A perfect back stretches for everyone

Typical blue-collar worker spends most of the day sitting. It’s not surprisingly, a backs kick in by a strong pain which forces to change position every couple of minutes. The feeling of searching for comfortable position seems to never leave, right?

For the record, it’s not health issue which requires medical intervention, but let’s face it – living with such irritating pain is not probably the nicest one.

What’s more, during a search for appropriate exercises, you come to the point, when your body condition doesn’t allow you to do them anyway.

Unfortunately, simply aches are not the only issue. The backs condition may not let you do workouts you would like to do and additionally, you are convincing yourself, by watching fitness and sports professionals, how limited you are.

After spending years and years of collaborating with thousands of regular people I can surely admit, there is a great way to get out of this unhealthyvicious cycle.

You would be surprised, but even workers with seriously and long back pain history made it.

The couple of workouts I have written below are suitable for well-trained professionals and regular individuals as well. Thanks to them, once again you will be able to train a wider range of exercises and forget about restrictions. All you need to keep practicing in the regular time frame.

Why are your backs in pain?

Your backs may hurt (tightness) because of many reasons. Sometimes the problem lays in the way your body is built but that’s not the only one.

We have met some cases, when one individual had proved arthritis with no felt pain, but another one – complains constantly about significant ache for a longer period of time, without any harmed changes in a spine.

Tightness doesn’t always mean, your backs need immediate medical intervention. Still, personally, recommend to interpret the pain as a signal from your nervous system that something is going on and probably something not healthy for your body.

Usually, the main causes of the back pain lay in your daily routine – sitting in one or unhealthy  position for longer period of time, spending too much time on desktop, for instance. Such practices lead to tightness appearance and sometimes all you need to do is to stand up and take a walk.

In some cases, it’s a matter of your genes or age but it mustn’t have an impact on your decision to search for a solution.

Daily exercises: Conquer your limits with back stretches

Below, you will find 6 exercises you can practice on your daily basis. In terms of the length and quantity, you can choose as you like, until the moment the back pain disappear and even also later.

Please, treat the video below as an instruction to do stretches but do not feel obligated to do them in the exact same way. Spines are different and probably you may have less flexible in compare to the trainer, that’s why take your time and make stretches in your own time along with your body skills. Step by step, your spine will more and more mobile.

Will be upoloaded soon

1. Prone Extension.

Classic exercise, which you have probably have seen earlier. The clue is to adapt the prone extension to your body real possibilities.

1. a) Lay on the belly and place your hands on the floor as to try to prop yourself up.
2. b) Take your core up to the ceiling and try to connect your shoulder blades together.
3. c) The important thing is to do the motion using your upper and mid back, instead of the low back. In this way, you prevent yourself from the unhealthy strain. To avoid it, move the hands forward till you will have comfy distance.
4. d) If the exercises do not cause any difficulties, you can work on further extending your backs by using more straight elbows. Alternatively, you can just put your hands underneath the shoulders and your elbows straight. Still, take your time till you are sure it is the right time.

Do the stretch for 10 times, holding for about a half of the minute or whole one. Make around 3 repetitions.

2. Wag Tail.

 Probably you have never heard about that extension because it’s not included in typical stretching workouts. Still, it stands out in high effectiveness in targeting side-bending.

1. a) Put your hands and joined knees on the ground.
2. b) Take your feet off the floor and move them to the right and to the left side.
3. c) Try to keep your backs flat during the exercise, because the movement supposes to come out of the side-beding motion.

Make 10 reps of the Wag Tail.

3. Quadruped Sidebend.

The extension is a great answer, if you want to improve your lattisimus dorsi, spinal erectors and quadratus lumborum throughout the stretch side-bending. It may seem to be an ordinary stretch, but after a couple of reps you will find out about the quadruped sidebend impact.

1. a) Kneel on the ground and place your hands with fingers split in front of you. Try to go with the deep kneeling as far as your body allows you. Do not try to hold strictly the trainer on the video, but try to exercise along with your body skills instead.
2. b) Switch your hand from the left side to the right side so they are at a 45-degree angle to the corpus.

You’ll experience pretty good stretch.

Repeat the stretch 10 times with half to whole minute hold. Make three repetitions for each of the sides. 

4. Quaddruped Torso Rotation.

The main goal of the variation is to make your spine more flexible, which is a great body skill, really hard to find in most individuals.

1. a) Put your hands and knees on the ground as your elbows and just beneath your shoulders and knees – beneath the hips.
2. b) Move one foreman directly underneath your middle chest and put the other one on the low back.
3. c) Rotate yourself to the elbow as you will see the ceiling. At the same time keep pressure on the floor to make sure you have a stable position.

Repeat the stretch 10 times and hold for half or a whole minute. Make three repetitions for each of the sides.

5. Half Pancake.

It’s really interesting exercise because you have side-bending and rotation in one. With regular training, it helps develop your body skill to a whole new level.

1. a) Side on the floor with the pancake position. Keep one leg stretched and the other one bent into the body. It will be more comfy for you, if you bend the knee on the stretched one, as you like.
2. b) Turn your core toward the bent knee and try to reach up over the head toward the foot of the outstretched leg.
3. c) Remember about adapting the exercise on your level. In another case, you will feel pain or even harm yourself.

Try to hold the position for half of a minute or a whole one and the switch to the opposite side.

6. A-Frame to Squat.

A-Frame to Squat improves your body with a great pressure on your spine, using moves characteristic to the traditional squats. Depends on your skills level, you can make some changes but for beginners always better is to keep up with the instruction.

1. a) Try to make an „A-Frame”, laying your hands and feet on the floor and putting your butt to the ceiling. In the beginning, it will be difficult to straighten your legs but just focus on strengthening them to the maximum level of your abilities. Try to push the ground with your hands so that you keep your back flat.
2. b) Start to move your feet forward and move down to the squat position. If you can, hold your hands on the floor. If you can’t do it – relax, just try to put the greatest effort along with your body skills. If you feel pain or your position is not comfortable for you, correct it as you can continue the exercise without such difficulties.
3. c) Go back to the A-Frame position.

Make 10 reps by holding A-Frame for 10 seconds in the beginning and when you’ve done the squat – keep also for 10 seconds.

Make your body stronger and healthier

I’m pretty sure, if you actually have done all exercises along with instructions above, you had to feel some discomfort during exercise.

It’s OK, you can admit it. In Calisthenics we have some pros who had the same issues and thanks to those exercises do not feel pain anymore.

From my experience, usually, individuals suffer not only for tightness itself but also mentioning about other conditions at the same time. Who knows, maybe you also know that case.

Regular practicing gives you wide a range of benefits and skills needed to go further and do more complex exercises. With healthy backs, strength, control and body balance you will forget about previous body limits and start to feel and do better. Of course, all of those elements you will find in our calisthenic workouts.

Ensure your backs proper training 

A Balanced and well-prepared workout is not only a sum of boring exercises but unique workouts designed especially for strengthen your backs and make them more flexible.

Go to the Workout!