Lower back pain is incredibly common. Whether it comes from sitting at a desk all day, lifting awkward loads, spending hours commuting, or simply years of moving poorly, it affects millions of people every year.
For some, it is a dull ache that comes and goes. For others, it becomes something that dictates what they can and cannot do, both inside and outside the gym.
One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding back pain is that exercise should stop altogether. Whilst there are certainly situations where rest and medical intervention are appropriate, many people actually benefit from staying active and continuing to move within their capabilities.
Before we go any further, it is important to make one thing clear.
This article is not intended to diagnose or treat lower back pain. If you are experiencing persistent pain, pain travelling down your leg, numbness, weakness, or symptoms that are becoming progressively worse, you should seek advice from a qualified physiotherapist, osteopath, chiropractor or medical professional.
Likewise, be cautious of anyone claiming they can “fix” your back pain with a couple of stretches or by simply telling you that your pelvis is out of alignment. Lower back pain is often far more complex than that, and structural issues can exist that are outside the scope of any personal trainer.
The purpose of this article is much simpler.
These are the exercises that have helped me, and many Foundry members, build stronger, more resilient backs. They are not a magic cure, but when performed consistently and alongside good movement habits, they can play an important role in reducing recurring episodes of lower back pain.
Stability Before Strength
When people think about improving their back, they often assume they need to make it more flexible.
In reality, most lower backs do not need more movement. They need more stability.
Your lumbar spine is designed to provide a stable platform that transfers force between your upper and lower body. The movement should largely come from your hips and your thoracic spine, whilst your lower back remains relatively stable under load.
That stability comes from something called intra abdominal pressure.
Imagine your torso as a cylinder. Your diaphragm forms the top, your pelvic floor the bottom, with your abdominal wall and muscles surrounding the spine completing the cylinder. When these muscles work together correctly, pressure builds inside the trunk and creates a strong, supportive brace around the spine.
Rather than individual muscles trying to protect your back, the whole system shares the load.
This is why simply doing endless sit ups rarely solves the problem. A strong core is not about visible abs. It is about creating stability whilst your arms and legs are moving.
Every exercise in this article has that goal in mind.
Daily Practice Beats Occasional Hard Work
One of the biggest lessons I learnt whilst dealing with my own back issues was that consistency beats intensity every single time.
Like many people, I initially assumed I needed harder workouts or more challenging rehabilitation exercises. Instead, what actually made the difference was performing relatively simple exercises frequently and with good quality.
Motor control improves through repetition.
The communication between your brain and the muscles responsible for stabilising your spine becomes more efficient when you expose it to regular practice. That does not require hour long sessions.
In fact, shorter sessions often produce better results.
Three to five minutes of focused stability work, performed several times throughout the day, is often more productive than one long session where fatigue begins to affect technique.
The objective is not to finish exhausted.
The objective is to reinforce good movement patterns over and over again.
The exercises below should all be performed with control, proper breathing, and complete focus on quality rather than speed.
Exercise 1: Dead Bug
If I could choose only one exercise to improve trunk stability, the Dead Bug would be near the top of the list.
It looks deceptively simple, but when performed properly it teaches the body one of the most important skills for protecting the lower back.
Maintaining spinal stability whilst your arms and legs are moving.
Walking, running, climbing stairs, lifting shopping bags, picking children up from the floor. Nearly everything we do in everyday life requires us to stabilise our trunk whilst our limbs are moving independently.
The Dead Bug recreates exactly that.
Why It Works
The exercise teaches your abdominal muscles to brace effectively whilst resisting movement through the lumbar spine.
At the same time, it improves coordination between the upper and lower body and reinforces proper breathing mechanics, both of which are essential for creating good intra-abdominal pressure.
When performed consistently, it becomes an excellent foundation for returning to heavier strength training.
Technique
Lie on your back with your arms extended directly above your shoulders.
Bring both hips and knees to approximately ninety degrees.
Before moving, take a deep breath through your nose, expanding your stomach and rib cage rather than lifting your shoulders.
Brace your abdominal wall by creating tension throughout your trunk whilst gently pressing your lower back into the floor.
Slowly extend one leg towards the floor whilst reaching the opposite arm overhead.
Only move as far as you can without allowing your lower back to lift away from the floor.
Return under control whilst breathing out firmly through your mouth before repeating on the opposite side.
Every repetition should feel controlled and deliberate.
Mistakes
The most common error is allowing the lower back to arch as the arm and leg move away. This removes the stability challenge and places unnecessary stress on the spine.
