My lower back has been hurting again recently. Too many hours sitting at work and again at home in the evenings is the likely culprit. The last time I had any back pain was while mountain biking (mixed with a lot of sitting on my ass playing video games). I got advice from a couple of doctors and a friend who's a pilates instructor. They all said the same thing, "work your core more."
After starting Muay Thai a few years ago (and eventually transitioning to BJJ), the back pain went away. No matter how much crap I lugged around the house, sat at work, or got smashed while rolling... no pain.
So now after a month filled with travel, a new tattoo, and a several other excuses not to train the way I should, my lower back has just given me a little wake up call.
It was something to the effect of, "Hi up there. I just talked to your ass. We're close you know. The two of us think you need to get back to work." Yes, lower back, I agree - I need to exercise. Our poor ass is overworked.
Funny enough, this latest episode coincided with Mitch sending me a link about, sure enough, Core Training for Martial Arts. It's definitely worth checking out.
A couple of notes on that video:
- Elevated Bridge: One-legged elevated bridges. fun.
- Turkish Get-up: Here's a few kettlebell versions
- Perturbation Stimulus: Here's a different take if you don't want to hold a weight over your head while some rascal punches you in the gullet.
- Full Contact Twist - If you don't have a barbell that works, a kettlebell russian twist should be comparable.
Another sad fact is that I haven't been to Yoga in quite a while. I can feel it in my flexibility and core strength. If you haven't tried Yoga, don't feel bad (trust me, it took some prodding to get me there initially).
It's a different experience, but one that I recommend. The style varies from instructor to instructor, so if you don't like the experience (maybe it was too "spiritual," not challenging, etc) try again somewhere else. Grapplearts has a nice article on Yoga.
Summary: There are a ton of links out there for exercises like scorpions, circular leg raises, crazy balance ball routines, and stuff using a stripper pole. The latter is tempting, but honestly I've found that yoga, a simple kettlebell routine, and some crunches / weighted sit-ups seem to do the trick.
...when I get off my ass and do them.
