Build a Rock Solid Core and Beat Low Back Pain at the same Time

If you’re like most people when you hear the word “core” you think abs. And when you think of abs you think sit ups, crunches, side bends, twists, etc. The fact is your “core” is really much more than just your abs, and sit ups, crunches, and side bends are some of the least effective exercises you can do if you’re looking to improve your core strength and stability. In fact they can even cause damage to your spine.

What really makes up your core? Draw an imaginary line right below your chest and then another right below your hips. Anything in that region makes up ones core. The core is not just your abs; it’s also your, sides, lower back, hip flexors, and glutes. As a whole, these areas are the most important aspect to anyone’s body and the strength of these typically will be a good indicator of fitness level and risk of injury.

The muscles that make up your core are meant to do one thing, stabilize your torso and hips. When those muscles don’t work properly, the end result is often low back pain and possibly even the need for spinal surgery.

When choosing exercises to safely and effectively work your core think of ones that are going to force your to stabilizers to work.  Planks are quite possibly the best exercise to work your core. They’re not exactly a “sexy” exercise or one that people look forward to doing; yet provide the body with tremendous strength and stability gains when done properly.

To set yourself up for a plank start by lying on your stomach and place your elbows underneath your shoulders. Pull your shoulder blades down and back creating stiffness to your upper back. Dig your toes into the ground and squeeze your butt. Lift your hips off the ground and you should immediately feel tightness in your lower back and stomach. Start with 30 seconds and aim for 1 minute, if you can do that play around with some different options to force your core to work a little harder. Reach out with one arm 10 times or lift up one leg 10 times. The weight shift will place a higher stress on core stability.   

It’s important to note that you should be feeling tightness in your lower back but not pain.

Hips don’t lie.  Tight hamstrings are typically a contributor to low back pain and poor performance in a number of areas in life.  Hamstrings are meant to stabilize the knee while glutes are meant to stabilize the hips. When your glutes aren’t working properly the hamstrings work double time to stabilize both the knee and hip, hence you end up with tight hamstrings from overuse and a sore lower back from lack of stability.

The Glute Bridge is another simple exercise to perform that provides tremendous gains as far as stability and function.  Lie on your back with your feet on the ground, knees bent slightly less than 90 degrees. Drive your heels into the ground and lift your hips up by squeezing your glutes tight. Hold for a 3-4 second count at the top and slowly lower your hips back down to the ground. Tap the ground with your hips and repeat the motion 10-12 times. When done properly you should feel tightness in your glutes and slightly in your hamstrings. If you’re feeling tension primarily in your hamstrings take a rest, massage them either manually with your hands or use a stick or foam roller to release the tension. After about 30 seconds of massage try the exercise again.

Much like the plank, once this becomes too easy, try elevating your hips on a box or bench and possibly even try single leg. Don’t make core training any harder than it needs to be, these two exercises provide a lot of back for your buck and work in creating a rock solid core and pain free lower back. Pair them together and perform 3 rounds of each to get a very effective core workout.

Chris Abbott is a personal trainer and owner of Total Fitness and Health. For more information, visit www.TotalfitnessandHealth.net “Like” personal trainer la on Facebook, or follow me @chris_abbott1.

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