Why is it important?
Lower back muscles play the most vital role when it comes to the stance you take for standing and sitting, since they carry "most" of your torso weight.
What are the benefits of training these muscles?
-
Training these muscles reduces the potential strain/pain in the area which are related to physical labor that requires either alot of body movement or prolonged passive stances (e.g. violin holding/ standing in the lab)
-
A strenghtened lower back muscle sling will reduce the stress on your spine, reducing spine related illnesses in decades to come.
- The better stance reflects on the demeanor with which a person present himself, whereby he seems more confident and professional. This is not just important for chick-attration, but also for your professional life.
Anything else I need to consider? Like with all training:
1- Train smart and don't overdo it.
2-If you train a muscle, you must train its antagonist too. If you train your lower back, then you should couple that with training your abs.
Good luck getting buff!!
MarauderFH 7y ago
So basically squat and deadlift.
abdada 7y ago
My LTR showed me hip thrusts for the booty and holy shit my ass is ridiculous and I catch chicks and dudes mirin it. No homo.
Boovs4life 7y ago
I always thought this was a "chick exercise" because I've never seen any of the dudes at my gym do it even the big guys. Fuck it I'll try it tho
BrodinsOats 7y ago
Hip thrusts are the shit.
Unfortunately I'm working on fixing some hip impingement at the moment. I was bummed because I couldn't squat or deadlift heavy anymore...but then I discovered hip thrusts.
Not only do they hammer my posterior chain without aggravating my hip, but they're doing a lot to help fix it.
Doing an isometric pause at the top of the rep provides a different stimulus than a deadlift. At the top of a dead lift, your joints stack so that your glutes no longer have to work as hard to hold that end ROM of hip extension.
But in a hip thrust, they have to work HARD at that end ROM to keep your hips from collapsing back down to the ground under the weight.
And this is greatly helping me improve my hip mobility and joint centration to fix my hip impingement. I also no longer fit my shorts from last summer.
I like to super set them with isometric reverse hyper extensions, followed by L-Sits and leg raises.
daringdeviljackass 7y ago
What kind of exercise is a hip thrust?
[deleted]
[deleted]
BrodinsOats 7y ago
Holy shit, that whole video has some seriously good explanations and cues. Definitely watch the whole thing.
thebrandedman 7y ago
Just commenting so I can find this video again in the morning when I hit the gym.
yizolo 7y ago
That's what I'd call a functional movement.
[deleted]
bigkids 7y ago
Was the barbell a 9/10 tho?
[deleted]
Kalidane 7y ago
Mate it's e-stats so she was easily an 11.
Note use a bench not a fuck-yourself ball and you really don't benefit from trying to have your chin on your chest.
[deleted]
abdada 7y ago
It's awesome. Helped with my DL and SQ too.
Basically you put your shoulders on a bench and ass on the floor, legs straight out.
Put a cheater squat pad on the bar and some bumper plates and roll the bar over your hips. Raise hips, lower hips, squeeze core and glutes.
I can't believe what an ass I got out of just 8 weeks. And the glute and core activation definitely helped my other lifts.
Normally only chicks do glutes day but I'm going to add it as a second workout sesh once a week. Never realized how good an ass can be for catching stares.
drty_pr 7y ago
We were watching UFC a while back. When Woodley knocked out Lawler. The chicks were all laughing at Woodleys ass. Going on and on about it. Watch what they do, not what they say though. They were all smiles ear to ear and couldn't look away from the tv. My wife has started making fun of my ass the same way. I credit the step-ups and stiff leg dead lifts.
[deleted]
MrAnderzon 7y ago
You can also try Romanian dead lifts with dumbbells.
[deleted] 7y ago
Too lazy to take my barbell out of the closet so I need to remember this.
Aieaieouille 7y ago
Would you have by any chance a good video about it ? I have been trying to do this for a long time without so much success and I'm not really finding any interesting contents about the variation with dumbells.
MrAnderzon 7y ago
https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=n6Ec9EA-KPU
Thats the video i used.
[deleted]
[deleted] 7y ago
Where you lay on your back and fuck the air.
For extra gains put a weight on your stomach and pretend to fuck it.
It's exactly as stupid an exercise as it sounds.
ezone2kil 7y ago
Does it work if I put my wife there and fuck her?
