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Lumbar, Core Strength & Stability

Writer's picture: Aubrey Tapiwa Ndisengei Aubrey Tapiwa Ndisengei

Low back pain can be the result of many different things. Pain can be triggered by some combination of overuse, muscle strain, and or injuries to the muscles, ligaments, and discs that support the spine. Over time, a muscle injury that has not been managed correctly may lead to an overall imbalance in the spine. This can lead to constant tension on the muscles, ligaments, bones, making the back more prone to injury or re-injury.


Since low back pain can be caused by injury to various structures in the spine and its supporting structures, it is important to consult your physician or personal trainer if you have had back pain lasting longer than 1-2 weeks.


Your physician can provide a diagnosis and explain what structure is injured so that your personal trainer can guide you as to which exercises are appropriate for your specific injury. Each diagnosis is treated with different protocols, therefore you must consult a medical professional before beginning any strenuous rehabilitation program.


As your personal trainer, I would recommend low back exercises and flexibility, these two can be the best treatment option for almost all types of back problems as it is likely to help restore balance in the spine.


Low back exercises concentrate on strengthening the abdominal muscles, to be able to give stabilization of the spine. Rehabilitation programs or preventative rehabilitation programs that focus on strengthening lumbar muscles combined with core stability and proprioception will reduce the risk of low back pain if exercises are done correctly and regularly.


Lumbar/Core Strength and Stability can be utilized as a preventative rehabilitation program or if you are recovering from an injury, or as support for your Chiropractic treatment. The program includes flexibility and strengthening section.


I recommend flexibility should be done at least 5 times a week, and the strengthening section should be done 3-4 times a week. The program is divided into levels “Beginner”, “Intermediate”, and “Advanced”. I encourage you to start with the “Beginner” exercises and perfect them before moving onto “Intermediate” or “Advanced”.


Please review the information below before attempting Lumbar/Core Strength and Stability. It is important to understand the way certain muscles work, and how the exercises should feel to know if you are doing the exercises correctly


What Is My "Core"?


The “core” is comprised of several groups of muscles including the transversus abdominus, multifidus, diaphragm, and pelvic floor muscles. These muscles work together to produce maximum stability in the abdominal and lumbar (lower) back region and coordinate the movement of the arms, legs, and spine. Engaging these muscles is not something that most people do consciously, therefore it is important to learn how to effectively co-contract these muscles while performing these rehabilitation exercises.


How do I engage my core?


Place two fingers on the bones on the front of your hips (ASIS). Move your hands in an inch towards your belly button and down an inch towards your toes. You should now be directly over the transversus abdominus muscle.


When you contract your core correctly, you should feel a gentle tightening under your fingers, as if you took in your belt one extra notch. If the muscles under your fingers start to “dome”, then you are contracting too much and compensating with larger muscle groups. It is important to learn how to engage your core in various positions and well during activity to provide maximum stability for your spine.


FLEXIBILITY


A lack of flexibility through the hips (hamstring, hip flexors, gluteus muscles) can contribute to low back pain, therefore it is important to work on this if you are experiencing back pain. Please make sure all stretches are “pain-free”. If you feel discomfort, you may not be ready to do that specific stretch.


Quadriceps Stretch


Using a towel, or band, lie on your stomach, attach the band to the affected foot and pull your heel to your butt. Hold this stretch for 1 min. Repeat 3 times.






Hip Flexor Stretch


Kneel with the affected knee on the ground, same side arm goes back causing pelvis (hips) to shift forward, and back to extend. Hold for 20- 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.






Adductor Stretch


Prop the inside of your ankle up on a table, lean into the side you’re stretching. Hold for 20-30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.






Hamstring Stretch


Prop the back of your heel up on a table, keep your back straight, and lean forward at the hips. Hold for 20-30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.






Dynamic Hamstring Stretch


Lie on your back, reach hands behind your knee, keep the knee at a 90-degree angle, and kick up until you feel stretch. Repeat 15-20x on each side.






Sidelying ITB and Stretch


Lie on your side, use a towel, or band and pull your foot back as if stretching quadriceps, use the opposite foot to push down on the distal part of the leg. Hold this stretch for 1 min. Repeat as needed.






C stretch for ITBand


In standing, place the affected leg behind the good leg and lean away. Hold for 20-30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.








Glute Stretch


Prop the outside of your ankle up on a table, make sure your leg is at 90 degrees, keep your back straight, and lean forward at the hips. Hold for 20-30 sec. Repeat 3 times.








