Lower Back-SMR

Muscles worked

The muscles under tension are the spinal erectors running either side of the lumbar spine, which hold the spine extended instead of letting it round under load.

A stretch loads them at the far end of the range they normally work in, so the position you hold is itself the resistance.

Every exercise for:Lower back

How this movement works

Nothing travels once you are in position. The muscle holds a length under tension instead of working through a range, so effort is measured in seconds rather than repetitions — and the honest progression is more time in a good position, not a deeper one forced early.

It is filed under stretching, so the target is range of motion rather than force — a position you can settle into and breathe in, held long enough for the tissue to give.

What you need

A foam roll is a firm rolling contact point — depending where you put it, it either applies pressure to tissue or takes the stability out from under you.

Every exercise using:Foam roll

These train the lower back too, using equipment this one does not:

• Pyramidexercise ball
• Rack Pull with Bandsbarbell
• Smith Machine Dead Liftssmith machine
• Supermanbody only
• Dumbbell Dead Liftsdumbbell

Difficulty

Listed at beginner level: the pattern is simple enough to pick up without coaching, and a position that goes wrong mid-set is obvious enough to correct on the next repetition.

Of the 35 lower back exercises in this database, 11 are listed at beginner level.