Another common mistake is rushing through the exercise. Slow, controlled movement produces far better results than simply completing the repetitions.
Finally, many people breathe too shallowly or forget to brace before moving. The breathing sequence is just as important as the movement itself.
Suggested Rep Range
Perform two or three sets of eight to ten repetitions per side.
Remember that quality always comes before quantity.
Exercise 2: Bird Dog
The Bird Dog develops many of the same qualities as the Dead Bug, but in a completely different position.
Instead of lying on your back, you now have to stabilise your spine whilst supporting yourself on your hands and knees. This introduces a different challenge for your trunk and more closely resembles many real movement patterns.
Although it appears straightforward, the Bird Dog is one of the most effective exercises for improving spinal control.
Why It Works
The Bird Dog teaches your body to resist rotation whilst your arms and legs move independently.
Every time you walk, one arm moves forwards whilst the opposite leg moves behind you.
The Bird Dog reinforces this natural movement pattern whilst encouraging your core, glutes and shoulders to work together.
It also develops endurance through the muscles responsible for supporting the spine, making it an excellent exercise for both rehabilitation and injury prevention.
Technique
Begin on your hands and knees with your wrists positioned directly beneath your shoulders and your knees directly beneath your hips.
Take a deep breath into your abdomen and brace your trunk before moving.
Slowly extend one arm forwards whilst simultaneously extending the opposite leg behind you.
Rather than lifting the leg as high as possible, think about reaching both limbs away from your body, creating as much length as possible whilst keeping your hips level.
Pause briefly before returning to the starting position under complete control.
Complete all repetitions on one side before changing sides.
Mistakes
One of the biggest mistakes is lifting the back leg too high, causing the lower back to arch unnecessarily.
Another common fault is allowing the hips to rotate from side to side instead of remaining square throughout the movement.
Finally, many people reach their arms and legs into position without actively pushing away. Creating tension throughout both limbs significantly increases the effectiveness of the exercise.
Suggested Rep Range
Perform two or three sets of five to eight repetitions per side.
Focus on maintaining perfect control rather than completing as many repetitions as possible.
The Bird Dog is not about speed. It is about teaching your body to create stability in every position.
Exercise 3: Side Plank
The Side Plank is often underestimated because it looks far less impressive than heavy lifting or complicated core exercises. In reality, it is one of the most effective ways to improve lateral stability and build endurance through the muscles that support the spine.
One of the primary roles of your core is to prevent unwanted movement rather than create movement. The Side Plank does exactly that by teaching the muscles around your trunk to resist side bending whilst maintaining a strong, neutral position.
For anyone who regularly carries shopping, lifts children, runs, or plays sport, this ability is incredibly valuable.
Why It Works
The Side Plank primarily targets the obliques and quadratus lumborum, muscles that play a significant role in stabilising the spine.
Rather than allowing your body to collapse sideways under load, these muscles learn to hold the pelvis and rib cage in alignment.
This creates a stronger, more resilient trunk that is better equipped to cope with everyday movement as well as heavier training.
Unlike endless side bends, which repeatedly move the spine under load, the Side Plank develops the ability to resist movement, which is often exactly what the lower back needs.
Technique
Lie on your side with your elbow positioned directly underneath your shoulder.
Stack your feet one on top of the other and keep your legs straight.
Before lifting yourself from the floor, take a deep breath into your abdomen and brace your trunk.
Drive your forearm firmly into the floor whilst lifting your hips until your shoulders, hips and ankles form a straight line.
Rather than simply holding the position, continue creating tension throughout the exercise. Push the floor away with your supporting arm, squeeze your glutes and maintain steady breathing.
Instead of counting seconds, focus on maintaining perfect tension for a set number of controlled breaths.
Mistakes
A common error is allowing the hips to rotate forwards or backwards, reducing the stability challenge.
Another mistake is letting the hips gradually drop towards the floor as fatigue builds.
Finally, many people position their elbow too far away from the shoulder, creating unnecessary stress through the shoulder joint instead of the trunk.
Suggested Rep Range
Perform two or three sets of eight to ten controlled breaths on each side.
The emphasis should always be on maintaining tension rather than surviving for as long as possible.
Exercise 4: Stir The Pot
Once you can comfortably hold a standard plank with excellent technique, simply staying there for longer provides diminishing returns.
Dr Stuart McGill has long advocated making planks more challenging rather than simply extending the duration, and Stir The Pot is one of the best examples of that progression.
