A strong core structure can stabilize your spine to help keep your lower back healthy and pain-free. The muscles and ligaments that surround the spine can weaken with age or injury, making it difficult to perform movements such as twisting, stretching, lifting, and bending.
“However, a stable spine is also more flexible, so it can support a wider range of natural motion,” Litalin explains. "Healthy movements reduce stress on the lower back and reduce the risk of pain and injury.
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Spinal stability is achieved with a balanced approach to the entire core musculature. "This means you engage all your core muscles at once, from your abs to your entire back," says L'Italien.
This is useful when you do movements that require sudden force and a wide range of motion, such as lifting, carrying, and placing food on the table or floor.
So how do you get a stable spine?
Tallinn recommends the "Big Three" exercises developed by Dr. Stuart McGill, an expert in spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo in Canada. They are the curl, the side plank, and the bird dog.
"These exercises engage all the important muscles needed to improve spinal stability," Litalin says.
Here's how the Big Three perform. You should follow the so-called hierarchy: start with five repetitions (reps) of each of the three exercises. Then do three repetitions of each and you end up doing each exercise only once.
Do these exercises two or three days a week before your usual workout. “After a while, you can perform it daily,” Litalin says.
Curl-up
1. Lie on your back. Extend one leg on the floor. Bend the knee of the other leg so that the foot is flat on the floor.
2. Place your hands under your lower back to maintain the natural arch of your spine.
3. As you exhale, raise your head, shoulders and chest off the floor as if they were all connected. (Get off the floor just enough to feel the tension in your muscles.) Don't roll down your back, tuck your chin, or let your head tilt back.
4. Hold for 10 seconds, then slowly lower.
Side plank
1. Lie on your side with your upper body supported by your arm, with your forearm resting on the floor and your elbow under your shoulder. Place your free hand above your hip. Pull your feet back so that your knees form a 90-degree angle.
2. Lift your hips off the floor so they are in line with the rest of your body and hold for 10 seconds. Try to keep a straight line from your head to your knees. Slowly lower your hips to the floor.
3. Repeat five times then turn to the other side and repeat the sequence to complete the exercise.
Variation: For a challenge straighten your legs instead of bending them
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