Does your Back feel stiff in the morning?
Try these 4 Corrective Core Exercises from Lance Dreher ("Doctor Fitness") to rebuild upper body strength and relieve those stiff muscles.
Don't have a gym? Don't worry! You can even do these exercises almost anywhere – even on your bed!
1. Abdominal Crunches
2. Neck Flexion
3. Reverse Crunches
4. Back Extension
GENERAL DISCLAIMER: There is a possibility of physical injury when participating in any exercise program.
Transcript by Rev.com
- Today I want to talk about the 4 Core Exercises that are essential for a healthy, strong upper body. Okay, the first exercise we're going to do is abdominal crunch. Do this by lying on your back on a bench or on the floor, use a ball, put it up against your buttocks, make sure the hips are flexed at a right angle, and the knees. Put one hand behind the head, one on the abdomen. Roll up, like you have a ball on your abdomen. Hold at the top for about four counts, go back down and repeat that 20-25 times. The second exercise is neck flexion. Neck flexion's like a crunch for the neck. Tuck the chin in, lift the head up, look at the knees. Bring the head back down. The neck muscles are extremely important because they are part of the core. It holds the head up. Head weighs between 10 and 15 pounds. So, if the neck muscles are weak, you feel it right down the whole back. Now, we follow that with reverse crunches. Reverse crunches are done again, beginning with the hips flexed at a right angle, reach over the top, grab onto the end of the bench to anchor the lower body down. Knees go towards the chest, rolling up the lower back slightly, about four inches off the bench. Hold it there for about four counts. Go back down, touch the seat and come back up and repeat that 15-20 times. The last exercise is back extensions. Put your arms along your side, look at the floor, make sure the head's over the end of the bench, keep your chin tucked in slightly and arch your back slightly. Hold at the top about four counts. Go on and repeat that. That's gonna work the muscles along your whole spinal column, what we call the erector spinae muscles. Those are you four core exercises. If you do those everyday, you'll have great, strong upper body.
- Guys, you can connect with Lance at doctorfitnessaz.com. Also, his radio show runs on Saturday morning, 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM, here locally in Phoenix on 550KFYI and streaming across the internet on iHeartRadio
- iHeartRadio, right. Look it up. It's the Doctor Fitness Show.
