Hello! I’m back from a very much needed vacation. That was 12 days of delicious rest! Anywho, I’m gonna talk about a really simple thing everyone can do to prevent back pain and build stronger glutes and hamstrings.
How Bending Over Hurts Your Back
Let me start by saying, yes we are capable of just bending over. But we prefer bending over to squatting because of our modern lifestyle habits. Once you strengthen your glutes and hamstrings, it is much more comfortable to squat down than to bend over.
The muscles that run along the spine are not very large muscles. They work mostly as stabilizers. The problem comes in when our hamstrings and glutes, all major muscles of the hip, become weak. This is when we start using the muscles in the spine to move instead of just stabilizing.
Muscles like the erector spinae eventually become fatigued, shorten, and go into spasm. Then you have major back pain! You can take the load off of this and the other spinal muscles by learning to you use your hips properly again.
To do this, squat down instead of just bending over. You need to start the movement with your hips. By driving your hips back, you’ll engage all those large muscles we tend to not use. The more you do this, the more natural it will become.
Once you’ve shifted your hips back, you can then lower them the amount needed to replace bending over! Make this a habit for a healthier back and stronger hamstrings and glutes!