Performed on a Swiss ball, this exercise introduces instability whilst forcing your core to maintain control throughout the movement.
It quickly highlights any weaknesses in trunk stability.
Why It Works
The goal is not to move your spine.
The goal is to stop your spine moving whilst your arms are moving.
As your elbows create circles on the ball, your abdominal muscles, glutes and spinal stabilisers work continuously to resist extension and rotation.
The result is greater trunk endurance and improved spinal control under dynamic conditions.
This makes it an excellent progression once the basic plank becomes comfortable.
Technique
Position your forearms on top of a Swiss ball with your hands clasped together.
Step your feet back into a plank position, placing them slightly wider than hip-width to begin with.
Brace your abdominal wall, squeeze your glutes and create a straight line from your shoulders to your heels.
Without allowing your hips to move, slowly draw small circles with your elbows.
Complete all repetitions in one direction before reversing the movement.
The circles should come from your shoulders and arms rather than your hips.
As you become stronger, gradually increase the size of the circles or narrow your foot position to increase the challenge.
Mistakes
The biggest mistake is allowing the hips to sway from side to side whilst moving the ball.
Another common fault is dropping the hips too low or lifting them too high, which reduces the effectiveness of the exercise.
Poor breathing is another issue. Holding your breath throughout the movement often leads to unnecessary tension rather than controlled stability.
Suggested Rep Range
Perform two or three sets of ten to fifteen circles in each direction.
The movement should remain slow and controlled throughout.
Exercise 5: Pallof Press
The final exercise is one of the simplest, yet one of the most effective for building trunk stability.
The Pallof Press teaches your body to resist rotation.
This is important because most lower back injuries do not occur when everything is perfectly balanced. They occur when unexpected forces try to pull the body out of position.
Carrying heavy shopping on one side, lifting awkward objects, opening heavy doors or reaching whilst carrying something all challenge your ability to resist rotation.
The Pallof Press trains exactly this quality.
Why It Works
Unlike traditional abdominal exercises that involve repeatedly bending the spine, the Pallof Press develops anti-rotational strength.
As the resistance attempts to twist your body, your core works to maintain a stable, upright position.
This teaches your entire trunk to transfer force efficiently whilst protecting the lumbar spine.
It is one of the most functional core exercises available because resisting movement is often more important than creating it.
Technique
Attach a resistance band or cable at chest height.
Stand side-on to the anchor point and hold the handle against your chest with both hands.
Step away until there is enough tension to rotate your body.
Take a deep breath, brace your trunk and stand tall.
Slowly press the handle directly away from your chest until your arms are fully extended.
Pause briefly without allowing your torso to rotate before returning under complete control.
Throughout the movement, imagine your rib cage and pelvis remaining perfectly square.
The only thing moving should be your arms.
Mistakes
Using too much resistance is probably the most common error. If the weight forces you to twist, it is too heavy.
Another mistake is shrugging the shoulders, creating unnecessary tension through the neck rather than the trunk.
Finally, many people rotate towards the cable during the press, defeating the entire purpose of the exercise.
Suggested Rep Range
Perform two or three sets of eight to twelve repetitions on each side.
Focus on maintaining complete control from start to finish rather than increasing the weight as quickly as possible.
Getting Better Results From These Exercises
There is nothing particularly complicated about the five exercises we’ve covered.
The challenge is not understanding them. The challenge is performing them consistently enough for your body to adapt.
If you only complete them once every couple of weeks when your back starts playing up, you are unlikely to see lasting improvements. The biggest changes come when these exercises become part of your routine rather than your emergency plan.
Think of them in the same way you would brushing your teeth. You do not wait until you have toothache before brushing them. Looking after your back should be no different.
When performed regularly, these exercises help reinforce movement patterns, improve motor control and create the stability your spine relies on every day.
Focus On Quality Over Quantity
One of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to turn rehabilitation into another workout.
These exercises are not designed to leave you exhausted. They are designed to improve movement quality.
Every repetition should look almost identical to the last. The moment your technique starts to deteriorate, you have probably done enough.
Rushing through repetitions, holding planks for several minutes or adding unnecessary resistance rarely produces better results. In fact, it often reinforces poor movement patterns.
Slow, controlled repetitions performed with complete focus will always outperform higher volumes completed with poor technique.
Breathing Is Part Of The Exercise
Breathing is often overlooked, but it plays a huge role in creating spinal stability.
Before every repetition, take a controlled breath into your abdomen rather than your chest. As you brace your trunk, think about creating pressure around your entire midsection instead of simply tightening your stomach.
