Over 50, Drop The Crunches and Do These Three Spine Extension Exercises - Your Back Will Thank You

Photo by mr lee on Unsplash

80% of the value is in the last 30% of the proper form

I was hooked on Russian Twists for a long time - over a decade. One day an instructor at the gym told me that at my age, it was a poor choice of exercise—too much tension on the lower back.

The answer was to move to exercises which extend our spine, not contract it. This is especially more beneficial as we get older.
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It makes sense when you think about it. Being hunched over a desk and learning towards a computer screen all day compresses the lower spine (and pulls a whole lot of other things out of shape).

When we do crunches or sit-ups or Russian Twists, we are adding more force to our already-compressed spine. These are moves that literally crunch body even more and throw off our alignment and posture - which can lead to back pain.

We should be doing the opposite. We should be extending our spine and opening up our core. This strengthens the essential muscle groups around the abs that are key for holding us upright.

My favourite three exercises - replacing the compression with extension - are compound ones:

• The roll-out wheel;
• Renegade row; and,
• Push-ups with rotation

​These are all deceptively simple exercises that I have found have great whole-body benefits.

"Deceptively simple" because nine out of ten times people don't - or can't - do them with proper form.

Remember this: 80% of the value is in the last 30% of the proper form and proper range of motion.

Visualise people doing push-ups at the gym. A slumped back, and half-range movements of the arms deliver only 20% of the benefits. Better to do one proper form full-range push-up than 20 fake ones.

Three underlying keys to get the most value

That's a preface to the three exercises. These exercises are hard when you follow the proper form. If someone tells you otherwise, then I suggest that they don't know how to do them correctly. 

There are three underlying keys to getting the most value from these three exercises:

1. Firstly - hold your body firmly - in tension - contracted.
2. Secondly - moving slowly and deliberately, and moving in tension, for example not swinging your arms loosely, and,
3. Thirdly, holding a steady orientation of your shoulders, hips and ankles - square with the floor - throughout the movements. That is, not allowing your hips, shoulders, knees and ankles to be pulled and drift with the movements.

Get those points perfect, and you will be sweating - literally. That will tell you how hard all your muscles are working.

That's the test of an excellent functional exercise - sweat from slow, deliberate movements.

When you make your muscles work in teams, they generate a lot of heat. Use that as your barometer, treat it as your reward.

1. Roll-out wheel

We all know the roll-out wheel. But we don't all know the good form.

For this exercise kneel at the end of a mat and place the wheel over the edge in front of you. You need to focus on the set-up. 

1. Place your feet together and knees together.
2. Keeping your head neutral, push your back into a cat pose - don't let it compress.
3. Roll out slowly while holding your cat pose. Don't collapse.
4. Go only as far as you can hold your cat pose, and with no pain in the lower back.
5. Draw back slowing to your starting position.
6. As you progress, add a hold at the end - being sure to hold your cat pose.

Do 4 sets of 5, and when you are stronger more to 2 sets of 10.

2. Renegade row

A much-underrated exercise - because people rush it, and don't apply the necessary tension. It is a multi-purpose, multi-joint exercise that increases strength in the back, shoulders, triceps, and biceps. 

It will also actively engage the core throughout the range of motion.

You don't need weights - that's a progression. Get the basics right first.

Get into a solid plank - strong back, nice tension, head in line with your spine, hands under shoulders.

Brace your hips, and feel if they are solid and stable. You might have to widen your stance to get the rock-solid feeling you need.

1. Raise one arm slowly off the ground, while holding your shoulders and hips level - not moving them. Imagine that you have a wooden stick laying across your shoulders and your hips, and it must stay parallel with the floor and not move. This is what makes it so hard, and where most people fail.
2. As your hand leaves the ground, clench your fist and create tension in your entire arm.
3. Draw your arm slowly up bending your elbow so that your inner forearm brushes your side and your fist eventually creeps up to touch your waist.
4. Hold your fist alongside your waist, in tension, for 2 seconds.
5. Then lower your arm slowly, maintaining tension all the way down to the floor.
6. Do the other arm.

That's one rep.

Do two sets of 5 reps.

It's hard. You'll know if you are doing it correctly because you'll be sweating. Everyone can do it poorly. Few do it correctly. Get the benefits - do the job right.

The progression is to move to light dumbbells - here is a good explanation.

Push-ups with rotation

This video shows the idea - "Pushs with Rotation".

It shows the idea - you have that now - but not the technique. There's only 50% of the benefit in the way the video demonstrates the exercise.

Here's the way to get 110% of the benefits, which is what you want - unless you like just passing the time of day at the gym.

1. In the push-up position, do one slow full-range of motion push-up, right to the floor - slowly—count 4 on the way down.
2. As you slowly push back up, lift your arm off the floor as you did in the renegade row above. That is, as you hand comes off the floor clench your fist, tense your arm and body, and bring your elbow out towards the side.
3. Lead with your elbow towards the ceiling while holding your ankles even and parallel and not twisting. 
4. Look through your rising hand to the ceiling - follow it. This is all happening slowly, with tension.
5. Bring your arm to a halt when it is vertical, don't overreach.
6. Remaining in tension, rotate your arm slowly back to engage on the floor under your shoulder.

That's one side one rotation. Do 10 rotations - 5 each side, times 2 repetitions.

You should find this challenging. It is not a flapping duck exercise, that is not challenging at all.

The challenge comes from the engagement of your brain, the whole-body tension, and care and precision, and time under tension. These are all the fantastic factors that we need as we age.

​Get these simple exercises right, and you will feel stronger, have a better posture, have less pain and live longer better. ​

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