My Back Hurts When I Do Any Exercise

It doesn’t make sense

No matter what you do it always seems to bother your lower back. It’s debilitating, it’s demotivating, and it should absolutely be realistic to enjoy working out however you want pain-free.

We live in a world where you’re rewarded for doing awesome things. it’s cool to be able to run fast and jump far, lift heavy weights, and be all sexy-like.

What’s not nearly as sexy is developing stability. A pyramid without a wide base is unstable and more often than not the “sexy” stuff makes that pyramid taller, which makes you more unstable and more prone to injury.

So let’s dig in and make that happen!

Building The BAse

Your body responds more than anything to time under tension. This means the longer you spend doing an exercise the better it is for you. Time is your friend. Another fortunate component is that the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle applies extremely well here.

This means the best exercises for you will be the simplest ones where you’re finding a difficult position and holding it for a period of time.

The Core

Before we jump into exercises it’s important to remember what we mean by your “Core”. Abs are great, but it’s only one-half of the equation.

Your lower back muscles (erectors) also need to be strong. A common misconception is that you should always avoid lower back exercises when in reality a better thought process is to train them productively.

So when we think core, think lower back, hips, AND abs all working together. If you’re ever seen anyone with a solid set of what looks like abs on their lower back, chances are they’re pretty freaking stable (and therefore strong, and probably jacked and tan).

The Template

So what should you do? Here’s your template:

Always start with a core stability exercise, followed by what’s called a thoracic spine exercise, and finish with a strength exercise to reinforce the new space in your back and turn it into stability. It feels good to move around but without that stimulus of strength, your body isn’t prompted to adapt and get stronger.

Here’s a good example:

(Core) Bent Hollow Hold - 20-30s
(T-Spine) Side Laying T-Spine Rotation - 10 Reps on each side
(Strength) Glute Bridges - 15 Reps with a 10s hold at the top on the last rep

Perform these exercises one after another, all three of them being one set. Do 1-3 sets depending on time and ability. Feel free to do these daily, but at least 2-3x per week would be recommended.

This would be Step 1.

What’s Next

Core → Spine → Strength, now we’re movin’ and groovin’.

Strong glutes mean strong hips which means a strong back. You can do them in any order or combination but your butt is the biggest muscle in your body so you get more benefit by starting there.

TLDR: Strong glutes, strong life.

The Plan

If you feel confident in step 1, here’s what a step-wise process might look like for you, but feel free to mix and match exercises so long as it still aligns with the template above.

Core

Step 1: Bent Hollow Hold - 20-40s
Step 2: Hollow Rocks - 20-40s
Step 3: Superman Hold - 20-40s
Step 4: Dead Bug - 10-15 Reps each side
Step 5: Bird Dog - 10-15 Reps each side

Spine

Step 1: Side Laying T-Spine Rotation - 10 Reps on each side
Step 2: Supine Scorpion - 10 Reps on each side
Step 3: Quadruped Thoracic Rotation - 10 Reps on each side
Step 4: T-Spine Wall Rotations - 10 Reps on each side
Step 5: Windmills - 10 Reps on each side

Strength

Step 1: Glute Bridges - 15 Reps with a 10s hold at the top on the last rep
Step 2: Glute Bridge March - 20 Reps each leg, slow tempo!
Step 3: 3-Way Toe Taps - 10 Reps each direction, each leg
Step 4: Lateral Step-Ups - 10 Reps each leg
Step 5: Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat - 10 Reps each leg (unweighted)