Lower Back Strength Exercises

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vbytuffff

New member
I’m in my first tri and already having painful, lightning spasms in my lower back (in what I’d identify as my sacrum area).

My workout routine is a Peloton class every other day with some Tunde Arms & Lightweights classes added in.

Today, I tried out the below to start addressing my lower back. Would love feedback/suggestions!

This was done post-Peloton so my glutes were already really warmed up.

12x3 Bridges w/ 8 lb weights

12x3 Bird Dogs

12x3 Squats w/ 8 lb weights

12x3 Deadlifts w/ 8 lb weights

I used to do these exercises but with 15 lb weights. It’s been awhile (months) bc I’m more of a cardio person, so I went light.

Hope you are all feeling good and moving a lot!
 
@vbytuffff Ugh is it pelvic girdle pain? If so I have that, I didn’t even know it was a thing!
Walking and pelvic floor exercises I think is what has improved it a lot for me. Prenatal yoga/stretching type exercises. The exercises you listed are things I do on a regular basis too.
I started getting the pain around 9-10 weeks. I am 17 weeks and it’s way better.
 
@soma19 I’m coincidentally seeing a pelvic floor therapist in two weeks!

I guess I’ll keep incorporating these exercises until then. It definitely can’t hurt, especially bc the weight level is just a little over half what I had been doing a few months ago…

I’m glad your pain went away!! I’m on my 10th week.
 
@vbytuffff You'll have to experiment with what helps your pain and your body, but what helped me the most with that pain (starting late 2nd tri for me) is someone else's fit pregnancy comment. They described their lower back pain as "tightness" not "weakness" (although by definition a tight muscle is a weak muscle). It was a lightbulb moment for me because it was exactly what I was experiencing. Every day, I work to loosen my back, hips, etc. Squats, bird dogs, stretches, aqua fitness in the pool, etc. Anything I can do to wake up and release those muscles helps enormously with pain. And then, 8-12 hrs later like clockwork, it'll start seizing up again and the pain will return. Your routine for strengthening looks good, but watch the deadlifts- personally that aggravated my back more than anything else. Consider adding in more stretching / body weight exercises and increasing frequency to help your muscles relax. Heating pads can also help.
 
@jlwalker1166 Ahhhh this is super helpful!! I generally carry my stress in my upper back/shoulders, so it makes sense it could also be tightening my lower back.

Okay. Going to do some experiments on myself—and will add in more back stretching!
 
@vbytuffff I have had a lot of success with pelvic tilts “around the clock”. I am prone to lower back pain. At late 3rd trimester, pelvic tilts, deep core breathing, and stretching of my back and hamstrings has been able to keep it at bay enough.

I tend to do a lot of the exercises you are doing as well, but found I needed to add in the pelvic tilts to be more pregnancy specific.

Finally, I had about 2 weeks in the 1st trimester where I had terrible SI joint pain / pelvis pain. No suggestions there, just empathy. It went away out of nowhere. I mentioned to my mom, and she goes “oh I recall having that when I was pregnant; it went away suddenly.” All that to say, hopefully it’ll go away, and if not it may be how your genetics are. Good luck!
 
@gg22 pelvic tilts are wildly underrated for low back pain - such a small and simple movement, but packs a punch in relief side of things.
 
@vbytuffff By the way, I just did them lying in bed or standing. I didn’t get whatever contraption the “around the clock” website is trying to sell 🤷🏻‍♀️
 
@vbytuffff Since you have peloton I highly recommend the prenatal collections by Anna and Robin if you haven’t looked at them yet! Both have intro classes that go into diaphragmic breathing and even pelvic floor, so even if you’re not into their content usually I would suggest trying out each of their intro/overview classes. Anna also has a class going into yoga modifications for each trimester, which I just applied to my stretching routing and felt a lot more confident in terms of “is this move safe for me to do?” type of thing.
 
@vbytuffff Cat/cow can be really helpful for the lower back! Also, I’ve personally had some success lately with good mornings with a light amount of weight and really focusing on my lower back muscles (I used to do back extensions but I am 32+3 now so my belly is very much in the way lol)
 
@vbytuffff I haven't had it so I don't know what it feels like -- but could it be lightning crotch? A friend of mine started to have it early in her second trimester.
 
@vbytuffff Sometimes, lower back pain can be due to how we are using/not using our abs. Any of those exercises you mentioned can be done with a special focus on engaging the abs (esp transverse abs). It may help! Glutes are another common culprit. I do a lot of modified dead bugs with ab cueing and glute bridges.

I am not a coach, just a low back pain sufferer!
 
@vbytuffff Core strength is super important, but have you also considered your bike fit? Perhaps you need to adjust the bars up or down, back or forward to strain the back less. Do you have anyone familiar with cycling that might be able to help you?

Edited because I asked some irrelevant questions thinking I was in a different sub
 
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