After the Abdominal Work, Put Your Back Into It

Even if your regular exercise routine includes abdominal curls and push-ups, you’re not done yet. It’s a good idea to spend a few more minutes training your back with some extension exercises before heading for the shower. Reversing the direction of your spine with extensions will relieve the tightness you just created in your abdominal, chest and shoulder muscles. Extensions will also strengthen and balance the muscles supporting your spine.

Years ago, back bends or back extensions were considered risky or unsafe. But now these stretches are frequently prescribed by orthopedic physicians, chiropractors and physical therapists. Most fitness and medical experts agree that safely moving our backs in an arched position promotes a healthier spine and helps to counteract the sitting we do in everyday life.

Try starting with a modified back-bending yoga pose such as the “half cobra.” Without a lot of movement, you’ll immediately feel your upper and middle back muscles being engaged while you get a nice release in the front of your shoulders and across your chest. If you do this pose regularly, you’ll learn what parts of your upper body are weak, providing you with a benchmark on which to improve.

As your back gets stronger and your chest and shoulders become more flexible you can progress to a more challenging pose, called “upward facing dog.” This advanced movement requires substantial wrist, elbow and shoulder mobility, so don’t force yourself to do it if you have weakness or injuries in any of those areas.

Half Cobra

Begin by lying face down on a mat or a padded surface. Keep the tops of your feet on the floor and tighten the muscles in the front of your thighs to lift the kneecaps off the floor. Maintain this lower body position as you place your hands on the floor under your shoulders. Your fingers should face forward, and your elbows should point back to your feet. On an inhale, without putting much weight on your hands, use your back muscles to gently raise your head, shoulders and chest off the floor. Hold the position as you exhale. Your elbows will be bent. On your next inhalation, raise your chest one inch higher and maintain this height as you exhale. Breathe in one more time, trying to lift a little higher. As you lift, concentrate on pressing your chest forward between your hands and move your shoulders down and away from your ears.

Exhale and lower yourself to the floor. Stretch your arms alongside your body with your palms turned up. Rotate your head to one side, rest and breathe.

Repeat this exercise one more time, making sure your elbows are tucked in next to your waist when you lift up. On the release, turn your head to the other side for an even stretch to your neck.

Upward Facing Dog

To begin, lie face down on a mat or padded surface. Keep the tops of your feet on the floor and tighten the muscles in the front of your thighs to lift the kneecaps off the floor. Maintain this lower body position just as you did in the half cobra, but this time slide your hands back so that your fingertips are just below your shoulders and the heels of your hands are close to your waist. On an inhale, push down through your hands and slowly lift your head, shoulders and chest off the floor. Begin to straighten your arms and continue to rise until your abdomen, hips and thighs are completely off the floor.

Look forward and pull your shoulder blades back and together. Focus on moving the tops of your shoulders down and away from your ears. Keep your legs straight and relax your buttocks. Take two or three slow, deep breaths while holding the pose. Slowly lower yourself to the floor and rest a moment. Repeat the exercise once or twice more.

Remember, it’s not enough to focus only on flexibility or only on strength training. It may be a humbling experience at first, but weaving yoga postures like these into your athletic training will pay off in the long run. When you master exercises that require both strength and agility, you’ll end up with a strong, powerful body that moves gracefully.

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Karen Voight is a Los Angeles-based fitness expert whose latest videos are “Pure and Simple Stretch” and ‘“YogaSculpt.” She can be reached at at kvoightla @aol.com. Her column appears the first Monday of the month. Joan Voight, a San Francisco journalist, contributed to this column.