Hi guys.
This is Max Tapper again, for Howcast.
And today I'm going to show you guys how to
do a lower back extension.
Alright?
Now, lower back extension, basically just
a way of strengthening your lower back muscles.
Very important for a lot of people that have
weak backs.
Now, some people also call them supermans.
And the superman's difference is just extending
your arms out in the same exact position.
So let me show you how this works.
Okay?
What we're going to do is lie flat down on
a mat.
You probably going to want to find something
to put in front of your face, so you're not
putting your face and your mouth directly
on these mats.
Because, obviously, you don't know who was
here before you.
The position that we want to be in is flat,
face down on a soft pad.
Okay?
Now, all we're going to do is lift our chest
off that pad, hold for three to five seconds.
Go back down.
Lift the chest off the pad again and we're
going to continue that in repetitions.
Okay?
Now, there's different ways of doing the lower
back extension.
We can just lift our upper body, or we can
lift our upper body and our lower limbs.
So we're going to lift our legs at the same
time.
I think that one is going to be the more advanced
version.
It's going to be more beneficial, because
you're going to get more muscles working at
the same time.
Okay?
So let me show you how that works.
I'm going to go through both of them.
The first one I'm going to show you is just
lifting the upper body off the pad.
And then the second one I'm going to show
you is lifting my upper body and my legs off
the pad.
Okay?
Follow me.
So these lower back extensions, or supermans,
are excellent for strengthening your lower
back.
The one thing I like about doing your lower
back extensions with your legs moving at the
same time, is you're going to get a lot of
group, and you're going to get a lot of hamstring
work at the same time.
Alright?
So the more muscles we're working, the better
off we are.
The more calories we're burning, the more
muscle we're getting strong.
So I always would recommend that you do arms
and legs at the same time.
If you have some maybe hamstring weakness
or some other weakness in your lower back,
if there's pain, then that's completely fine.
Then you just lift your upper body, and you
probably don't even bring it as high as you
can.
Keep it in a nice, controlled position, where
you can activate those lower back muscles
at the same time.
Okay?
So guys, remember.
Slow, controlled, isometric.
Five seconds, four, three, two, one.
Slow back down to the pad.
Back up again.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Now, remember, your lower back is a stability
muscle.
Alright?
So fast motions for your lower back aren't
going to be as effective as slow, controlled,
and held motions.
