadlift requires a lot of skill, coordination, and strength. Therefore, start with a lightweight to master the technique and condition your body to lift heavy weights. Ensure that your body is in an upright position while you do this exercise; lower the weights as far down as you can before you pull them back up.
The Romanian deadlift will not only help you build a bigger back but also improve your knees and spine and provide relief from back pain.
Good Mornings
Good Mornings are an exercise that help you gain back the strength of your lats, upper back, and traps. It’s also been known to target your core muscles as well since you have to keep your spine straight during the whole movement.
It’s one of the simplest exercises in this list, and therefore, pretty easy to learn and perform.
To do proper good mornings:
- Start by holding a barbell across your traps with your hands shoulder-width apart, keeping your feet shoulder-width apart as well.
- Brace your core, and begin to bend at the hips, lowering your torso until it’s almost parallel to the floor.
- Once you reach the bottom position, reverse the motion and drive your hips back to the starting position.
The Good Morning exercise is one of the simplest, but also one of the most effective movements to strengthen your back. It’s no wonder that it’s a staple in the workouts in gyms.
It works best with low reps, 6 to 8 per set, and even as high as 12-15 reps (but never lower than 6) can be performed depending on your goals.
Deadlift
The deadlift is one of the most effective weightlifting exercises for working your posterior chain muscles in addition to a strong anterior core. By using compound movements – single-leg and multi-joint movements – the deadlift builds overall strength, balance, and flexibility for performing heavy output in sports or daily life.
This exercise can be performed with a barbell, trap bar, dumbbell, or smith machine.
Here is how you do this exercise:
- Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart, and your toes turned out slightly.
- Bend at the hips to reach down and grab the barbell, keeping your back straight and your shoulders over the bar.
- Brace your core, and begin to drive your feet into the ground, standing up with the barbell until you’re in the upright position.
- Reverse the motion, and lower the barbell back to the ground, keeping your back straight and your core engaged the entire time.
The deadlift is a total body exercise working multiple muscles including your legs, arms, and core. While this exercise primarily targets the glutes, hamstrings, and back muscles, other large muscle groups are also contracted during the lift such as your quads and forearms. Move with power and intention to fully engage all of your muscles for the most rewarding workout.
Sumo Deadlift
The Sumo deadlift is one of the most effective exercises used by bodybuilders, athletes, and fitness enthusiasts. It consists of using a very wide stance to grip the barbell waist-high and then pulling it up.
It has gained popularity with professional weightlifters in recent years who use this exercise along with conventional face pulls and rows to strengthen their arms and back muscles.
Let us look at how you do this exercise correctly:
- Start by placing the barbell on the floor in front of you and positioning your feet so that they are about twice as wide as your shoulders.
- Bend down and grip the barbell with your hands just outside of your legs.
- Keeping your back straight, drive your heels into the floor and lift the barbell until you are standing upright.
- Reverse the motion and lower the barbell back to the floor under control.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
The sumo deadlift requires a lot of work to develop the core muscles, back, and legs. It builds resistance against the natural lifting posture and allows you to build your hip, thigh, and torso muscles.
The sumo deadlift is performed by standing with your legs positioned at a very wide stance. Using both the arms and legs, lift the barbell from ground to waist level. This exercise is great for building power and strength in your leg muscles.
Back Extension
The back extension develops the latissimus dorsi muscle. This is an important muscle for overall strength and postural alignment. It provides support for the thoracic spine, helps to keep your head in line with your shoulders, and also assists you in maintaining good blood circulation around your heart, lungs, and abdominal organs.
Here is how you do this exercise:
- Start by lying face down on a flat bench with your feet flat on the floor and your legs straight.
- Place your hands by your sides or crossed over your chest.
- Keeping your back flat, raise your torso and upper legs off the bench until your thighs and torso are in line with each other.
- Hold this position for a second and then slowly lower your body back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Back extension is a great exercise to increase the flexibility and strength of your back muscles. This flexibility will help you to maintain good posture throughout the day, which will increase your lung capacity and reduce stress on your lower back.
Wrapping It Up
The lower back muscles play a vital role in maintaining the posture of our body. The lower back is primarily responsible for supporting the weight of our upper body. It also provides stability when we sit, stand or walk.
Lower back pain is very common and can be caused by a variety of factors including poor posture, muscle strain, arthritis, or even an injury. By following these simple exercises, you’ll be able to strengthen your lower back and prevent injuries and pain in the future.
Try these exercises at least three times a week for the best results. If you notice any pain or discomfort, stop immediately.