Having a strong lower back helps with injury prevention, mobility, and stability as you go about your daily activities or partake in sports and even work out. Everyone benefits from having stronger lower back muscles regardless of whether they live sedentary or active lives.
Strengthen Your Lower Back: The Top 20 Exercises For A Resilient Core
Our comprehensive guide will go over the 20 best exercises for strengthening your lower back muscles. Let’s jump right into our list:
1) Deadlifts
Deadlifts are one of the best compound exercises for building muscle mass and strength. The movement engages most muscles in your body, but it primarily targets your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. Performing deadlifts helps to improve stability and strength in your lower back.
Make sure you use proper form when performing deadlifts since performing it poorly puts pressure on your spine. Here’s what proper form looks like.
- Stand in front of the loaded barbell with your feet shoulder-width apart. The bar should be right over the middle of both feet.
- Drop down with your arms sliding against the outside of your legs and grab the bar, while keeping your backside high.
- Pull the bar up as you stand upright while keeping your back straight. Return to the starting position to complete a rep.
2) Romanian Deadlifts
Similar to traditional deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts primarily target your hamstrings and lower back. By emphasizing hip hinge movement, this exercise strengthens the muscles along the posterior chain while reducing stress on the lower back.
To perform the exercise, perform the regular deadlift to get into the starting position, which is the top of a traditional deadlift. Hinge at your hips to lower the barbell a little below your knee before returning to complete a rep.
3) Good Mornings
Good mornings are an efficient exercise for targeting the erector spinae muscles in the lower back. It helps to improve stability and flexibility in your lower back.
Here’s what the exercise looks like:
- Pick a barbell off the rack across your shoulders as if you were getting ready to perform squats.
- Instead of squatting, hinge at your hips while keeping your back straight and return to the starting position to complete a rep.
4) Back Extensions
Back Extensions isolate and strengthen the erector spinae muscles along your spine. Performing back extensions on a hyperextension bench or stability ball helps to improve spinal alignment and posture while reducing your risk of lower back injuries.
5) Superman
The Superman exercise targets your entire posterior chain, including your lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. Lie face down on the ground, then simultaneously lift your arms, chest, and legs off the floor while contracting your lower back muscles. Hold this position briefly before returning to the starting position.
6) Bird Dogs
Bird dogs are a core stabilization exercise that strengthens the muscles surrounding your spine, including your lower back muscles. From a tabletop position, extend one arm and the opposite leg while keeping your spine neutral. Alternate sides and focus on engaging the core throughout the movement.
7) Russian Twists
Russian twists engage your obliques, lower back, and core muscles, promoting stability and rotational strength.
To perform the exercise, sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet elevated, then rotate your torso from side to side while holding a weight or medicine ball.
8) Planks
Planks are a bodyweight exercise that improves stability in your core, including the muscles in your lower back. Hold a plank position with your elbows and toes supporting your body weight, maintaining a straight line from head to heels. Focus on engaging your core and holding the position for an extended duration.
9) Side Planks
Side planks target the obliques and lateral stabilizers, including the muscles along the lower back. To perform this exercise, support your body weight on one forearm and the side of your foot and maintain a straight line from head to heels. Hold the position for as long as you can.
10) Reverse Hyperextensions
Reverse hyperextensions engage your lower back and glutes while decreasing stress on your spine. To start the exercise, lie face down on a hyperextension bench with your legs extended and lift your legs toward the ceiling while contracting your lower back muscles.
11) Cable Pull-Throughs
Cable pull-throughs are a dynamic exercise that strengthens your posterior chain, including the lower back muscles, glutes, and hamstrings. Stand facing away from a cable machine with a rope attachment between your legs, then hinge at the hips while maintaining a flat back. Pull the rope through your legs to complete a rep.
12) Kettlebell Swings
Kettlebell swings are a full-body exercise that engages the lower back, hips, and hamstrings while promoting explosive power and athleticism. To perform the exercise, swing a kettlebell between your legs with a hip hinge motion, then thrust your hips forward to propel the kettlebell upward to shoulder height.
13) Seated Rows
Seated rows with a cable machine or resistance bands effectively target muscles in your upper back and lower back while promoting proper posture and spinal alignment. Sit upright with a neutral spine and pull the handles of the rowing machine toward your body, engaging the muscles of the back and shoulders.
14) Dumbbell Rows
Dumbbell rows are a unilateral exercise that strengthens various muscles in the back, including the lower back and lats. To perform the exercise, bend at the hips with a dumbbell in one hand, then pull the weight toward your hip while keeping your back straight. Keep your shoulder blade retracted while performing your reps.
15) Quadruped Rows
Quadruped rows are a functional exercise that targets the muscles in the upper and lower back while improving core stability and posture. From a tabletop position, row a dumbbell or kettlebell toward your hip while keeping your spine neutral and core engaged.
16) Romanian Deadlifts With Dumbbells
Romanian deadlifts with dumbbells offer a unilateral variation of the traditional deadlift exercise, targeting the hamstrings and lower back while promoting balance and stability. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip, then hinge at the hips while keeping your back straight and shoulders back.
17) Swiss Ball Back Extensions
Swiss ball back extensions are a challenging exercise that supports muscles in your lower back and posterior chain while improving balance and stability. To perform the movement, lie face down on a stability ball with your feet anchored, then lift your chest and arms off the ball while engaging your lower back muscles.
18) Barbell Hip Thrusts
Barbell hip thrusts primarily target the glutes and hamstrings while engaging the muscles of the lower back and core for stability. Sit with your upper back against a bench and a barbell across your hips, then thrust your hips upward while squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement.
19) T-Bar Rows
T-bar rows are a compound exercise that targets the muscles in the upper and lower back. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and grip the T-bar attachment, then row the weight toward your abdomen while keeping your back straight and chest lifted.
20) Stability Ball Rollouts
Stability ball rollouts are an advanced core exercise that strengthens the muscles in your abs, lower back, and shoulders. Kneel on the ground with your hands on a stability ball, then roll the ball forward while maintaining a neutral spine and engaging your core muscles.
Consistency Is Key
Regularly performing exercises that help to strengthen your lower back muscles promotes good spinal health and improves your athletic performance. Your lower back and the other muscles in your posterior chain play an essential role in keeping your body balanced.
Try These Exercises With Martial Arts Training!
Incorporating specific exercises into their training regime is a common practice among martial artists seeking to fortify their bodies. These carefully selected workouts are not just supplementary; they’re integral to building the strength and endurance necessary for martial arts. Witness firsthand the transformative power of these exercises by adding them to your routine. The results will not only speak for themselves but also elevate your martial arts practice to new heights.
Curious to see how these exercises can enhance your martial arts skills? We invite you to experience our trial classes! Join us for a complimentary session and unlock the potential within. Let’s embark on this journey together, where every punch, kick, and stance propels you closer to your ultimate fitness goals.
Book your complimentary trial class with our World Champions below!
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