Let’s start with the simplest exercise for your back.
Just place your hands on your lower back and lean back. Then go into a bridge. Lift one leg. Raise the opposite arm. I’m joking, of course, we’re not going to do that.
This exercise is called the lizard. It’s one of the most challenging bodyweight workouts for the deep muscles of the back.
By strengthening the muscles, it also helps reduce the risk of back pain. But let’s move on to simpler yet equally beneficial exercises.
Back Exercises
All the exercises in this video aim to improve the flexibility and mobility of the spine, as well as enhance blood circulation, relaxation, and relieve tension in the back muscles.
They also promote the massage of internal organs.
Regularly performing these exercises will help reduce back pain and prevent it from occurring in the future.
Moreover, it will help align all vertebrae and even increase height due to improved posture.
These are not baseless claims. I have been 172 centimeters tall my whole life. By the age of 40, my height increased to 174 centimeters.
Exercise 1
The first exercise can be called the windmill. Without tension and force, twist your torso first to the left, then to the right. Your arms move with your torso. But we’re not trying to forcefully twist the torso using arm movements. That could only cause harm. Turn as much as your back allows at the moment.
Exercise 2
Another simple exercise works the spinal muscles that we don’t usually engage in daily life.
Lift your arms and gaze upward. Start moving like a snake. If the upper part of your spine shifts to the right, the lower part shifts to the left, and vice versa.
Make wave-like movements starting slowly, then speeding up.
Exercise 3
Many back exercises are taken from yoga. One of them involves slowly twisting the torso, vertebra by vertebra.
Stand up and begin to lean forward with your back as arched as possible.
First, move your arms down, then your neck, and the arched spine. The slower you do this, the more beneficial it is for your back.
If you can’t keep your legs straight, you can keep them slightly bent. For this exercise, it doesn’t matter.
After standing in the maximum bent position for a while, begin to slowly straighten up, vertebra by vertebra. Your back should also create the maximum possible arch.
If you experience back pain, stop and wait for the pain to subside. If you perform this exercise every day, the pain will disappear.
Exercise 4
The next exercise looks like this. Get on your knees or lean forward and rest your hands on something.
At the same time, lift your head and one leg up, arching your spine. Inhale while doing this.
As you exhale, lower your head and leg down, bringing your knee under you and bending your spine.
Do 7 repetitions with one leg and the same with the other.
After vertical leg swings, do horizontal ones. While doing this, twist your spine inward on the exhale and outward on the inhale. Do this first with one leg, then the other.
Exercise 5
For the next exercise, you will definitely need to get on your knees and place your hands on the floor under your shoulders. Now we will mimic an angry and gentle cat.
Slowly arch your back outward and spread your shoulder blades apart, like angry or scared cats do. Exhale while pulling your belly toward your spine.
Inhale. Bring your shoulder blades together, arching your back inward and raising your head. The gaze is directed upward. Meanwhile, your arms and shoulders remain in the same position. The bringing together of the shoulder blades happens only through the movement of the spine.
Repeat the exercise, getting faster each time.
Exercise 6
A variation of this exercise, allowing for even more engagement of the back, is performed while sitting.
Sit cross-legged. Grab your knees with your hands and arch your back outward, spreading your shoulder blades. Lower your head down towards your chest. Exhale while pulling your belly toward your spine.
Then lift your head up, arching your chest forward and bringing your shoulder blades together.
In this exercise, we also don’t move our hands. All movement occurs through the spine.
Repeat the exercise slowly at first, trying to speed up each time.
Exercise 7
The next exercises involve twisting. Lie on your back and place one leg on the other. Place one hand on the knee of the bent leg and extend the other arm to the side.
Keeping your shoulder blades pressed to the floor, try to lower the raised leg to the side, twisting your pelvis. At the same time, turn your head in the opposite direction of the twist.
If you can lower your knee to the floor without lifting your shoulder blades, then you can complicate the exercise by bringing the bent leg towards your chest.
An even more challenging variation is to wrap one leg around the other and twist in that position.
Exercise 8
Another exercise that twists the vertebrae more and allows you to align them is as follows.
Stand in a rider’s pose, placing your feet much wider than shoulder-width and lowering your pelvis towards the floor so that the angle at your knees is 90 degrees.
Place your hands on your knees. Lower one shoulder down while raising the other shoulder up. Turn your head towards the raised shoulder. Look up. Push down on your knees with your palms, stretching your spine.
Exercise 9
For the next exercise, we will need a roller and at least 3 minutes of free time.
Lie on your back on a hard surface, placing the roller under your shoulder blades, lower back, or where your back hurts.
Straighten your legs, aligning your big toes while keeping your heels apart.
Arch your back, raising your arms above your head and straightening them. Press your palms to the floor.
Stay in this position for 3-5 minutes.
Immediately after this exercise, do not get up. First, carefully turn onto your side, removing the roller and placing it under your head.
After lying for a bit, get on your knees and arch your spine, just like we did in the “angry cat” exercise. Do the angry cat a few times, returning to the starting position each time. There’s no need to do the gentle cat.
After using the roller, you should avoid putting strain on your spine by lifting heavy objects or children for at least a few hours.
Exercise 10
Another great exercise for back pain is the Lyapko mat or Kuznetsov applicator.
All you need to do is lie on your back on these mats.
At least 10 minutes a day will significantly help relax the back muscles and relieve pain and tension.
Exercise 11
I hope I haven’t shown anything complicated in this video. All these exercises can be done by people of any fitness level.
Regularly performing exercises twice a day for at least 5 minutes will allow you to forget about back pain forever.
By the way, regarding the bridge. Including the bridge in your workout will significantly strengthen your back muscles. This will also reduce the likelihood of back pain.
You only need to lift into the bridge from a lying position. Gradually increasing the time you hold the bridge.
Despite its apparent complexity and danger to the back, the bridge is the least injury-prone exercise. When you are in the bridge position, the joint processes of the vertebrae come into contact with each other, protecting the spine from damage. This reduces the risk of vertebrae displacement.
If you lean forward, the vertebrae shift and are unprotected, and the intervertebral discs are subjected to greater pressure. Sudden or strong forward bends can lead to sprains or damage to ligaments, as well as injuries to intervertebral discs. Therefore, in all back exercises, all forward bends should be done slowly and carefully.
