Strengthen Your Back With a Back Exercise Machine

Do you suffer from back pain?  I know I do and I must admit that after a hard run my back pain can be worse.  Being a runner, I am guilty of not paying attention to the rest of my body muscles.  Yes, I do all my running stretches to ensure that I will be able to continue running injury free for many years to come.  But I find it so easy to forget about my upper body and core strength and I am often suffering from a sore lower back.

I used to do exercises on the ball for core strength and I really believe in the importance of building and maintaining a strong core.  However, those exercises have kind of fallen to the wayside.  I have been reading lately about the Roman Chair as a back exercise machine.  It looks like it could provide a good workout and is supposed to be very good for your lower back and abs.  If any readers out there have any personal experience with the Romain Chair, please share them in the comments section.

Stretching to Avoid Injuries

Do you know what the three leading causes of runner’s injuries are?  Let me tell you:

1. Too much mileage
2. Too much speedwork
3. The wrong type of stretching

Let’s talk about the wrong type of stretching.  Stretching is a very important part of your running routine, but stretching right is even more important.  Why is it important?  Well, because as we develop those wonderfully muscular legs, it is important that they stay flexible and do not become too tight.  In particular, the muscles at the back of your body, such as the hamstrings and calves.  Tight muscles can ultimately cause all kinds of troubles on the joints and will ultimately cause injury, but so will the wrong type of stretching.

When you stretch, do so by applying gentle tension on warmed up or relaxed muscles.  My favorite time to stretch is after doing about a 5-10 minute warmup run and then doing the basic achilles, calf, hamstring and thigh stretches, before continuing into the meat of my run.  Then I do another set of stretches when I return from my run.  I apply a gentle tension that I hold for 10-20 seconds.  If the stretch gets painful, then I back right off.

Stretching does not need to take alot of time, but will make you more flexible and reduce your chances of injury.

« Previous Page — Next Page »