Back Strengthening Exercises

K, i posted about hating my back pain in rants and raves and some people replied and many of them suffered from it too.

So i was wondering if any of u have some exercises to strengthen the back that work well.

I have one for the upper back, and lower back.

upper- lie stomach down with arms to the side and lift your chest of the ground but keep your stomach on the ground (kinda like a push up, ....... well sorta)

lower- lie flat on your back so there is a bridge between the ground and the lower back then flex all of your cental mucles so your lower back tounches to the ground, then hold it for 20-30 sec.

there u go, hope they work, post urs too.

I f\'ed up my lower back playing hockey a few years ago and it still gives me trouble every once in a while - I don\'t have any exercises that I do, just a lot of stretches before and after I play.

ya i do stretches to but i cant seem to target the lower back, what stretches do u do?

[videoholic]

Do you have an exercise ball?  I have terrible back pain from carrying around the 32 pound camera for all those years.  You can get one of those big balls and lie on it.  The ball is about 3 ft in diameter.  Mine has little pointy nubs on it, but they have them without also.  You can stretch real good on it.

I just lie on my back, and stretch my arms and legs out as far as I can and then hold it for several seconds, relax, repeat. Looks retarded but works very well.

Another one is where you sit (upright)on the floor, extend one leg fully, and then bend the other leg at the knee and cross it over the extended leg, you then twist your body in the same direction as you crossed your bent leg (after that you do the opposite to complete the stretch)- sounds complicated but I don\'t think I\'m describing it well. My doc gave me a pamplet of back-stretches (they\'re diagrammed), I\'ll see if I can get my hands on a scanner at school.

Using the exercise ball Videoholic mentioned is another excellent way to stretch your back.

Ok here goes
Lower back -
1. Lie on your back and pull your knees in as close to your chest as you can (togeter or alternating)
2. Stand next to a wall or something and keep your self as straight as possible, then kick your leg straight back and keep it as straight as possible. (10-20 reps each leg) this is my fav and is very quick and easy to do
3. I do alot of straight leg deadlifts while standing on a few barbells which lets me really stretch and strengthen the lower back. I am sure if you can find something that is fairly balanced you can do the same thing without weights. The key to this movement is to be able to go past foot level to get a really deep stretch
4 this is the easiest of all. A nice vigerous walk taking long strides is great for your lower back
Upper Back
I really dont stretch this muscle alot but i did find this link and will begin using some of the stuff myself
http://www.sev.org/users/jeff.lumpkins/nv/Stretches/Back/UpperBack.html

I masturbate a lot.

ooooooo me too it really helps....uhhh my back