3 Every Day Drills For a Better Back

     These past few weeks have been taking a toll on me. Two weeks ago, I came down with an illness. It was nothing serious, a little coughing here and some sneezing there. I thought to myself, I am going to take a few days off until I get healthy. So after taking the week off, I was looking forward to training when Monday rolled around. I took it easy for a few sessions to knock a little rust off. The plan was to crank it up the following week. Monday finally came around and I was ready to go. After a few warm up sets, I started cranking the weight up. All was well until I felt something in my lower back, on the left side. All my big plans for that session for thrown out the window. I decided to shut it down...once again. 

      After the pain occurred, I did not want to sit down and do nothing. I wanted to keep a little blood flow going so the back wouldn't totally tense up. With that being said, I was scrambling to find some relief for the back. I dug deep in the memory bank and came up with three moves: The first, "legs up the wall" (sorry, I don't have a better name); the second, child's pose; and the third, ​hanging from a pull-up bar. Here is a brief description and benefits of each move

Legs Up The Wall: This one was stolen from yoga but it added some nice relief. This pose mimics some of the benefits that you get from an inversion table. It promotes blood flow in the lower extremities and after hanging out here for 10 deep breathes, I began feeling better

Child's Pose: Surprise, surprise, another yoga move. As I sat my butt back toward my heels, the low back began to "release" a little bit. Again, I took 10 deep breathes here and being able to relax and hold a light stretch felt great.

Pullup Hangs: For this one, you will need access to a pullup bar. If you have the grip strength to hold this for 10 deep breathes, you will feel some serious decompression in the spine. I do this drill most frequently, healthy back or not. After performing an exercise like the deadlift that could potentially compress the spine, this drill allows for immediate relief from the compression that you just endured. 

     In the end, I think the most important thing about all these drills is that it allows you to relax and breathe. When I first felt tightness in the back, my body almost immediately tensed up. My left leg had limited range of motion around the hip and my stride was effected while walking. After performing these relaxation drills, it offered some relief not only physically but mentally. What's good for the body is also good for the brain!

Do you have any drills or exercises that offers you back relief? Leave a message in the comment box and tell us all about them!

​Chris Fluck