Lower Back

[Thetasteofink69]

How important is direct lower back work? I don't wanna leave anything out of course, and I know that no body part is more important than another..

Does your lower back get enough work on leg day and as an assister muscle?

Also, how can you tell if your lower back is lacking? And what are the best exercises for lower back besides good mornings and back extensions? Deadlifts (regular or stiff leg?)?

[train.eat.supp.sleep]

reg deads will hit your entire back...and is great for putting on mass, if youre doing them i wouldnt bother with alot of good mornings, maybe just here and there..you can also change up your deads by pulling them from the floor, or pulling them from bars a little off the ground...but youre gonna want to stick with the floor mostly

[Matt Dickerson]

How important is direct lower back work? I don't wanna leave anything out of course, and I know that no body part is more important than another..

Does your lower back get enough work on leg day and as an assister muscle?

Also, how can you tell if your lower back is lacking? And what are the best exercises for lower back besides good mornings and back extensions? Dead lifts (regular or stiff leg?)?

Depends on your needs/goals. It is probably the single most important area to be strong for a power lifter. The lower back is always lacking. It can never be strong enough yet it is over trained very easily in most people because of a lack of conditioning. Train the back with all the Good morning variations, hypers and reverse hypers, pull throughs, 45 degree back raises, all the dead lift variations, bent over barbell rows and seated cable rows and even power cleans and snatches if you have the correct technique.

I train mine with direct heavy work twice per week and light twice per week. Also your abs and entire core are just as important and should be trained heavily along with abs twice per week as well if you are serious strength athlete.

[Chin]

Depends on your needs/goals. It is probably the single most important area to be strong for a power lifter. The lower back is always lacking. It can never be strong enough yet it is over trained very easily in most people because of a lack of conditioning. Train the back with all the Good morning variations, hypers and reverse hypers, pull throughs, 45 degree back raises, all the dead lift variations, bent over barbell rows and seated cable rows and even power cleans and snatches if you have the correct technique.

I train mine with direct heavy work twice per week and light twice per week. Also your abs and entire core are just as important and should be trained heavily along with abs twice per week as well if you are serious strength athlete.

Spoken like a True powerlifter...

Matt's got the same idea I have been taught... I train my lower back directly when I train my abs... so twice a week...

As for exercises... Stiff legged deads hit it pretty well... Other than the ones you have stated... I feel Reverse hamstring extensions hit it well also... but probably the best exercise in my books is weighted Supermans...

If you don't know what it is... its exactly how it sounds... lie on your stomach and lift opposing arms and legs... or all arms and legs at the same time...

Chin

[Thetasteofink69]

So should lower back be hit really heavy directly? Cuz I know lower back is fairly easy to mess up..

[Brick By Brick]

You might try one heavy day and one light day, IMHO. My program features DLs for reps on Thursdays, Romanian DLs and Pull-Throughs on Monday. I used to do Glute-Ham Raises at least once a week, but not lately. My program is strongman/woman specific, and is a 4 week conditioning phase. My previous program was the Westside Method.

[sanga]

Without a doubt you need to make sure you train your whole core.

One of the best exercises I have come accross is the reverse hyperextention, thanks once again Tiny :)

[Matt Dickerson]

So should lower back be hit really heavy directly? Cuz I know lower back is fairly easy to mess up..

Yes you should. But you have to work up to it. The lower back is easy to mess up because people have weak ass lower backs, obliques, and abs and they go heavy on things likes squats, bb rows, deadlifts, shrugs and other things but they don't work on strengthening their lower backs, obliques and abs with heavy weight. Start training it directly Once heavy per week and once light per week. Two movements on the heavy day and one movement for higher reps on the light day. After a few months go to two times per week and one light. Be very careful with your volume and weight and gradually push up the weight and volume over time as your can handle it. In a few years you will have spinal erectors and lumbars that look like pythons running parallel to your spine.

[h 3 L L b 0 y]

Without a doubt you need to make sure you train your whole core.

One of the best exercises I have come accross is the reverse hyperextention, thanks once again Tiny :)

I can second that.. reverse hypers are one of my personal favourites for lower back, i don't get that kind of burn and work to it from many other exercises..

[NickSP]

I use both conventional and stiff-leg styles for deads, and throw in weighted hypers on leg day as well.

[MC-Hitman]

Sumo-DL is a good one to try, but only recommend if you can hold the wide leg stance needed

Sumo-DL + Seated Good mornings are my heavy exercises, and weighed hypers as a light exercise

[Gazzara]

....The lower back is easy to mess up because people have weak ass lower backs, obliques, and abs and they go heavy on things likes squats, bb rows, deadlifts, shrugs and other things but they don't work on strengthening their lower backs, obliques and abs with heavy weight....

for several years I have been doing cable crunches at least 6 mornings a week. I do one set of 50 with 65 pounds, usually from a kneeling postion. Standing is harder, but it does seem to get the lowest part of your abs

It is not a lot of weight, but it is regular and I can do it every day. I just let my arms hang from the bar, wide or narrow, and bend forward from the waist from every twist angle to hit my whole core. and

It's a good daily tune-up, gets your chest stretched up and your abs tight, and as a bonus that ab flexing keeps you "regular"