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Lumbar Neutral Spine Exercises

Lie on back with your knees bent. Maintain a neutral position. Draw your naval in towards your spine and hold up the pelvic floor muscles. Maintain this contraction constantly at 15 to 30 percent of full power and continually breathe into your ribcage and not into your stomach.

If you feel pain with this exercise, you’re tightening up too strongly, you’re not in a neutral spine position or you’re not breathing correctly. This exercise is pain free. This applies to all of the exercises that follow. Perform three sets of one minute twice a day. Rest three seconds between sets. Perform one repetition every four seconds.

Abdominal/Lumbar Bent Knee Raise

Lie on your back. Tighten your abdominal muscles (visualize trying to push your belly button up under your ribs). Use your hand to help push your belly button up under your ribs if needed. While maintaining abdominal tension, lift one leg up to 90 degrees, with your knee bent. Slowly lower the leg with the knee bent, maintaining abdominal tension. Hold your core and control the movement with the tightening of your abdominal and pelvic muscles, and then breathe. Repeat with the other limb.

Maintain a proper lumbar position throughout the exercise. Don’t hold your breath. You must multitask. Perform one set of 10 repetitions twice a day.

Isolated Hip Abdominal with Pillow

Lie in bed or on a firm surface with a towel roll or pillow between your knees. Stabilize in a neutral position. Squeeze your legs together and release, keeping the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles tight. Breathe out when squeezing and releasing the pillow.

Don’t hold your breath. Perform one set of 10 repetitions twice a day. Perform one repetition every four seconds.

Hip External Rotation/Abdominal on Side

Lie on your right side with your knees bent and feet together. Stabilize. Lift your left knee upward. Lower and repeat. Repeat the exercise lying on your left side.

Keep the back and pelvis still and articulate through the hip. Perform one set of 10 repetitions twice a day. Perform one repetition every four seconds.

Lumbar (Forward Rock) Quadruped

Begin on hands and knees. Maintain a neutral spine position by tightening your abdominal muscles. Slowly rock forward, while maintaining a neutral spine. Movement should take place at the hips. Return to the starting position and repeat.

This exercise requires a gradual tilt of the pelvis as you move forward. Perform one set of 10 repetitions twice a day. Perform one repetition every four seconds.

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Sandra Prior runs her own bodybuilding website at http://bodybuild.rr.nu.

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