Prayer. Cat. Camel


Start on all fours. Prayer- Exhale as you sit back onto heels, lower head, tuck chin and reach arms out. Cat- Inhale as you arch the back up and hollow out abdominals while the head remains tucked. Camel- Exhale and lower abdominal and reach chin towards the ceiling. Tuck chin and sit back into Prayer position. Repeat 5 times.









STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

BEGINNER


A supine hip twist on a physioball


Lie on your back on the floor with hips and knees bent to 90 degrees over a physioball; draw in abdominal muscles and maintain throughout the exercise; slowly and with control, rotate knees to one side keeping hips in contact with the floor; engage obliques to pull knees back to center and repeat on the opposite side; Repeat 10-20 times on each side.






Supine Abdominal Draw In


Lie on your back on a table or mat, knees up with feet flat on table/ mat; pull the abs in and push your low back to the table/mat. Repeat 20 times.






Abdominal Draw In with Knee to Chest


Lie on a table or mat on your back, draw one knee to the chest while maintaining the abdominal draw-in; do not grab the knee with your hand. Repeat 10-20 times each leg.






Abdominal Draw In with Heel Slide


Lie on your back on a table or mat, draw the heel back towards the buttock while maintaining the abdominal draw-in. Maintain as you return to the start position. Repeat 10-20 times each leg.






Abdominal Draw In with Double Knee to Chest


Lie on your back on a table or mat, bring both knees to your chest at the same time. Maintain the abdominal draw throughout the entire exercise. Repeat 10-20 times.






Supine Twist


Lie on your back on the floor with hips and knees bent to 90 degrees with feet flat on the floor; draw in abdominal muscles and maintain throughout the exercise; slowly and with control, rotate knees to one side keeping hips in contact with the floor; engage obliques to pull knees back to center and repeat on the opposite side; Repeat 10-20 times.







Prone Bridging on Elbows


Lie on your stomach on a table or mat with your forearms/elbows on the table/mat; rise so that you are resting on your forearms and toes; maintain abdominal draw in; your back should be completely straight; hold this position for 15 sec – 1 min. Progress in increments of 15 seconds. Repeat 5-10 times.






Side Bridging on Elbow


Lie on your side with your elbow underneath you; rise o that you are resting one forearm/elbow and foot on the same side; hold this position for 15sec – 1min. Progress in increments of 15 seconds. Repeat 5-10 times. Make sure to complete the exercise on both sides.






Press Ups


Lie on your stomach on a table or mat with legs extended and hands palm down just above shoulders; retract shoulder blades down and in towards the midline of your spine; maintaining that position, lift your chest off of the floor; hold for 3-5 seconds keeping the back of the neck long and making sure front hip bones stay in contact with mat during the entire movement. Repeat 10-20 times.


Prone Cobra’s


Lie on your stomach on a table or mat with your arms at your side; lift your head and chest off the table/mat; hold your glutes (buttock muscles) tight and squeeze your shoulder blades together; hold briefly and return to starting position. Repeat 10 times.






Supermans


Lie on your stomach on a table or mat with arms and legs extended; retract shoulder blades down and in towards the midline of your spine and draw in abdominal muscles; maintaining this position, lift opposite arm and opposite leg ensuring that your hips stay in contact with the floor; hold for 3-5 seconds and reverse sides. Repeat 10-20 times.






Quadruped Opposite arm/leg


In a quadruped position (on all fours); keep head straight with knees bent to 90 degrees. Engage your core to keep your back straight during the entire exercise and use your hamstrings, glutes, and low back muscles to lift your leg straight while simultaneously lifting the opposite arm; Repeat 10 times each side.






Supine Butt Lift with Arms at Side


Lie on your back on a table or mat with hips and knees bent to 90 degrees with feet flat on floor and arms palm-down at sides; draw in abdominal muscles and maintain throughout the exercise; slowly raise your butt off the table/mat by using your glutes and hamstrings until your torso is in line with thighs; hold for 3-5 seconds. Repeat 10 – 20 times.






Supine Butt Lift with Arms Across Chest


Lie on your back on a table or mat with hips and knees bent to 90 degrees with feet flat on floor and arms across chest; draw in abdominal muscles and maintain throughout the exercise; slowly raise your butt off the table/mat by using your glutes and hamstrings until your torso is in line with thighs; hold for 3-5 seconds. Repeat 10 – 20 times.






