The Benefits of Back Extension Exercises And How To Do Them

The majority of the time that working adults spend is done by sitting on chairs and working over their computers. If they are not sitting, they are probably hunched over their car seats trying to get past heavy traffic when going to and coming home from work. On average, this amounts to almost ten hours of sitting down. Sitting down for this long may not seem like a serious matter, but research shows that this can harm our health later on.

A sedentary lifestyle can heavily affect our posture and the curvature of our spines. It is also noticeable that people living this type of lifestyle have a more hunched back and rounded shoulders. You can also hear more complaints from them regarding back pains and muscle soreness around their shoulders and upper backs. As they get older, these people are also more prone to developing recurring pains and deterioration in their bone strength and joints.

To avoid this, we can start adding exercises and stretches to our daily schedules to keep our bodies active and loose. A healthy diet with a few food supplements can also help. For a great food supplement to take along exercises, check out this review. A few minutes of stretching in the morning can help alleviate back pains and regular exercise can build up muscle strength that can help maintain a good posture throughout the day. For maintaining a good and healthy posture, back extension exercises are the best way to stretch out our spine and keep our back muscles strong and loose.

How To Do Back Extension Exercises

Back extension exercises are done by setting your lower body on a back extension machine or securing your lower half in a rigid structure while facing the ground. The upper half of the body will start from a lower position then it will be bent upwards slowly until the maximum limit of the person’s flexibility.

This exercise uses gravity and the weight of the upper body as resistance and seldom needs additional weights or dumbbells. A back extension machine is specifically built for this type of exercise and its attachments can be adjusted for different types of back extension exercises. Back extension exercises can be done as the 45-degree or the 90-degree version, where the back is bent according to the angle indicated in the exercise. These exercises can also be done on the floor with an exercise mat.

There are also several tips that you must keep in mind before starting with this type of exercise. First of all, back extension repetitions are done slowly. Since you are lifting almost half of your body weight, try not to do it too fast to pace the muscles and to avoid injuring your back muscles due to excessive strain. Always start with maintaining the perfect form when lifting heavier weights.

The next tip is to start with lighter weights and easier settings. After perfecting your form, you can always try to increase the intensity of your workout by holding weights to your chest while doing back extensions. Start with lighter dumbbells first to build up your strength before trying heavier dumbbells and plates.

Lastly, always try to keep your stretching to your flexibility limit. Do not overextend because you will risk injuring your lower back muscles or you might tear a few muscles or tendons. Always mind your stretching angles. By keeping all of these in mind, you can always perform back extension exercises safely.

Benefits of Back Extension Exercises

Doing continuous repetitions of back extensions have many benefits to our health and posture. This exercise can greatly help the condition of our spine, upper, and lower back muscles. Here are some of the benefits that you may experience through back extension exercises:

Strengthen lower back muscles and abdominal muscles

Back extensions target the lower back muscles since these muscle groups exert most of the efforts in keeping the upper body upright. These exercises can also help in developing abdominal muscles since the motions are somewhat similar to abdominal crunches. The motions of bending the upper body upwards require efforts from both the lower back muscles and the abdominal muscles. This results in the strengthening of these muscle groups due to the effort of raising almost half the body’s weight. This can also result in a stronger core and balance. A study on the effects of back extension training in young females showed that it was effective for the extension of spinal range of motion and increase in back muscle strength.

Relieve lower back pain

Lower back pain is mostly caused by bad posture. If the spine is curved too much for a prolonged period, the lower back which is the base of the spin experiences the most amount of stress. This results in pains mostly felt in the lower back, hips, and above the tailbone. This is also caused by weak back muscles that cannot hold the posture of the upper body straight up for long periods. Since the back muscles are weak, the spine is bent forward due to the weight of the upper body. By continuously performing back extension exercises, you can improve muscle strength in the lower back and this can help alleviate lower back pains. Stretching exercises are also great for relieving stiff or compressed muscles in the lower back.

Keep muscles strong and healthy

Constant exercise is a key factor in keeping our muscles healthy and strong. If the muscles are left in a stationary position for a long time, it becomes stiff and sore. This is because there is a build-up of stress and there is low blood circulation in these parts. But if we constantly exercise, we can keep our body active as well as our muscles. This will also help in blood circulation and it will loosen up stiff muscle groups.

Improved posture

Through continuous back extension exercises, we can train our back muscles to handle more weight. If we can train our back muscles to become stronger, this can greatly help in maintaining a good posture throughout the day. This is because the back muscles can now support the weight of our upper body, including the head and arms. The stronger back muscles will keep the spine in correct alignment and will prevent it from bending forward or slouching. Having stronger lower back muscles can also help correcting posture since the lower back muscles can stabilize our center of gravity and maintain our balance.

Through daily exercise and stretching, we can greatly improve our lifestyle. A few minutes of exercise every day will have a long-term effect on our overall health and may save us the trouble of having a weak back in our senior years. So start doing back extensions now and keep on living a healthy and active lifestyle!