This month by our personal trainer Tori

Why should you keep your back strong?

Your vertebral column (or backbone) protects your spinal cord, which runs from your brain down to your pelvis and transport sensory information from all your nerve endings.

If your backbone is compromised in any way (incorrect lifting to pick up a heavy weight and bad desk posture are two examples) then the central nervous system will fail to work correctly and could leave you with unwanted pain.

Additionally, when any of the vertebra are weakened (a slipped disk) this is likely to cause problems for the rest of your life.

Exercising your back correctly will give you great-looking posture and prevent areas of weakness occurring through loading and repetitive strain syndrome.

The muscles of the back can be quite complex as there are many of them, both small and large. For good maintenance and posture however, you should focus on the Erector Spinae group of muscles. It’s made up of three parts that intertwine and run the length of the spine, wrapping around it like a corkscrew.

How to activate your erector spinae muscles
Lie on your front and try to raise your chest, then the rest of your upper body, off the ground. Do this slowly, then relax back to lying flat, and repeat. To advance this, try to lift your legs off the ground also.

After a couple of weeks you may find this is too easy and you need to advance these exercises. Speak to a member of our fitness team and they will be happy to show you how to carry out great back extension work, as well as movements that will incorporate more of the upper back muscles.