Hey, what's up guys Scott Herman here from muscularstrength.com now
Whether you're doing deadlifts squats
Overhead pressing rowing or even curling
many of you are finding it difficult to lift heavy weights or increase the intensity of your workouts
because of lower back pain
But that doesn't necessarily mean that you have a weak lower back
Granted there could be some form issues here that need to be dealt with some of the exercises
I just mentioned
But any part of your body is going to stop bothering you if you're constantly abusing it
with training and neglecting recovery or stretching
Constant abuse equals tight muscles guys, and it's that constant tension
That's causing all kinds of issues for you as well as your lower back pain
So I'm going to provide you with two easy fixes that
Everyone can do before and after their workouts to open up and relax the lumbar spine as well as the surrounding
muscles so that you can progressively
Overload with heavier weights without worrying about taking a trip to snap city
So the first fix is taking the lower back through its natural range of motion
This is important because if your lower back does not have full mobility across all planes of motion
This means flexion extension and rotation
Training with these limitations can lead to a serious injury so with that in mind
I want you guys to drop to the floor so we can perform an alternating toe to hand touch
Followed by a scorpion to do a toe to hand touch guys start off by laying with your back on the floor
Next lift your right leg into the air and then twist and rotate your right leg towards your left hand
While trying to keep your torso in contact with the floor the entire time
Try to really feel the twist and stretch across the lower back and mid-back while opening up your thoracic spine
Then repeat with the opposite leg and continue to go back and forth for 10 to 12 reps
Always staying in control of the movement then as soon as you're done
You're going to roll over onto your stomach and perform the same movement
Of trying to bring your left foot to your right hand and then alternating with that same motion using your other leg
This is called a scorpion, and you will again repeat this for 10 to 12 repetitions
This combo of rehab prehab exercises is going to get
some blood into the area warm up the lower back muscles and take way any
tension that you might be holding in that region and remember you are
to do this for one to two sets before and
After training and for the second fix you're going to learn how to activate your glutes
Properly so now that your back is stretched out and not tense anymore
It's time to fire up your glutes and hamstrings the way they were meant to be trained
The problem is however that most people's lower backs are far too powerful
Tensed up and end up overtaking any movement, which causes pain and discomfort
This is why you usually see people's hips shoot up first when they deadlift vs.
lifting the bar
but by pushing through their legs and hips
So what you need to do instead is learn to activate your body's most powerful muscle group
Which is the glutes and hamstrings combo for this fix will utilize an exercise that is also present in my fix
anterior pelvic tilt in three easy steps video and
Here's how you can do it what you're going to do is lie on your back with your feet on the ground and make sure
That there's no gap between your back and the floor once in place push through your heels
and extend your hips toward the ceiling
Flexing your glutes and hamstrings as much as possible as soon as you extend your glutes
You're not going to just stop when your body's in a straight line
You're going to flex your glutes as hard as you can and get a slight
Hyperextension at the top of the movement. This is how you fully engage your glutes when doing a glute bridge
Then you're going to hold this position for 20 seconds come back down to the starting position
Rest for a second then go back up for another 20 seconds repeating this for a total of 10 repetitions
Next as soon as all 10 repetitions are complete
You're going to rest for about 60 seconds and then complete a total of 3 working sets guys
I know it takes time to warm up and perform movements like this, but these are the things that prevent injuries
And if you're currently feeling pain and discomfort when you squat or bench or overhead press or curl
It's only a matter of time before a more serious injury
Finds you be sure to give the video a thumbs up and if you have questions or future video
Suggestions leave them down in that comment section it has always more good stuff coming soon. See ya guys