This pressure acts like an internal support system for your spine.
As the movement becomes more demanding, gradually breathe out under control whilst maintaining that brace.
The exercise is not simply about moving your arms and legs.
It is about maintaining control whilst breathing and moving at the same time.
Progress Gradually
One pain-free session does not mean your back is fully recovered.
This is where many people undo weeks of good work.
They complete a few rehabilitation exercises, start feeling better and immediately return to lifting the same weights they were using before the injury.
Your body may feel ready, but your tissues often need more time to rebuild their capacity.
Progress should be gradual.
Increase one variable at a time. That might mean adding a small amount of weight, increasing the number of repetitions, improving your range of motion or introducing a more challenging exercise variation.
Small, consistent improvements almost always produce better results than making large jumps.
Walking Still Matters
When people think about improving their back, they often focus entirely on rehabilitation exercises.
Walking deserves just as much attention.
Walking encourages gentle movement through the hips, promotes blood flow, challenges trunk stability and helps reduce the stiffness that often develops from prolonged sitting.
It is also one of the easiest ways to increase your daily movement without placing excessive load through the spine.
Combined with the exercises in this article, regular walking can become a valuable part of your recovery strategy.
Your Lifestyle Matters More Than You Think
It is easy to blame your gym sessions when your back becomes painful.
Quite often, the problem starts long before you walk into the gym.
Spending eight hours sitting at a desk, driving long distances, poor sleep, high stress levels and very little daily movement all contribute to the amount of stress your back experiences.
Even perfect exercise selection cannot completely offset poor habits during the other twenty-three hours of the day.
Simple improvements such as standing up regularly, walking more, sleeping well and managing stress all help create an environment where your body can recover more effectively.
The gym should support your health, not try to compensate for an unhealthy lifestyle.
Strength Is Still Important
One misconception surrounding lower back pain is that you should avoid strength training altogether.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Once symptoms have settled and movement quality has improved, gradually becoming stronger is one of the best things you can do for your back.
Stronger glutes, legs, upper back and trunk all contribute towards reducing the amount of unnecessary stress placed on the lumbar spine.
The important word here is gradually.
Good technique should always come before heavier loads.
At Foundry, we would much rather see someone perform technically excellent repetitions with an appropriate weight than sacrifice movement quality to lift more.
Resilience is built through consistency, not ego.
Remember The Bigger Picture
These five exercises are incredibly effective, but they are only one part of the solution.
If you continue to sit for ten hours every day, ignore your recovery, rush your warm ups and repeatedly lift with poor technique, no amount of Dead Bugs or Pallof Presses will completely solve the problem.
Equally, if you move well, strength train intelligently, stay active and consistently reinforce good movement patterns, your body becomes far more resilient.
The goal should never be to eliminate pain.
The goal is to build a body that is capable of handling the demands of work, family life, sport and training without constantly breaking down.
Continue Building Your Back
If you’re already dealing with lower back pain, these articles will help you build on the advice covered here:
- Why Won’t My Nagging Back Injury Clear Up? looks at why recurring back pain often returns and the importance of rebuilding motor control before returning to full training.
- Train Around Lower Back Pain explains how to modify your training, reduce unnecessary spinal loading and continue exercising safely whilst your back settles down.
- Core Exercises For Lower Back Pain covers additional trunk stability exercises that complement the movements featured in this guide.
Taken together, these articles provide a structured approach to understanding back pain, improving movement quality and rebuilding confidence in training.
Small Group Personal Training At Foundry Gyms
Lower back pain should not define what you can achieve in the gym.
With the right coaching, appropriate exercise selection, and a structured progression plan, many people can continue training while building a stronger, more resilient body.
That is exactly how we approach it at Foundry.
Rather than applying the same programme to everyone, our coaches assess movement quality, identify areas that need improving and adapt exercises to suit the individual. As strength and confidence improve, training progresses alongside it, ensuring that technique remains the priority throughout.
Our goal is not simply to get you through today’s session. It is to help you build a body that moves well, performs well and remains capable for years to come.
If recurring lower back pain is stopping you from training with confidence, our small group personal training sessions provide the coaching, structure, and progression to help you move forward safely and effectively.
Related Articles
- 4 Steps to Reduce Back Pain
- 7 Strategies for Better Recovery
- Rectifying RDLs Causing Lower Back Pain
- Recovery & Regeneration Is Essential to Long-Term Progress
- Can Exercise Banish Lower Back Pain?
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