Lo-G 7y ago
Yeah but your dick's gonna hurt like a motherfucker if your base anatomy is anything like mine.
[deleted]
trapaik 7y ago
Deadlifts take care of this for me, love how better my posture is after doing them
digitalbitch 7y ago
Do yoga, get a strong core and stretch you hamstrings. Also yoga women seem to discriminate against fatties attending their classes. Haven't seen a fat one yet.
empatheticapathetic 7y ago
A bit off topic but i've been doing yoga for the last 3 weeks and absolutely love it. Been off lifting for 8 months due to a back herniation. 5 months of physio did fuck all yet 3 weeks of yoga has me on the road to recovery.
It's fucking brutal whereas most people in the class can manage to pull off most shit, especially the women.
Do you currently do yoga and how long have you been doing it?
digitalbitch 7y ago
I have been doing it on and off for about two years. Had lower back spasms due to lifting a fat guy during rugby practice. It completely remove my back pain. Now I go back when I start feeling stuff again. I am still amazed at the strength of those skinny women though. Some of the poses are impossible for me.
ron_swans0n 7y ago
I mean, fat people cant really do yoga properly, right?
digitalbitch 7y ago
The women look so fine in these classes. A fat woman trying turn her life around will just be shamed out of the room.
ron_swans0n 7y ago
Tbh, yoga shouldn't be first priority if you're trying to loose weight
maddenallday 7y ago
Yeah seriously. Get on a treadmill
rubenbrasil 7y ago
Yea, but fat people always try to take shortcuts and end up buying into the bluepill workouts like yoga to lose weight because they see infomercials.
The redpill truth is diet and lifting weights, or cardio.
Yoga has its place for body and mental maintenance but in no way is it a calorie burner like its advertised on snake oil commercials
ron_swans0n 7y ago
I cant fathom how people would not be able to logically see that yoga doesnt burn weight, you get flexible, and sure you do burn a few calories on maintained stretching, but really?
rubenbrasil 7y ago
I think people are just uneducated and influenced by what the media tells them. That shit is all over the magazines those moms are buying. Then they watch too much of those female talk shows who push and market those snake oil products/programs
They think sweating = losing weight, even if its from the heat and not movement
yakamaz 7y ago
IDK yoga really makes you more in tune with your body. Best way to get rid of shit food cravings. Maybe its just me but the body and the mind are all part of one circuit. Its not really about burning calories but just changing your eating habits and having healthy habits on top of it which its great for. Shaming fat people really isnt the way to go if they are trying to improve themselves.
ron_swans0n 7y ago
Yoga is fine, im not shaming it for what it is, rather what some people percieve it to be
rubenbrasil 7y ago
I know the magic of yoga. I wrote it has its place.
Its not some sort of magic weight loss program some people think it is
And im not shaming fat people. I was shaming how fitness companies sell snake oil routines and supplements and programs and prey on uneducated fitness people. They take advantage of the naive fat people and see them as cash cows.
yakamaz 7y ago
Agreed the entire fitness industry is a big sham.
GoldAri7 7y ago
Very important topic. I am recovering from low back pain and strengthening low back, core and glute muscles are doing wonders.
rubenbrasil 7y ago
Throw in some hamstring work too. Shit is serious for eliminating back pain. I just do hamstring curls. RDL's is optional - i try to avoid deadlift because my back pain. I just stick to squatting honestly
rave_n 7y ago
Thanks for your input - I might get a specialist look at it. In fact I believe that I could live without deadlifting but squatting is a necessity.
rubenbrasil 7y ago
Yea, you can build a strong back doing back exercises and big legs doing squats. Squats are irreplacable and doing leg press is not as effective.
Go to a physical therapist and they will give you exercises that mold your specific injury. You can even do the exercises after youre done with PT to prevent injury in the future (called prehab).
rave_n 7y ago
What exactly do you do to fight lower back pain? I am the same boat (slight pain every now and then which gets worse after squatting or deadlifting) as you and honestly I have no idea what to do. Cheers
GoldAri7 7y ago
I was diagnosed by a PT for posterior pelvic tilt and piriformis syndrome, so I had to fix those too, which were the root causes for my pain (sciatica like, but perfectly fine MRI, so no nerve damage). Basically poor posture at school years and now at work (long office hours) combined with little disciplined exercise (more like a weekend warrior) led to muscle imbalances and inflammation.
