Abdominal Exercises That Are Lower Back Friendly

You want abs, what do you do?

Chances are your ab routine revolves around sit ups and crunches, a few leg lifts or hanging knee raises, maybe some Russian twists and a quick round of all the ab machines at the gym.

How’s that working for you?

I’m guessing not that great.

Read More: 5 Secrets For Flat Abs Without Crunches

Ab training isn’t useless – it may be overrated when it comes to building your six pack, but stronger abs, and a stronger mid section in general can help increase reduce lower-back pain, improve your posture, boost your sports performance and help build strength on the “big” exercises like squats, deadlifts and overhead presses.

The Trouble With Flexion and Rotation

Spinal flexion and rotation aren’t necessarily always bad, if you perform the movements correctly and have a healthy spine. The trouble is, most of us don’t have great spinal health. Due to the vast amounts of time we tend to spend day to day sitting down at desks, in front of screens, in the car and at home, our spines aren’t in particularly good shape.

Add to that the fact that most folks have poor posture and exercise with bad technique, and stressing your spine is the last thing you want to do.

Whenever you round your lower back, such as in a full sit up motion, your spine curls around. Again, there’s nothing awful about this, provided you have a healthy spine. However, as most peoples’ spines either have about as much flexibility as a wooden board, or would rival a jellyfish in terms of stability, bending it in this manner isn’t a great idea.

This spinal flexion places a high degree of stress on your intervertebral discs and over time, repeated spinal flexion can lead to disc bulges and herniations. If you’ve had spinal issues in the past, or are suffering from a disc related injury, sit ups and crunches are a definite no no.

The same goes for rotational movements too. Russian twists are probably the rotation movement you’re most familiar with, where you sit on the floor holding a medicine ball or weight plate, lean back and twist from one side to the other. While slightly safer than flexion movements, rotation still isn’t an action your spine particularly likes, especially if you try to force the movement by twisting as far as you can, or even worse, add flexion into the equation too by rounding your lower back.

So it seems that your go to ab exercises are not only failing to deliver your six pack, they’re wrecking your lower back at the same time.

How To Train Your Abs – The Back Friendly Way

The main movements your abs are actually supposed to perform are stabilization and anti-rotation movements.

One of the best ways to look at this is with a baseball pitcher.

To get a fast throw, the pitcher has to generate a huge amount of power by rotating his core. As he releases the ball, his core muscles kick in to stop him from rotating further. If the ab muscles weren’t working here, he’d keep twisting, and end up like some sort of spinning top. You can see now one of the main ways your abs are designed to work.

As for the anti-flexion movement, kneel on the floor and walk your hands out in front of you. Keep your core tight to prevent your lower back from rounding and go out as far as you can.

Feel that pull in your abs? That’s the muscles working to stop your spine from flexion.

Those two actions are the main ones your abs perform, so it makes sense to train them with exercises that target these functions.

Planks

Planks are the ultimate in anti flexion movements. Assume a pushup position, but with your forearms, not your hands on the floor. Step your legs back until your whole torso is straight and your knees, hips, lower back, upper back and head are on the same level. Pull your stomach muscles tight and aim to hold the position as long as you can.

Imagine someone is about to punch you in the stomach to help you tense up. As soon as you feel your lower back or hips start to dip, either rectify this by bracing your core again, or finish your set.

Plank Variations

Once you’re proficient at the plank, try three point planks. These are the same as the regular plant, but you take an arm or leg off the floor. Reducing your points of contact with the floor from four to three automatically makes the exercise tougher and your core work harder.

Alternatively, side planks work well. Lie on your side with one forearm on the floor and one leg on top of the other, push your hips up and maintain that position.

Ab Rollouts

Remember those hand walkouts you tried earlier? You can stick with these, or buy yourself an ab wheel (a small wheel with a handle either side) and perform the same movement with that. Keeping your lower back flat is vital with these to properly engage your core. Once you can do 10 reps, try kneeling on a cushion to make them harder.

Pallof Presses

For anti rotation exercises, you can’t beat the Pallof press.

Stand with a cable machine on your right and attach a D-handle to the stack, set at around waist height. Hold the handle in both hands in front you’re your belly button and push the cable forward. Resist the temptation to turn toward the machine by squeezing your abs. Push out until your arms are straight, pause for a second, then bring your hands back in slowly. Perform all your reps on the right side, then turn round and complete the same number on the left.

Dead Bug

Lie on your back with arms extended toward the ceiling and both knees bent to 90 degrees. While maintaining a pressed-down lower back, lower your right arm behind you and your left leg toward the ground, ensuring they don't touch the floor. Return to the starting position and alternate sides. This exercise activates the deep abdominal muscles without putting stress on the lower back.

Stability Ball Rollout

Kneel in front of a stability ball with your hands on the ball. Slowly roll the ball away, extending your arms and leaning forward without arching your back. Roll back to the starting position. This exercise engages the core in an anti-extension pattern, which is great for lower back health.

Modified Bicycle Crunch

Lie on your back with hands behind your head and knees bent. Lift one knee towards your chest while moving the opposite elbow toward that knee. Slowly alternate sides. By keeping your lower back pressed into the ground and not twisting aggressively, this exercise can be more back-friendly than traditional bicycle crunches.

Variations

Pallof press holds are seriously tough. Press your arms out exactly as above, but hold the position for as long as you can.

You can also try pulses, where you perform mini-twists with your arms while aiming to keep your core and the rest of your body rigid.

Switch between standing and kneeling for an increased challenge too.

These exercises might not immediately spring to mind when you think of ab training, but they beat sit ups and crunches hands down any day of the week.