1. Stretch your hip-flexors. It’s kind of counter-intuitive to think that your hip flexors (the muscles at the front of your hip responsible for bringing your knee up to your chest or to fold you forward like in a bow) would actually come into play here, but it’s true. The major hip flexor, your psoas, actually originates at your lower back, swings around the front of you and then attaches at your femur (your thigh bone). Having a tight psoas will pull your pelvis into “anterior pelvic tilt” which is just a fancy way of saying you’ll have an excessive arch in your lower back (so stop
the sit-ups already). This will force your gut out, shut your abs down and tighten up all those low back muscles that are responsible for keeping your low back strong (the erector muscle group). Bottom line - stretch your hip flexors to keep you from getting that excessive arch. And if you work at a desk all day, get up and go for a walk or to stretch every now and then.2. Make sure your butt works. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with point #1. If you sit too much, if you run on the treadmill, if all the activity you get during the day is the walk from the car in the parking lot to the desk in your office, then I’ll bet that you have inactive glutes (your rear end). If your butt is able to “fire” in the right sequence, that means that your hamstrings and low back are not being overworked. It means that all the muscles in the
“chain of command” are doing their job. One of the best exercises you can do to make sure your butt fires is the Cook Hip Lift. Simply lay on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Now take your right knee and hug it into your chest. Brace your abs and lift your hips in the air by pushing your left foot into the ground. With good practice, you should be able to extend your hip so that you create a “bow” from your shoulder to your knee. (see picture) Do this exercise prior to your workout to get your glutes working properly. One or 2 sets of 15 repetitions per side should do the trick.3. Learn how to BRACE. Probably the most important technique that I’ve learned and taught in my fitness career is how to BRACE MY ABS. You will use this technique ALWAYS - when you’re sprinting, when you’re squatting, when you’re picking your son/daughter off the ground, while you’re moving furniture around the house. If you really want to strengthen your back, then learn this technique and your back will be bullet-proof in no time. To brace, stand up nice and tall with good posture. Now, you want to imagine that you’re about to take a punch in the midsection. What would you do if someone was about to give you a swift shot to your torso? Now hold that contraction, but breathe normally (it’s important to recognize that breathing and bracing are separate functions). Now remember that feeling and use it to make your back bullet-proof.
4. Work your abs the right way. I do the following ab circuit (video below) EVERY NIGHT before bed and it had made a world of difference in my life. When you’re doing it at the top level, it will take no longer than 12 minutes. If you’re just starting out, it will take you 5 minutes. Five minutes isn’t a very big investment of your time for a lifetime without back pain, so I suggest you incorporate this circuit into your routine.
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