In case the cause for your problems are the same - or partially the same - as mine, here is the advice:
I have a morning routine that includes a) glute exercises, b) foam rolling glute + harmstrings and c) stretches of harmstrings and piriformis muscle.
For workouts at the gym, I add another set of core + glute + harmstring exercises, mostly comprising of isometric (planks, bridges, squats, fire hidrants, etc). Finally another foam rolling and stretches. Right now I am doing high reps and without weights, but plan on moving to weights soon as the pain is decreasing.
I am also engaged in swimming, which I note it helps marginally in relation to low back pain.
Perfect posture in the car, office and walking is mandatory.
These are uncomfortable conditions but as I improved my diet (eating just fruits, veggies and meat) and maintained the routines, things are becoming better. I can't stress the importance of diet enough in relation to inflammatory states. For me, eliminating dairy, gluten and added sugar did the trick.
Hope it helps. Best.
AkronsDarkKnight 7y ago
Stretch! Try to stretch every night before you go to bed. I use to have terrible lower back pain due to my muscles being so tight from working out. Stretching fixed that for me after a couple of days. This is assuming your lower back pain is the muscles instead of the spine.
Slut_Slayer9000 7y ago
Also foam roll, but don't foam roll your lower back directly (it will fuck it up) foam roll each side of your lower back, and your glutes. Also lower back hyperextensions are bae. That combined with deadlifts will murder your lower back.
rave_n 7y ago
Well I believe that I need to have a professional look at that - I am just confused by the amount of information on that topic. Stretch your hips, your glutes, your hamstrings - the next guy says that stretching your hamstrings is counterproductive, another guy says that you should avoid stretching altogether because you want a "tight" back. On that note, I am indeed lacking mobility, especially in my legs. When I sit down on the floor with my legs stretched out in front of me I can barely reach half way down my lower legs.
[deleted] 7y ago
Take up yoga. Does wonders for your body.
Also, mobilitywod.com
In my experience, most lower back pain/tightness is caused by tight hamstrings.
rubenbrasil 7y ago
Yea.. just go to a physical therapist and get it analyzed.
Dont go to a chiropractor or ask a personal trainer.
WishingForWhiteness 7y ago
I herniated a disc in my back around 2 years ago. Still recovering as I fucked around with my PT and was not consistent with my yoga.
I should eventually make a full post on back care, but I'll give a short run down.
Treat your lower back with respect and thoughtfulness at all times. It is essentially your foundation. Without a healthy back, you will be crippled and miserable forever.
Posture and sitting properly: We as a population are sedentary by default now, many, many jobs require sitting for extended periods of time which is exactly what humans were not designed for. Sit up straight and with your shoulders pulled back and down. Chest up, tits out, and make sure your core is somewhat engaged in holding your torso upright.
When you stretch: Do not overstretch. Your body is not infallible. If you hyperextend your ligaments, you set them up for injury. Stretching should be a gentle activity, not a resistance training exercise.
As others have said, develop your core and back muscles: but do it WISELY. Reckless deadlift workouts can make you feel yoked af, but without good flexibility and form you are setting yourself up for massive injury. Leg-lifts for lower core, avoid crunches/situps if you are injured or trying to prevent low-back injury. Planks are great for core endurance and stabilization.
I wouldn't normally give a shit about this, but the constant pain I'm in could have been prevented with a little bit of effort. I want you guys to be healthy, and a back-painless existence is one easy way to get there.
rave_n 7y ago
Thank you for your answer. As I said I am not really injured (at least not that I could tell) but I definitely feel unconformable with the idea of squatting and deadlifting heavy weights. Nonetheless, I will definitely treat my back with more care. The more I read all the answers the more I feel like I need a specialist to look at my problem - I just need to find someone who understands the fact that I eventually need to lift (heavy).
WishingForWhiteness 7y ago
Totally get you. Aim for form/flexibility before thinking heavy at all. If you have solid fundamental form on your dl/squat, you can't really go wrong with progressive overload. Good luck, friend
[deleted] 7y ago
Hyperextensions
nuff' said
ron_swans0n 7y ago
Im gonna start incorporating them into my routine
chunderous 7y ago
Hard truth: if you don't deadlift, you're a chump.
