How to Do a Pelvic Lift for Lower Back Exercise

Whether you're training for an event, lifting your 3 year old or have a physical job, lower back strength is important in order to avoid injury and pain. Chronic lower back pain can cause difficulties in walking and sleeping. The pelvic lift is a fairly easy exercise that can be performed at home to strengthen the lower back muscles.

Instructions

1. Lay down on a firm service with your body in a stretch. Bend your legs until your feet are flat on the floor. The feet should be almost shoulder width apart. The upper leg, feet and floor should form a triangle. Don't use a pillow to support your head.

2. Press the lower back against the floor. The buttocks should tighten. Raise the hips up into the air to a slightly uncomfortable position. Hold for a 6 count breathing in and out the entire time and then lower down slowly.

3. Repeat exercise 3 to 5 times. If you are unable to lift very high, gradually increase the difficulty with each session. Hold for a three count and progressively increase your time.

4. Perform a more advanced form of the exercise by raising hips as high as you can while flexing your buttocks. You may notice some soreness in both your back and your gluteal muscles the next day.

5. Increase the intensity even more by extending out one leg during the count. Be careful to keep the buttocks tight on the supporting leg and the body in a controlled straight line. Don't let the back arch with momentum.