Supine Single Leg Butt Lift


Lie on your back on the table or mat with hips and knees bent to 90 degrees with feet flat on floor and arms palm-down at sides; draw in abdominal muscles and maintain throughout the exercise; lift one leg so that thigh is perpendicular to the floor and knee is bent to 90 degrees; slowly raise your butt off the table/mat by using your glutes and hamstrings until your torso is in line with thigh; hold for 3-5 seconds. Repeat 10-20 times on each leg.






Supine Single Leg Marching


Lie on your back on a table or mat with hips and knees bent to 90 degrees with feet flat on floor and arms palm-down at sides; draw in abdominal muscles and maintain throughout the exercise; slowly raise your butt off the table/mat by using your glutes and hamstrings until your torso is in line with thigh; alternate raising right leg followed by left leg off table/mat into hip flexion while maintaining proper alignment. Repeat 10-20 times on each side.






Abdominal Draw In, Seated on Physioball


Begin by sitting on Physioball with your spine straight, knees at 90 degrees, and your hands on your hips. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart; draw in abdominal muscles and maintain this position for 3 – 5 seconds. Repeat 10 – 20 times.







Abdominal Draw In, Seated on Physioball, Add Marching


Begin by sitting on Physioball with your spine straight, knees at 90 degrees, and your hands on your hips. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart; draw in abdominal muscles and maintain this position throughout the exercise. Begin by slowly raising your right knee into hip flexion and hold for a 3 -5 second count; keeping hips level then bring the knee down to starting position; repeat on the opposite side. Repeat 10-20 times.







INTERMEDIATE


Abdominal Draw In with feet on the ball


Lie on your back on a table or mat with hips and knees bent to 45 degrees and your feet flat on the medicine ball; draw in abdominal muscles and maintain throughout the exercise; hold for 3-5 seconds. Repeat 10 – 20 times.

Abdominal Draw In With Feet On The Ball- Add Movement


Lie on your back on a table or mat with hips and knees bent to 45 degrees and your feet flat on the medicine ball; draw in abdominal muscles and maintain throughout the exercise; hold for 3-5 seconds. As you tilt your hips back raise your butt about 2 to 3 inches maximum off the floor. Hold this position for 3 – 5 seconds; slowly bring your butt back to start. Repeat 10 -20 times.


Supine Dead Bugs


Lie on your back on a table or mat with arms perpendicular to floor and hips and knees bent to 90 degrees; draw in abdominal muscles and maintain throughout the exercise; extend one arm above head while simultaneously lowering the opposite foot to the floor; contract abdominal muscles to bring arms and legs back to starting position; repeat on the opposite side. Repeat 10-20 times. Rolling Like a Ball In a tucked position draw in abdominal muscle maintain balance; Hold for 1-2 sec. then roll onto your shoulder blades, and back into starting position. Repeat 10-20 times.






Prone Bridging On Elbows With Single-Leg On Single-Leg Hip Extension


Lie on your stomach on a table or mat with your forearms/elbows on the table/mat; rise so that you are resting on your forearms and toes; maintain abdominal draw in; your back should be completely straight; Now extend hip/leg upwards and hold, one leg at a time; alternate legs. Repeat 10-15 times on each side.






Side Bridging- Add Single-Leg Hip Abduction


Lie on your side with your elbow underneath you; rise o that you are resting on your one forearm/elbow and your foot; hold this position while lifting your hip/leg at your side up and down. Lift the leg up and down 15-20 times on each side.






Quadruped Opposite Arm/Leg Add Cuff Or Dumbbell Weights


Start in a quadruped position (on all fours), head straight with knees bent to 90 degrees and hands on the mat. Make sure you add a cuff weight to your ankle, and/or hold a small dumbbell weight in the opposite hand for progression. Tighten your hamstrings, glutes, and low back and lift to straighten your leg and opposite arm while maintaining proper alignment. Repeat 10-20 times alternating sides






Abdominal Crunches on Physioball


Start by having your hips just off the Physioball. Keep your feet about shoulder-width apart, and place your hands across your chest. Draw in abdominal muscles and maintain, crunch forward, and lift your shoulder blades off the ball. Hold at the top for 1 – 2 sec. and lower back down to starting position. Repeat 10 – 20 times.






Abdominals Crunches on Physioball with Rotation


Start by having your hips just off the Physioball. Keep your feet about shoulder-width apart, and place your hands across your chest. Draw in abdominal muscles and maintain, crunch forward, and lift your shoulder blades off the ball. As you get halfway up twist your body to one side. Hold for 1 – 2 sec. at the top, and as you uncurl and lower back down to starting position; alternate sides. Repeat 10 – 20 times.