There are guys out there deadlifting with one leg, one arm, you name it. Your excuse is weak and you are weak.
xinihil 7y ago
Eh. Not really the case. If you don't do some heavy maximal-loading exercise though, then yeah, you're crap
chunderous 7y ago
"Eh. Not really the case" is a pretty poor argument. Any rationale behind that?
xinihil 7y ago
But it wasn't the whole argument.
I will expand, however.
If you are training for the deadlift specifically (only powerlifters and strongman competitors do this) then the deadlift is necessary to train. Otherwise, it can be replaced by movements with a greater range of motion (squat and its variants, deficit deads, SLDL, hyperextensions, GHR), greater load-bearing capacity (rack pulls, farmer walks, yolk walks, squats [elite squats generally are higher than elite deadlifts, whereas the opposite is the case for novice trainees]), and greater power output (cleans, snatches, high pulls, etc.)
[deleted] 7y ago
I CANT deadlift. My posture is fucked and i am very tall. Its seriously dangerous for me to do it.
A friend of mine has shown me rack lofts, which seem to solve my height problem
chunderous 7y ago
I don't mean to be a cunt, but did you even read my comment?
You've given three excuses why you can't do it. Maybe you might have a physical condition stopping you from doing it, sure, but "being tall" isn't one of the ones I, nor any of the other fine gentlemen on this sub, will accept.
Better yourself, go and learn the proper form, and lift heavy shit off the ground. You'll feel better and look better, I promise
[deleted] 7y ago
I cannot bend over to grab the barbell without having to bend my back incorrectly. My legs are longer than my reach. This is something I cannot 'fix'. Therefore, I've taken initiative and found out an alternative method, which works.
Roughknot 7y ago
I've had back issues since my teens. Early on lifting helped more than anything, particularly squats and deadlifts.
However there is one part that still stuffs me up.
The desk job.
The imbalances from sitting need to be countered. For me that means stretching the lower back and groin while strengthening my hamstrings, glutes and abs.
This has improved my back out of sight.
Consurgent 7y ago
Basically don't have a desk job.
[deleted] 7y ago
Do squats and deadlifts. You should have the ability to easily carry any woman you would fuck into your bedroom.
[deleted] 7y ago
You don't need to train abs if you lift heavy on your main compound lifts such as squats, deadlifts, bench, military press etc.
[deleted] 7y ago
Yes you do.
I used to have the same mindset. Adding direct core work has done wonders for keeping my torso upright while squatting.
rubenbrasil 7y ago
Same, plus when i cut to 9% bodyfat my abs have an edge compared to my last cuts. I used to only do deadlifts/squats/powercleans for my abs. Dont get me wrong.. youll be ahead of most people even then. But the addition of core exercises gives you an X-factor edge
[deleted] 7y ago
I need to get my diet back on track. Lost about 20 pounds - down to around 15% right now - but stalled out due to... well just not caring.
Any tips for getting yourself down to the single digits?
rubenbrasil 7y ago
GYM WISE: Keep on exercising on a weekly basis. At least 3-4x a week. Should be full body and all that.
Nothing changes in the gym. Everything is basically the same, when you are cutting or bulking. The only variable that changes is the weights you are pushing. Bulkers tend to lift more obviously, cutters tend to lose some strength. Yeah, change up your exercises to shake up the routine, but theres no drastic change here.
DIET: Only thing that changes. You should be eating at maintenance - 1000 calories per day. Make sure you factor in your workout too. So lets say after working out you need 2700 calories to maintain weight. You would eat 1700 that day. And do that every day. And adjust - maybe 5 pounds gone it changes to 1650 calories a day, etc.
You should lose 2 pounds per week, without losing optimal muscle. You need to look up the macro make up in terms of Carb, fat, protein percentages in your overall calorie total.
When cutting it is 100% necessary to eat protein to keep muscle as you cut. Also buy BCAA supplements, as they help you retain more muscle when eating at a deficit. Theyre basically fruit flavored powder you throw in your daily water gallon and it tastes really bomb, like kool aid.