Lower back flexion stretch/mobility recommendations?

[Biren Patel]

Hi guys,

 

Are there any particular lower back stretchs/mobility that take the lower back into flexion that you guys can recommend. I am looking specifically for something that you can do anywhere without equipment and preparation.

Of course jefferson curls are a good choice, but something you can do i.e., on the floor during work, would be a welcome recommendation.

 

Since this is in the public forum, If you have ideas from foundation I guess you can type it out in notation

 

I thought maybe bent leg pike but really I'm not too sure of ideas.

[Farid Mirkhani]

For me, doing my pike stretches I have noticed that my back (lower back and the two sides around it, te kidney areas) are much more tighter than my hamstrings. I have also been wanting to ask this question!

 

The only one I can come up to me (that works for me) is the bent leg pike, the one you came up with. After a quick search on youtube there wasn't much to find really. 

 

Hopefully someone with a great stretch can chime in.

[Colin Macdonald]

Lower back stretches can be difficult to achieve if you have flexible hamstrings. You can do a slight modification on the pike to improve the stretch on the lower back if this is an issue.

 

What you can try is, instead of folding completely at the hips and extending forward like a normal pike. Try tucking your butt under towards your feet with a strong ppt then try to extend forward from the shoulders. You're essentially using the opposite rotation of your hips to try to put your lower back into flexion. This can be tricky to understand and get a feeling for, but it's one of the only ways I can get a lower back stretch.

 

A lying or seated piriformis stretch might also be helpful. You could also do some pancake or half pancake stretching, rotating your torso to target the muscles along the outside of your lower back. Tight hip flexors also tend to put tension on the lower back, to that's also a good one to work on. As well as cobra pose, the goal here being to arch backwards but keeping your lower back completely relaxed.

 

This requires equipment, but hanging sideways from a ring with your feet on a raised surface is a fantastic stretch for the entire side of  your body. Turning your upper body more towards the ceiling will target your back and lats, while turning to the floor will get the side of your abdominal and obliques. It's not something you can do at the office, but it's definitely worth playing with.

[Biren Patel]

Great answer, colin, thanks! A few clarifications:

 

For the pike, keep the knees straight or bent during this movement?

I'm confused about the rings stretch. Hanging sideways on an elevated surface, so like a side arch hold with the top arm griping the rings?

[Mats Trane]

Get the stretch courses (including full class), totally worth it!

[Colin Macdonald]

  On 4/1/2015 at 6:01 PM, Micawberian said:

 

I'm confused about the rings stretch. Hanging sideways on an elevated surface, so like a side arch hold with the top arm griping the rings?

 

 

It's like this standing lat stretch:

 

 

I rotated the image so you can see the proper orientation more or less.

 

Except you have your feet raised up, and the extended arm is hanging off a ring (you can also hang with two arms which can help you get deeper into the stretch). I feel this stretch from my shoulder to my hips. And like I said, if you rotate your body you can change the focus from your front to your back.

 

And keep your head in front of the biceps of the extended arm.

 

It might be a bit intense for your shoulders, if this is the case, try keeping the plaform a bit further away from the ring.

 

Does that make sense?

[Biren Patel]

Ok, that's a pretty interesting stretch. Makes sense, and I will definitely try this one out. Thanks