What the hell is that? – Only the muscle that will determine if your back is sore or not.
How come? Because it not only attaches to your lower back, it also attaches the top of your leg and is a fundamental muscle for good posture and also for sitting up straight.
Its the main muscle that you use to do a sit up.
It is almost always tight, especially in people who are sporty or lazy – i.e. most people. When you sit it gets short – how often do you sit in your day? At your desk, in the car, watching TV, on the couch, at dinner, on the bus. It generally spends most of the day in a shortened position. Imagine if you spent most of the day with your arm bent at 90 degrees – you would really want to stretch your arms out, right? So when you stand up and your back groans its possibly the same thing. Your back wants to stretch out.
So stretch out your back people!
A note: some people have underlying problems that may preclude them from doing certain exercises, so make sure you are good to go before you start. But most people are just fine.
Here is three simple exercises to do.
- Lie flat on your stomach and press your arm into floor beside your head so that your back comes off the floor. Keep your hips on the floor. Hold for 25 secs x 3 reps
- Lay on your back with your legs out straight. Pull one leg up and hold it into your chest for 25 secs x 3 reps. Repeat with the other leg.
- Sit up tall, bend your left leg and bring it into towards your body, keeping your knee on the floor. Put your right foot across the other knee. Turn towards the right gently. Hold for 25 secs and repeat x 3 both sides.
Enjoy!