How to Alleviate Tightness in Your Low Back: 3 Effective Exercises
Having a tight low back can be uncomfortable, but with the right approach, you can alleviate the tightness and get back to feeling your best. In this post, we’ll explore three exercises that target the core and glutes to help relieve low back tightness.
Disclaimer: Before we begin, please note that these exercises are not intended for individuals with back pain. If you’re experiencing any pain, it’s important to consult with a medical professional.
Why Does This Work?
This activation series uses core stabilizing exercises, which help take the extra stress off your low back by activating your glutes and core muscles. By strengthening these muscle groups, located above and below the lower back, we can distribute stress along the chain of muscles better instead of burdening the low back.
The 3 Exercises aimed to activate the core and glutes to get rid of tightness in your low back.
Exercise 1: Clamshells
Using a light to medium resistance band, perform 10 repetitions of clamshells on each side. This exercise effectively activates the glute muscles.
- Start on the ground on your side with a miniband wrapped around the thighs, just above the knees.
- Keeping the feet stacked together, lift the top knee away from the bottom knee.
- Try to not let your hips roll or tilt backwards while doing the movement.
- You should feel the area around your back pocket working on the top hip.
How to perform Clamshells with tightness in your low back
Exercise 2: Planks
Hold a plank position for five-ten deep breaths. While in the plank, remember to squeeze your glutes, engage your core, and push the ground away with your elbows.
This is not a long plank, the goal is to activate the core. Stop the set if you feel your low back starting to strain.
Complete three rounds alternating between clamshells and planks.
Exercise 3: Supine Bridges
Transition to your back to do supine bridges on the ground.
Crush your low back, engage your core, and drive through your heels to lift your hips off the ground.
Perform a set of 10 reps, focusing on squeezing your glutes. If you’re feeling any discomfort in your lower back, stop the set and rest.
Sometimes the first set is more of figuring it out than the second and third set, this is a good test to see if the body can create stability without bothering the back.
If you can do a set of 10 reps without issue then next round hold the top position for 1 second before bringing the hips back down.
How to perform Supine Bridges with tightness in your low back
If the exercises were completed without any issues and the tightness in your low back feels better then we are good to train pretty much as planned.
If not, and you feel your low back bothering you even though you are squeezing your glutes I recommend taking the day off for lower body and limit some of your other training too.
We have to accept there are days that we shouldn’t push through.
Ask yourself how are you doing in the other areas of health and fitness?
- How did you sleep?
- Have you been eating meals with fresh food or a lot of processed easy to eat on the go lately?
- Could you be lacking essential vitamins and nutrients from food?
- Is there a track record of any of this starting to form?
The last question is the biggest question.
Self reflection to spot potential bad habits is the first defense in keeping them from forming and keeping you on track with your plan.
Switching one day up to do more gentle activation of the body vs an intense workout is 100 percent acceptable.
But if one week of having to take it easy turns to a month, then maybe there are more factors attributing to your low back tightness. If it persists then you should seek a medical professional’s opinion.
Even if the low back seems to come and go on good and bad days. Reflect and see if you can find other aspects that attribute to “good” and “bad.” Try to set yourself up for more good days and plan how to best deal with the obstacles that create the bad.
I know it’s one of those things easier said than done but if you can reflect like this and make changes. You will have developed a skill that can allow you to be successful in any fitness journey including getting over low back tightness.
Be sure to also check out this post: “The 5 best core exercises to build strength to improve your low back health.”
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