How To Get A Strong Lower Back The RIGHT Way (4 Must Do Exercises)

Although lower back pain can stem from MANY different issues and there are MANY different solutions, research has indicated that a lot of people with lower back pain often tend to have issues with lower back strength and neuromuscular control. And that improving strength and coordination with lower back strengthening exercises seems to be an effective intervention to prevent and reduce the lower back pain they experience. Unfortunately, most people who attempt to do so go about it the wrong way, worsening the situation. In this video, find out how to get a strong low back with the top 4 best lower back exercises. I’ll also be detailing a full lower back workout routine with these lower back exercises, so do stick around if you want to find out how to fix lower back pain correctly and safely.

First off, before diving into the specific lower back strengthening exercises, we need to cover two compound exercises that should definitely be a staple in your weekly routine – squats, and deadlifts. These have not only been shown to be highly effective for lower back strength and hypertrophy but are also easy to overload with weight to continue adequately challenging the lower back muscles over time. However, there are problems. First, not everyone does them. Secondly, a lot of people don’t perform these relatively heavy enough to actually provide enough stimulus to their lower back. And lastly, multiple studies have also indicated that without proper stabilization of the pelvis, the much larger and stronger hamstring and glutes often tend to take over and do most of the back extension work instead.

Therefore, you’ll want to include the following exercises for lower back: the back extension and the bird dog. Back extensions fill in the gap perfectly by stabilizing the pelvis such that the lower back can be better activated and strengthened to a much greater degree than other exercises, which it's been consistently shown to do so. And although high loading of the back extensors as we’ve previously done is an ideal way to strengthen them, research shows that an additional exercise that demands more stability is required to selectively recruit individual muscles that play a greater role in stabilizing the lower back. That’s the bird dog; it also manages to elicit greater activation of the lower back stabilizer muscles with minimal spinal compression.

So, here’s what I’d recommend as an appropriate lower back workout. Multiple papers have shown that even for well-trained individuals, adding in just one lower back exercise 1-2 times per week was able to quickly and significantly increase lower back strength. Therefore, what I’d suggest is that if you’re currently able to squat and deadlift weekly with free weights, then you’d likely just need to throw in the 2 additional lower back strengthening exercises just once per week. Whereas if you’re unable to do squats and deadlifts or don’t go very heavy with them, you can opt to do these more often (2x a week).

There you have it: you now know how to get a strong lower back. Regardless of how you set it up though guys, by including these exercises in some fashion within your current regimen, you'll be able to boost your lower back strength significantly, potentially fix lower back pain, and minimize the risk of you developing lower back weaknesses or imbalances overtime. But at the same time, you need to be sure that you're not unknowingly overlooking other areas of your body as well. And that's exactly why within my Built With Science programs, I've taken the time to carefully select each and every exercise included in your weekly training routines such that you can build muscle and lean down while actually improving your posture and correcting your muscle imbalances in the process. And to find out what science-based program best suits you and your body, take the analysis quiz below:

Written article:

Filmed by: Bruno Martin Del Campo

MUSIC:
Lakey Inspired – Fast Lane

STUDIES:

LOWER BACK PAIN PREVALENCE

CAUSES OF LOWER BACK PAIN

LOWER BACK PAIN MUSCLE IMBALANCE

DEADLIFTS AND SQUATS FOR LOWER BACK STRENGTH

PELVIS STABILZATION

EMG STUDY OF MULTIFIDUS

TRAINING VOLUME AND LOWER BACK STRENGTH

[chiiefff]

reduce lower back pain : deadlift
cause lower back pain : deadlift

[real]

Every exercise can be a lower back exercise if you do it wrong enough

[Jon]

I injured my lower back earlier this year and couldn’t move for weeks. My physio suggested these exact videos and I’m all better now!! Amazing video! Top info

[RaizenFenix]

Back Extensions 3:42 (3 x 8-15 reps)
Bird Dog 5:16 (3 x 8-6-4 reps) (10 second hold each rep)
Weekly Routine 8:37

[amirrastgoo]

00:00 *Introduction*
01:03 *Common Mistakes*
02:04 *First 2 Exercises (Squats, Deadlifts)*
03:34 *Second 2 Exercises (Back Extension, **05:16** Bird Dog)*
07:47 *Weekly Routine* 08:37 to pause
08:38 *Importance of a scientifically-balanced Program*

Great Video Captain. However, your new pace of speech was a bit unneccarisly slow to me.
Also, your new visual effect is MIND-BLOWING!

[faithchan]

I play football (soccer) twice a week, so when I got lower back pains all of a sudden, it really made me question my fitness. This video was so helpful, and I felt really comforted by what you said about even pro athletes having these problems. Gonna incorporate these exercises into my regime, thanks!

[fidgetspinner]

You should make a video on injury recovery and how to safely resume training after an injury, highly needed topic to be discussed- injury prevention and recovery are so underrated

[SwisherSwish]

I swear I just thought about this yesterday. YouTube is reading our minds

[shahid]

These absolutely work. I've been only working on my abs and 2 of these movements for not even 2 weeks and I already feel a huge impact. I'm a runner who periodically gets aching in my lower back after my 2nd to 3rd km. Since I've been doing this I has totally gone away and I haven't have to cut my runs short anymore. Truly life saving techniques here.

[mattie]

I can’t thank you enough for this video. The bird dog movement you showed literally saved my life. I’m a powerlifter and have been dealing with excruciating lower back pain the last 12 months. Within 1 week I am almost pain free by following what you recommended. You’ve allowed me to return back to my normal life!

[ytmBHyUkUq]

I'm a guy who has been deadlifting and squatting most of my life because of athletics and lifestyle, yet I still have lower back issues. One thing I've learned from my experience is that it pays to do maintenance activities like high volume lower back training AND stretching; tons and tons of stretching. Good video.

[donniecain]

I agree ...I've been doing bird dogs holding each side for 10 seconds each for 2 sets .I am 62 and have not had back trouble in years ! Thanks great presentation .

[DrFarisArab]

your work is greatly appreciated. well done
mainly i appreciate how u supported your info with studies

[ericbrady]

Started going to the gym recently due to back pain caused by hard labour work, this video is definately giving me hope.

[eddiexelite]

This is exactly what I needed as I've been experiencing a bit of lower back pain recently! Thanks for the great upload!

[JAdames]

Instructions not clear. Preformed every work out with perfect execution but, my lower back is still not green. Does that mean it's still weak?

[mjhaylutu]

Anyone who speaks while having their hands like that is someone I surly trust . I’ll be subscribing

[explorerOfToday]

Man I f***ing love your channel! This is where I started my workout journey and every video is so informative yet not overwhelming with all the info.

[RedHeadSHT]

Finally a trainer talking right about lower back strength and mentioning McGil's research. Thank you man

[dmdcykey]

Thorough and well-presented as always, Jeremy. While things are better now, I had regular issue with my lower back for the very reasons you mentioned here. Despite all the deadlifts and squats I was doing it kept flaring up and drove me batty. These secondary exercises are the key and make a massive difference.