Tag Archives: back rehab

Alicia Weber’s Low Back Challenge

Fitness Challenges, Preventative Health, Strength and Endurance, Tips for Exercise, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

By:  Alicia Weber Click here to visit JD Productions.

Low Back Challenge a.k.a “Prone Double Straight Leg Isometric Raise Test”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toLffDaqJ2s

Would you like to test yourself in a low back challenge?  The low back challenge or more specifically the “Prone Double Straight Leg Isometric Raise Test” can discover the strength (or weakness) of your back extensors and predict low back pain potential.  Watch the video above to get the instructions for the test and watch as I take the test.  Below are the main muscles that are tested in this low back challenge.

Low Back Challenge Muscles

Alicia Weber’s Extreme Ab Challenge!

Fitness Challenges, Preventative Health, Strength and Endurance, Tips for Exercise, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

By:  Alicia Weber Click here to visit JD Productions.

Are you aware that in today’s world low back pain affects 70 – 80% of the population with at least one occurrence during their lifetime?  The back extensor involved with trunk muscle endurance will “make it or break it.”  These trunk muscles control posture and lumber spine forward bending.  Studies show significant decrease in back extensor endurance and a decrease in abdominal muscular endurance in patients with low back pain.

Therefore, patients with low back pain need to be very careful when selecting exercises and performing core training as they can have a loss of muscle control from trunk muscle fatigue, which is a cause of low back pain.
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On the back side of things, exercising trunk muscle endurance and abdominal muscular endurance are important for preventing back pain.  An example of this would be doing supine double straight leg isometric holds at 20 degrees and even doing Leg Lifts.

On the front side of things, the prone double straight leg isometric raise test has been shown to be one of the most accurate tests in evaluating back health.  This test isolates the lumbar spine multifidus muscle, which is known to cause back pain (when it is weak).  This test can predict back pain by testing the endurance of the back extensor.

NOW BACK UP FOR THIS…

Alicia Weber, the Sit Up World Record Holder that is all about preventive health does an Extreme Ab Challenge….1500 Leg Lifts and 25 Minutes of Straight Leg Isometric Holds AND MORE (all consecutive)!!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGlBGBakc-A

Muscles for Leg Lifts!<

Talking Abs with Endurance Sit-Up World Record Holder – Alicia Weber

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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f7odhDbJL8

By:  Alicia Weber, Central Florida Personal Trainer Click here to visit JD Productions.

Due to recent requests by my fans, I made a 10-minute non-stop sit-up video (shown above) where the sit-ups get increasingly more difficult as time goes by. Sit-up endurance is definitely a measure of many muscles not just the Abs.  For one, a strong back is needed to sustain endurance and proper form in sit-ups.  Proper form is defined as legs bent and held down, arms bent and immovable with fingers placed above the ears.  Chin is away from the chest with a forward head placement.

For a rep to count – medial elbow on both arms must cross the lateral knee on both legs (back is perpendicular to ground at apex of situp) and then the lower back must flatten and touch floor. This is how to perform proper form situps for fitness tests.

Sit-ups are contraindicated for many people including those with spinal arthritis, back spasms, back injuries, low back pain, posture problems, weak backs, etc.  Back pain is the 2nd most common neurological ailment in the U.S. and over 50 billion a year is spent on back relief accordng to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes.  The first step in reducing back problems are finding the causes and taking steps to back pain relief and those answers are found on my page -  Time to Back-up and Re-Group!

A weak, sore, and fatigued back will be the first to give out during sit-ups.  The bending of the knees make the abdominal muscles work more as the upward pull of the torso from lying position to the bent knees involves the following abdominal muscles and other muscle groups:

1.)     The first 30-45 degrees (lifting the shoulder blades off the ground with full compression of the rectus abdominis m. ) involves external and internal obliques muscles acting like a corset as they tighten and flex around the rib cage.  The rectus abdominis m. is compressed.

2.)    Then moving from 45 degrees to full sit (where medial elbows touch lateral knees) are where the hip flexors become involved in the pull to sit and there is a high compressive load placed on the lumbar spine (where back extensor muscle strength is important or else one could risk injury).  In the initial pull phase, the hip flexors can lift the trunk from a lying posture toward the front of the leg in a sit-up.  These hip flexors include the iliacus m. and psoas major m. (flexes and laterally rotates thigh), tensor fascia lata m. (an abductor), and the pectineus m. (an adductor). Then, the rectus femoris m. and sartorius m. join in as they are the only muscles in the quadriceps muscle group involved as hip flexors. They originate at the pelvis and are involved with leg flexion as the hip crosses the pelvic femoral joint.

3.)    Going from full sit to about 45 degrees down the hip flexors are once again involved as well as the abdominal stabilizing muscles.  The tensor fascia lata m. assists with abduction, internal rotation, and flexion of the hip, as well as trunk stabilization.  *Controlling the back and maintaining proper posture are key especially in this phase (you don’t want to just fall back!!).  The back extensor muscles (mainly the erector spinae and multifidus muscles) are the main source for posterior stability for the spine and they oppose the force of gravity as they maintain erect posture and control forward flexion during a sit-up.

4.)    Finally from 45 degrees down to flattening of the back on the ground, the rectus abdominis m. goes from flexion to full length extension.  The rectus abdominis m. is a long abdominal muscle that begins at the pubis with the muscle fibers extending vertically and attaching to the cartilages of the fifth, sixth, and seventh ribs (on the front part of the trunk).

