Throwing your back out? Try getting back on track with:
Stability Ball Hyperextension
Stability Ball Reverse Hyperextension
Despite the fact that I literally train people to pick up heavy things correctly, I will, every now and then, incorrectly pick up something heavy. Now, I've lived a little, done some smart things, some stupid things, had some lucky and unlucky moments, and I've got some lingering issues! Some of those issues are in my spine. So when I notice that I have incorrectly picked up something heavy, usually something awkward in the back of my car, it's very likely I am going to be dealing with some low back pain.
When that happens, I take it easy with my workouts for the next few days/weeks, and along with some other activities, I make sure to hit up my stability ball hyperextensions and reverse hyperextensions.
I find that these two exercise do a great job of resetting my back muscles into doing what they should be doing, stabilizing and supporting, instead of spasming and hurting. Now, your mileage may vary, so take it slow and if you notice any pain or exacerbation of your symptoms, back off and re-think your approach.
The best way to do these is with a stability ball. I've never tried to improvise another set up for these. I imagine you could, like, stack couch cushions up or something maybe, but a stability ball is a relatively cheap piece of equipment that I've always had laying around since my early days of getting into fitness.
Here is a stability ball hyperextension:
The balls of the feet are your base in this exercise. If you find your feet slipping too much, roll back or forward a little on the ball, shift your center of gravity until you find a setup that works. If that still doesn't work; like if your floor is too slippery, your feet don't have the mobility to properly flex onto the balls of the feet, or you otherwise can't maintain a good base, you can do these just as well with the feet pressed against something immovable, like the base of a wall.
Another common issue is the discomfort of the ball pressing against the front of the torso. This will get better with dialing in your setup position, but also better core conditioning will give you the strength to brace against the ball better. Some of this can come from this exercise itself, as bracing against the ball will strengthen those muscles.
Roll forward to easily transition into the next exercise;
Stability Ball Reverse Hyperextension
The forearms are your base in this exercise, much like in a front elbow plank.
With the legs in the bottom position, your feet may be touching the floor or slightly elevated, depending on your ball/body size. This exercise is generally more stable and comfortable than the regular hyperextension, with fewer issues slipping.
Lift the legs slowly, without momentum swinging into your low back. I like to push through the heels on this and many exercises like this, to feel the extension along the entire posterior of the legs.
Sets and Reps
If it's your first time trying these:
one set each of ten reps
Take it slow and easy, and see how well that is tolerated over the next 24 hours.
If you found that easy enough and it didn't cause pain:
two sets of ten each, with a small rest between sets.
Wait another day or two. Depending on how challenging you find that, you can start trying to progress to:
three sets of ten
You can do that slowly by adding a few more reps each time, or jump right in and go for it if you found 2 sets of ten relatively easy. Continue incorporating these into your regular exercise regimen, about once a week.
You can try altering the challenge in various ways:
increasing reps
increasing sets
increasing time under tension (doing it more slowly or with pauses at the top)
increasing resistance (using ankle weights, for example)
After a certain base level of conditioning, I don't try to progress these much more than two or three sets of 10 to 20 reps.
Think of these more as maintenance/preventative/rehab exercises than classic strength exercises. Rather than consistently lifting more or heavier over time, with these, the main challenge is consistently remembering to do them even when you're not dealing with back pain. If you can keep doing them, you might be able to avoid "needing" to do them!
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