How to Do Back Isolation Exercises

There are many ways to exercise the back muscles. They can be done on the floor using your own body weight for resistance, you can use free weights or tubing or you can use machines at a gym. Back isolation exercises can involve simply moving your body through a range of motion to help stabilize the back and improve flexibility or it can involve actual strength training exercise to help build the muscle. Since the majority of people living with back pain tend to have tight and stiff low backs, this article will focus on simple range of motion exercise to isolate the back muscles. If you are looking for instruction in strength training, there are many great exercises using resistance.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Light hand and ankle weights if your back and shoulder muscles are strong and injury free.

Prone single arm lift.

1. Lie on your stomach on the floor or hard surface. It is not recommended to do these exercises on a bed or couch as these surfaces are too soft and do not offer back support. Doing these exercises on too soft of a surface may lead to excessive arching of the back.

2. Extend your arms overhead with the palms facing the floor. Put your chin or forehead on the floor. Do not try to hold you head off the floor during these exercises as that will strain the neck. If your neck is stiff and you can not put your forehead or chin on the floor, roll a small towel and place it under your forehead.

3. Engage your core muscles. Press your hip bones down into the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles and squeeze the buttocks muscles. Tightening these muscles will help stabilize your back.

4. Exhale and lift your right arm and hand off the floor. Try to keep the arm as straight as you can. If you are dealing with a shoulder injury you can bend the elbow slightly. Inhale and lower down.

5. Lift the left arm up and lower down.

6. Repeat eight to twelve times alternating arms. This exercise can also be done with hand weights.

Prone single leg lift.

7. Lie on your stomach on the floor or hard surface. Extend your arms overhead with the palms facing the floor. Put your chin or forehead on the floor or towel.

8. Engage your core muscles. Press your hip bones down into the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles and squeeze the buttocks muscles. Tightening these muscles will help stabilize your back.

9. Exhale and lift your right leg and foot off the floor. Keep the knee as straight as you can. Inhale and lower down.

10. Lift the left leg up and lower down.

11. Repeat eight to twelve times alternating legs. This exercise can also be done with ankle weights.

Opposite arm and leg lift.

12. Lie on your stomach on the floor or hard surface. Extend your arms overhead with the palms facing the floor.

13. Put your chin or forehead on the floor or towel.

14. Engage your core muscles. Press your hip bones down into the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles and squeeze the buttocks muscles. Tightening these muscles will help stabilize your back.

15. Exhale and lift your right arm and hand with your left leg and foot off the floor. Keep the arms and knee as straight as you can. Inhale and lower down.

16. Lift the left arm and right leg up and then lower down.

17. Repeat eight to twelve times. This exercise can also be done with hand and ankle weights.

Back extension.

18. Lie on your stomach on the floor or hard surface. Extend your arms down by your sides with the palms facing the floor.

19. Engage your core muscles. Press your hip bones down into the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles and squeeze the buttocks muscles. Tightening these muscles will help stabilize your back.

20. Exhale and lift your head, chest, arms, hands, legs and feet all off the floor. Keep your gaze down at the floor to help protect the neck.

21. Focus on drawing the shoulder blades down the back. Reach back with your hands and feet. Try to squeeze the legs together.

22. Hold for five to ten deep breaths and then slowly lower down.Since this is a deeper extension it is not usually done with weights.

Tips & Warnings

• If these exercises bother your back, fold up a blanket or use a pillow. Place the pillow or blanket under your hip bones. This way as you lift your arms and legs the blanket will restrict how much your back can arch. As you get stronger you will eventually be able to do these exercises without the blanket.
• Also make sure you are tightening yoru core and buttocks muscles. Many times that alone will reduce any back pain you feel.
• Never exercise to the point of pain.
• Stop any exercise that makes your symptoms worse.

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