Bridging with Head-on Physioball


Shoulder blades are aligned at the top and middle of the ball with arms across the chest. Your feet are placed on the ground shoulder-width apart, and your thighs should be parallel with the ground. Draw in abdominal muscles; engage glutes and hamstrings to maintain a straight line from neck to knees. Hold this position for 3 – 5 sec. Then slowly relax and Repeat 10-20 times.






Supine Bridging on Physioball


Lie facing upward on the floor with knees straight, feet resting on a physioball, arms at sides; draw in abdominal muscles and maintain throughout the exercise; slowly lift your butt off floor until the trunk is parallel to thighs; hold for 3-5 seconds; slowly return to starting position. Repeat 10-20 times.







Abdominal Draw In Seated On Physioball With Leg Extension


Begin by sitting on Physioball with your spine straight, knees at 90 degrees, and your hands on your hips. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart; draw in abdominal muscles and maintain this position throughout the exercise. Begin by slightly lifting your right or left knee and perform a leg extension hold for 3 -5 second count; keeping hips level then alternate repeating on the opposite side. Repeat 10 – 20 times on each side.







ADVANCED


Prone Bridging- “around the world”


Lie on your stomach on table or mat with your forearms on the table/ mat; rise so that you are resting on your forearms and toes; maintain abdominal draw in; your back should be completely straight; hold this position while stepping to the side with left leg/toe, followed by right leg/toe, left arm/hand, and right arm/hand. Repeat the entire sequence 3-5 times.











Side Bridging Add Single-Leg Hip Abduction With Hip Flexion/Extension Movement


Lie on your side with your elbow underneath you; rise o that you are resting on one of your forearm/elbows and your foot; maintain this while lifting your top leg and kicking it forward and then back. Repeat 5-10 times. Switch sides.







Quadruped Opposite Arm/Leg on “Half Foam Rollers”


Lie facing down in quadruped position (on all fours), head straight with knees bent to 90 degrees, and hands-on the half foam rollers. Tighten your hamstrings, glutes, and low back and lift your leg to straighten it along with the opposite arm; Repeat 10 times on each side.







Seated Russian Twist With Medicine Ball


In a seated V position on a table or mat with a medicine ball in your hands, twist your body to one side and then the other while maintaining V position. Repeat 10-20 times.






Seated On Physioball, Russian Twist With The Medicine Ball


Seated on Physioball with feet planted; hold medicine ball out in front of you; maintain abdominal draw in while twisting your body side to side. Repeat 10-20 times.






Bridging with Head on Physioball


Position shoulder blades on physioball with hands-on the hips; extend hips until parallel to the ground by engaging glutes, hamstrings, and core. Lift one foot off the ground and extend leg while keeping hips level; Alternate legs. Repeat 10-20 times.






Side Bridging Add Single-Leg Hip Abduction With Hip Flexion/Extension Movement


Lie on your side with your elbow underneath you; rise so that you are resting on one of your forearm/elbows and your foot; maintain this while lifting your top leg and kicking it forward and then back. Repeat 5-10 times. Switch sides.







Quadruped Opposite Arm/Leg on “Half Foam Rollers”


Lie facing down in quadruped position (on all fours), head straight with knees bent to 90 degrees, on each, and hands-on the half foam rollers. Tighten your hamstrings, glutes, and low back and lift your leg to straighten it along with the opposite arm; Repeat 10 times on the hands-on side.






Seated Russian Twist With Medicine Ball


In a seated V position on a table or mat with a medicine ball in your hands, twist your body to one side and then the other while maintaining V position. Repeat 10-20 times.





Seated On Physioball Russian Twist With Medicine Ball


Seated on Physioball with feet planted; hold medicine ball out in front of you; maintain abdominal draw in while twisting your body side to side. Repeat 10-20 times. Bridging with Head on Physioball Position shoulder blades on physioball with hands-on-hips; extend hips until parallel to the ground by engaging glutes, hamstrings, and core. Lift one foot off the ground and extend leg while keeping hips level; Alternate legs. Repeat 10-20 times.





Tiger Athletic is a modern, private, appointment-only gym in Sandton, Johannesburg using a rigorous, results-focused methodology. We are passionate about helping you be the healthiest version of yourself offering pain management, weight management, strength and conditioning programs with a personal trainer.


Our sessions are strictly 1 on 1 just you and your trainer. There is nobody else in the gym when it's time for your session and all equipment used is sanitized at the end of each session, this isn't a COVID 19 management strategy, it's just how we've done business since 2010.

Let's Workout.


*Ref: Princeton University Athletic Medicine.

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