Are Sit-ups really a good exercise and why do them?  Sit-ups are not a good exercise for everybody.  As stated in the 3rd paragraph, sit-ups are a No-No for anyone with any kind of back problem or back weakness.  Sit-ups are excellent exercise for a regular exerciser that does regular abdominal exercise and back strengthening  exercises.  Endurance sit-ups are a good challenge for hip flexors, back, and abdominal muscle groups. Although the emphasis should be abdominals with minimal hip flexor muscles working as in proper form sit-ups shown here.  Sit-ups can cover the full length of the rectus abdominis muscle in a way that can’t be achieved in a crunch or ab curl, or other (low back held down) ab exercise.   Your rectus abdominis m. and back should feel really stretched out, relaxed, and strengthened after sit-ups if you are conditioned and doing them properly.

Alicia Weber holds a 30-minute sit-up world record and she set the world record in the form explained above.  She is an Official World Record Holder published in The Book of Alternative Records , Believe the Unbelievable: the Ultimate Book of World Records and the People who Pursue Them , and others.
Alicia also holds the proper form 30-minute situp world record with RecordSetter World Records found here.


How to prevent or get rid of back? What exercises are good for back strengthening?

Central Florida Personal Training, Preventative Health, Tips for Exercise, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

By:  Alicia Weber

If you are a person that believes walking briskly 30-minutes a day will take care of everything and there is no need for anymore exercise – THINK AGAIN!!

The primary muscles used in walking are the lower extremities including the hamstrings, quadriceps, adductors, gastrocnemius, and soleus muscles. There are other muscle groups involved that act as stabilizers such as the gluteals. Walking alone fails to strengthen back muscles properly and chronic low back problems are a growing trend in America.

A walking-only program is really only targeting one area of fitness of the 5 fitness areas – aerobic capacity wellness.

One common trend I find among exercisers that limit their exercises to walking are weak back muscles. On the same hand, if these walkers start adding back and abdominal-specific exercises into their routines they can get immediate gains in fitness and feel even better!

According to the National Health Interview Survey there was an increase from 3.2 percent of the population in 1997 to 8.3 percent of the population in 2006 that experiences chronic low back pain.

There are several possibilities as to why there is an increase in low back pain including
1.) increase in obesity
2.) increase in stress levels that trigger low back pain
3.) increase in depression that is linked to low back pain
4.) sedentary lifestyle with prolonged sitting
5.) improper ways to pick up objects, poor posture, or overall lack of care for the back
6.) failure to strengthen back muscles (in particular the Multifidus M.)

If you have back pain, what do you think is your cause? Finding the cause is one step closer to working on a solution. Overall, back pain is a choice. If you fail to strengthen your back, then you will fall back in overall health! The bottom line is to keep your back strong by doing back strengthening and stretching exercises (see below) to prevent back pain.

The multifidus muscle is a thin muscle found deep in the spine. It needs to be strong, sturdy, and stable to keep each vertebra working effectively. The multifidus muscle is the key muscle in the back that needs to not only contract to produce strengthening effects, but it must be elongated. The multifidus is the strongest muscle in the back and the key stabilizer in the back.

It is possible that traditional back surgery could disrupt the alignment of the multifidus muscle causing the spine to have trouble maintaining an upright position as well as create pain and discomfort. Minimally invasive spine surgeries can result in less disruption of the multifidus muscle and in turn cause less trauma than traditional back surgery. If one is seeking back help via physical therapy, chiropractics, or other methods of back relief and severe back pain continues, then it would be best to get an x-ray. Consistent pain is a sign of seriousness.

Back strengthening and stretching can never go out of style. In fact, I am a firm believer that a back exercise should be performed everyday at least once. It is important in the selection of the back exercise and performance of the back exercise in achieving results.

 For instance, if you want to use the back machine in the gym – work on doing greater reps and lighter weight (i.e. a 115 lbs person may just use 50lbs and do 15 – 20 reps even if they could easily use a lot heavier weight.). So back exercises ARE about endurance training and NOT about power training (heavy weight and high intensity). Over doing the back with intense exercise and heavy weights can strain the low the back and cause harm.

Whether you are new or a veteran of back exercises, there is one stretch that can really open up the back and all you need is a chair.

The Moving Warrior Pose is a great way to stretch and strengthen the back! Do this exercise for a minimum of 30 seconds and a maximum of 2 minutes. Always start with just 1 set and over time build to doing several sets. The reaching out and stretching up and then reaching out and coming back in works gluteal stabilization, leg endurance, posture alignment, and stretches and contracts the Multifidus M. Once again, because the multifidus is such a small muscle in the back, we want to keep the intensity low and keep the exercise slow. Combine deep tortoise breathing with this moving warrior pose to get additional benefits. Try to do 2 – 4 breathing cycles/min or less. Read here if you want to learn more about tortoise breathing.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEBSHMDXzmg

Always consult your doctor before starting a new exercise program even if it is for the back. When one is just starting back exercises the goal will be to work on more stretching. Once stretching is down, the person can add more strengthening. Focusing on the single multifidus muscle ( such as in the picture above in the gym back machine) is advanced and can be implemented into a back program overtime.  Learn more by reading BACK FAQS

The Multifidus M.