Issue 28: Sore back? Strengthen your core!

Heya, FTWer!

We’re back with another instalment of What’s Tight and What’s Weak. A couple of issues ago, I broke down the neck, upper back, and chest part of this question, including some exercises to help with each. Today, we’re going to carry on down the back.

Your middle or thoracic is the most mobile of the three parts of your spine (cervical and lumbar being the other two), so it’s no surprise it tends to feel not great when we hold it in a single position all day.

That upright, static posture is actually one of four movement patterns our spine and the surrounding muscles—the famous Core—are designed to support, but in our workdays and even our workouts, we often fail to hit more than one. So I’m organizing today’s movement tips around these four patterns.

Let’s go!

(Note: There’s a lot here—eight exercises! Don’t try to do them all every workday break or every workout. The idea here is to give you a larger repertoire of “core” exercises than just the ab crunches you might be familiar with!)

Pattern #1: Flexion
Exercise: Curl up/crunch

“Flexion” (and all the other patterns I list here) refers to what the spine does in a movement. In this case, it flexes or folds forward.

When you think of core exercises, I bet the classic flexion move—a curl up or sit up—is the first thing that pops to mind. There’s talk on the socials lately of banishing curl ups, that they’re “bad” for you. They aren’t, assuming you’re doing them right, but they are just one tiny piece of the puzzle and people used to (and maybe still) treat them like the one and only core exercise.

In support of a classic, I’m making curl ups our flexion exercise, but don’t stop reading after this one. A proper crunch or curl up requires:

• hover your fingertips at your ears, so your chest stays open and your shoulders stay down and relaxed;
• brace your core; think of firming everything, like what happens when you sneeze
• use your abs to curl you up, not your neck and shoudlers.

Pattern #1b: Anti-Flexion
Exercise: Good morning

Our core and spine help us curl and prevent us from crumpling forward when we don’t want to. Exercises that keep us from moving are as important ones that strengthen the movement. Deadlifts and good mornings are great examples of anti-flexion exercises. You’re bracing your core, including your spine, so that you don’t flop forward from the weight of your upper body, barbell, or kettlebell.

Pattern #2: Extension
Exercise: Back extension

The opposite of flexion. In addition to curling forward, your spine and back muscles are great at extending you backward. A back extension is the most obvious example of this, and it doesn’t require you to hyperextend into a big U. To do a basic back extension:

• lie on a mat on your belly. You can also drape over a Bosu or Swiss ball. This is a great option because you don’t need to over-extend at the top since you start bent forward;
• place your fingertip at your ears;
• think of drawing your shoulder blades down “into your back pockets” to engage your spinal erectors (they run alongside your spine). Don’t use your head and shoulders to pull back, use these muscles;
• squeeze your glutes at the top, and stop at or just past straight. You’re not trying to touch the back of your head to your thighs.

Pattern #2b: Anti-Extension
Exercise: Plank

Sensing a trend? Again, this is the reverse of anti-flexion. If we folded over backward every time we met a stiff breeze or a friendly shove, we’d be pretty useless. The go-to anti-extension exercise is the plank.

Holding a plank is a wonderful workout for your core, front and back. You can do it from your knees or your toes, from your hands or your elbows. Once 30–60 seconds feels easy, start playing around with further challenging that stability: alternately tap your shoulders or tap down your knees.

Pattern #3: Rotation
Exercise: Kneeling twist

The third movement pattern your core (and therefore your thoracic spine) facilitates is rotation. A tall kneeling twist is a great option here.

• sit high on your knees and hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in front of your chest;
• without shifting the weight from the centre of your chest, twist to one side. Imagine your spine is stationary on a pole, and you’re swiveling around it. Don’t strain to get further, just go as far as you can;
• return to centre with control and twist the other way.

If you want to make this more challenging, hold the weight a bit away from your chest. You can also take this down into a Russian twist, which is a V-sit version. With that one, just make sure to keep your core braced and your spine long—if you start to hunch, your core’s getting tired. Decrease the angle between your chest and your knees so you’re more upright, then continue.

Pattern #3b: Anti-Rotation
Exercise: Plank pull-through

The plank pull-through is a great anti-rotation and anti-extension combo move. Choose your plank variation, and place a medium-light dumbbell just behind your left hand.

• reach across with your right arm and grab the dumbbell;
• pull it across under your torso until it’s behind where your right hand was, then replace your right hand;
• reach across with your left arm and grab the dumbbell;
• pull it across under your torso until it’s back where it started, then replace your left hand.

With this move, concentrate on keeping your hips level; don’t drop from side to side as you reach and pull. The idea is that the dumbbell weighs enough to create resistance when you pull, but not so much that it becomes a bicep exercise. Don’t lift it up—pull it.

Pattern #4: Lateral Flexion
Exercise: Half-kneeling side bend

To strengthen your spine and core muscles for leaning side to side, try a half-kneeling side bend. This one's pretty straightforward. Start with a lighter weight and increase if it feels too easy:

• kneel on a mat with one foot up and one knee down. Hold a dumbbell in the hand of your raised knee;
• with your empty hand on your hip or extended to the side, lean into the weighted arm, bending your torso sideways;
• use the extended side of your core (the unweighted side) to draw yourself back up straight. Repeat, then switch knees and weighted hands.

Pattern #4b: Lateral Anti-Flexion
Exercise: Suitcase carry

I had a participant recently point out that this exercise name doesn't make sense anymore because everyone has wheels on their suitcases! Fair enough; we can call it a grocery bag carry instead. This time, you're fighting that sideways bend, so pick a challenging weight:

• standing, hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in one hand;
• walk around like normal;
• switch hands and walk around like normal. Yes, that's all.

I hope these moves help shift the way you think about everything your spine and your core do for you every day, and give you some great additions to your home or gym workouts. I will create video examples of these moves very soon, so stay tuned! You can always check the exercise library to see what movements I’ve added! (This will be moving along with the newsletter, but I’ll keep you posted!)

And hey: you’ve got this.