There are stretches that can enhance your back health and add to your strength training progress and longevity. I rarely discuss stretching or topics dealing with injuries, rehab, or prehab. Prehab basically consists of exercises that have a therapeutic effect on your muscles and joints; the byproduct of which is injury prevention. I believe that this is very important because one of the biggest reasons that people quit working out and suffer set backs in training is due to injuries. If you want to stick with your training and keep making progress, injury prevention is vital.
One of the most vulnerable areas of the body to injury is the back. I lifted weights for about 29 years without any significant back problems, but the day finally came when I hurt my back doing a set of bent over barbell rows. It was about 5 years before I could do heavy squats, deadlifts, bent over rows, or over head presses. In retrospect, I wish I would have known how to care for my back better in order to avoid that back injury.
There are stretching exercises that can help prevent back injuries. One thing that you must be cautious about when doing back stretches is to work into the stretches slowly. In other words, start out with very gentle stretches for only three to five minutes per day and gradually work your way up to an increased range of motion over a period of 15 to 20 minutes per day. Never stretch to the point where it hurts. Stretching should be comfortable and feel good. Don’t over stretch and hurt yourself, as stretching is designed to prevent injury, not to cause it.
If your back is currently injured, you may want to avoid stretching until the pain goes away, or is significantly reduced. Sometimes stretching can make an injury worse. You may need to allow the the injury to heal for a while before stretching becomes beneficial.
For most of my life, I have thought of stretching as an annoying nuisance that I would rather not deal with. If you are like me, you won’t like the idea of adding on an extra 15 to 20 minutes to your workout by adding stretching exercises. If this is the case, do the stretching exercises between sets of strength training exercises. This will allow you to include stretches without adding time to your workout.
Anyone who is experiencing tightness or limited range of motion in his or her back can benefit from including some of the following stretches.
TRX Stretch For Your Back
.
,
Hip Traction and Spinal Decompression
.
.
Cat Stretch
.
.
Before you do the next exercise which is called the Jefferson curl, spend a few weeks just doing cat stretches (shown in the video above). Make sure you start out easy and light with Jefferson Curls. It may take several months before you see a significant increase in range of motion and feel stronger in the flexed over position. Start with a 10 pounds plate and take a few months to work your way up to an empty bar. If you feel comfortable and strong with an empty bar, you can add 5 to 10 pounds every month or two. Stop adding weight when the exercise feels uncomfortable. Remember, it’s a stretching exercise that is designed to promote flexibility and back health, and it’s not an exercise designed for maximal strength and heavy lifting.
The Jefferson Curl
.
.
The Big 3
There are other exercises that are not stretching exercises that lead to more core stability in the back and which enhances back health. Three of these exercises are shown below. They are known as The Big 3, and are practiced by many powerlifters.
.
The Big 3
.
.
If You Have A Back Injury
If you are currently injured, I recommend that you watch the following video by Stan Efferding. He offers outstanding advice.
.
.
My goal in writing this article is to help you improve the health of your back, and to persuade you that it is better not to take chances on a back injury. That being said, think about incorporating the back exercises demonstrated in the videos of this article into your workouts. Best of training to you.