How To Train Around Lower Back Pain

Low back pain is one of the most common reasons people stop exercising. It can affect your confidence in the gym, make everyday tasks uncomfortable, and often leads people to avoid movement altogether.

The reality is that avoiding exercise completely is not always the answer. In many cases, appropriately selected movement can help maintain strength, improve confidence, and support recovery. The challenge is knowing which exercises to perform, which to modify, and when to seek professional advice.

Before we go any further, it is important to make one thing clear.

This article is not intended to diagnose or treat back pain. If you are experiencing severe, persistent, or worsening symptoms, you should seek advice from a qualified physiotherapist, osteopath, chiropractor, or medical professional. Some spinal conditions require imaging, specialist assessment, or medical treatment before returning to exercise.

The purpose of this article is to help people train more intelligently around lower back pain, reduce unnecessary irritation, and continue making progress where appropriate.

Movement Is Often Better Than Complete Rest

Years ago, complete bed rest was commonly recommended for back pain. Modern research tells us a different story.

For many people with non-specific lower back pain, remaining as active as symptoms allow leads to better outcomes than prolonged inactivity. The key phrase is as symptoms allow.

This does not mean training through severe pain or ignoring symptoms. It means selecting movements that your body tolerates well whilst avoiding those that continually aggravate the problem.

At Foundry, we regularly work with members who have experienced disc injuries, spinal fusions, facet joint irritation, muscular strains and recurring episodes of lower back pain. Every case is different, but one principle remains consistent.

The goal is to keep people moving safely whilst progressively rebuilding strength and confidence.

Pain Does Not Always Mean Damage

One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding back pain is that every painful movement is causing further injury.

Pain is a protective response produced by your nervous system. Whilst it can indicate tissue damage, it can also become more sensitive following an injury, meaning safe movements may still feel uncomfortable.

This is why two people with similar MRI findings can experience completely different symptoms.

Rather than fearing every movement, the objective is to identify exercises that remain comfortable, gradually increase the load, and improve movement quality over time.

That process is often far more productive than avoiding activity altogether.

Respect Your Pain Levels

One of the most useful skills during recovery is learning to distinguish between acceptable discomfort and movements that are clearly aggravating the issue.

A good guide is to avoid exercises that:

Produce sharp or increasing pain during the movement.
Cause symptoms to travel further down the leg.
Significantly increase pain for many hours after training.
Lead to progressively worse symptoms over the following day.

Small amounts of muscular discomfort or stiffness can often be acceptable, but pain should never be ignored or repeatedly pushed through.

Choosing the right exercises is far more important than simply completing your planned workout.

Avoid Excessive Lumbar Rotation

One of the most common mistakes people make is trying to stretch or twist their way out of lower back pain.

Although this may feel temporarily satisfying, aggressive rotation through the lumbar spine can increase irritation in some conditions.

The lumbar spine is designed primarily for stability. Most rotational movement should come from the thoracic spine above and the hips below.

When those areas become stiff, the lower back often compensates by moving more than it should.

Improving mobility in your hips and upper back whilst maintaining stability in your trunk is usually a far more productive strategy than repeatedly forcing rotation through your lower back.

Work Within Your Available Range

Social media often encourages people to squat deeper, deadlift lower, or achieve the greatest possible range of motion.

The truth is that anatomy differs enormously between individuals.

Hip shape, femur length, ankle mobility, torso length, previous injuries and flexibility all influence how each person should perform an exercise.

Sometimes reducing your range of motion is the smartest decision you can make.

Examples include:

Box squats instead of deep squats.
Trap bar deadlifts instead of pulling from the floor.
Romanian deadlifts instead of conventional deadlifts.
Split squats instead of bilateral squats during painful flare ups.

Working within a pain-free range allows you to continue training whilst gradually improving movement quality.

Reduce Axial Loading When Needed

Axial loading refers to compressive forces travelling directly through the spine.

Exercises such as heavy back squats, overhead presses and barbell carries can create significant spinal compression.

That does not mean these exercises are inherently bad.

They are excellent exercises when appropriate.

However, during periods of lower back irritation, it often makes sense to temporarily reduce compressive loading whilst maintaining lower-body strength through alternative exercises.

Good options include:

Bulgarian split squats.
Reverse lunges.
Belt squats.
Leg press where tolerated.
Step ups.
Single leg Romanian deadlifts.
Goblet squats.

Training adaptations are rarely about eliminating exercise entirely. They are about selecting the right tool for the current situation.

Brace Before You Lift

Proper breathing creates stability throughout the trunk and helps the spine tolerate load more effectively.

Before beginning a lift:

Take a controlled breath into your abdomen.
Create tension around your entire midsection.
Maintain that pressure during the lowering phase.
Exhale under control as you complete the lift.

This coordinated breathing pattern helps create natural spinal stiffness without excessive tension.

Rather than simply sucking your stomach in, think about expanding your abdomen in every direction before lifting.

Train In Multiple Planes Of Motion

Most gym exercises occur in the sagittal plane, moving forwards and backwards.

Real life is far more varied.

We step sideways, rotate, reach, carry shopping, climb stairs and change direction constantly.

Including frontal and transverse-plane exercises improves overall movement capacity and builds a body that is more adaptable outside the gym.

Useful exercises include:

Lateral lunges.
Crossover step ups.
Farmer carries.
Single arm carries.
Cable lifts.
Cable chops.
Controlled rotational medicine ball work where appropriate.

Building movement options often creates a more resilient back.

Build A Strong Core Instead Of Chasing Ab Exercises

Many people assume strengthening the core means doing endless sit-ups or planks.

In reality, your core functions as a complete system extending from your shoulders to your hips.

Its primary role is to transfer force whilst resisting unnecessary movement through the spine.

The most effective core training usually combines direct stability exercises with well-performed compound movements.

Exercises such as loaded carries, split squats, presses, rows and hip hinges all challenge trunk stability whilst improving overall strength.

Direct trunk exercises still have an important place, particularly during rehabilitation, but they should complement your wider training programme rather than replace it.

Never Skip Your Warm Up

The warm up is often the first part of the session to be cut when time is limited.

Ironically, it is usually the part that matters most when managing lower back pain.

An effective warm up should prepare both movement and stability by:

Improving mobility through the hips and thoracic spine.
Activating the glutes.
Engaging the abdominal muscles.
Rehearsing the movement patterns you will use during training.
Gradually increasing load before working sets begin.

Arriving at your first heavy set without preparing your body significantly increases the likelihood of compensations developing.

Those compensations are often exactly what you are trying to avoid.

Progress Gradually

One good training session does not mean your back is fully recovered.

It is tempting to increase weight quickly once pain begins to settle, but this is where many setbacks occur.

Successful rehabilitation follows gradual progression.

Increase one variable at a time.

This might mean adding a small amount of weight, increasing repetitions, expanding your range of motion, or introducing a slightly more demanding exercise.

Allow your body time to adapt before progressing again.

Consistency nearly always beats rushing back to previous numbers.

Small Group Personal Training At Foundry

Lower back pain does not automatically mean you need to stop exercising.

In many situations, the right exercises, performed with good technique and sensible progression, can help you continue building strength whilst reducing the risk of recurring flare-ups.

Our coaches at Foundry Gyms focus on movement quality first. We help members adapt exercises to suit their individual circumstances, improve movement mechanics, and progressively rebuild strength without unnecessary setbacks.

Our goal is not simply to help you train today. It is to build a stronger, more resilient body that continues performing well for years to come.

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