As a senior or elderly person, it becomes increasingly important that you begin doing back strengthening exercises 2-3 times a week.
Doing back strengthening workouts over time will increase muscle mass, improve your balance, strengthen your bones, and reduce the risk you may have a fall.
The best time to do a back workout will be right away in the morning or right before you go to bed. Exercise can give you pick me up to start your day or help you to sleep soundly.
If you’re a senior or elderly person and are still on the fence as to whether you should begin back strengthening exercises, evaluate exactly what you are doing it for and why you need it.
The best reasons to start a back strengthening exercise routine include:
- It will allow you to stay strong and healthy well into an old age
- Allow you to carry groceries and transport things around the house with ease
- Improve your balance
- Decrease the chance you may fall and break a bone, or worse your hip
- Allow you to play with your grandchildren
- Keep you upright, decreasing pressure on your chest cavity, heart and lungs
A great back workout will counter the hunched over computer and technology life we’ve all accustomed ourselves to. I for one do my back exercises at least twice a week.
You can too with these:
Back Strengthening Exercises for Seniors and Elderly
1. Warrior I and Warrior II Pose
The first back strengthening exercise for seniors and the elderly is a pair of yoga poses, static back and body exercises that challenge your muscular endurance. Putting your muscles in constant state of tension in standard yoga poses allows you to strengthen the area safely and effectively. Holding these poses for 30-60 seconds a piece, 3 times a day is your first step in creating a strong, sturdy back.
The warrior I and warrior II poses will challenge your upper, middle and lower back, quads, glutes, and shoulders. The added benefit of the warrior I pose is the combination of the inner thigh exercise from the lunge like hold, and the stretch of the psoas. The psoas is a muscle that gets shortened over time from excessive amount of sitting, leading to lower back pain. Anytime you can strengthen the back muscles while eliminating lower back pain, the better.
If you want something more in-depth, check out the book: Chair Yoga for Seniors: Stretches and Poses that You Can Do Sitting Down at Home. This book will lead you through some great chair yoga poses you can do in the comfort of your home.
2. Supermans
The next exercise for back strength is the superman. This is the easiest one to do in the comfort of your own bed. You merely must lie flat on your stomach with your arms out and front of you and legs behind. Lift your arms, squeeze your glutes, and lift your legs straight up off the ground as if you were flying like superman. Hold at the top for 5 seconds and repeat. 3 sets of 8, 2-3 times a week will do the job.
The superman exercise will challenge your erector spinae, hamstrings, glutes, traps, and rhomboids. This exercise is one of the easiest you can do to improve your back muscles with minimal risk.
3. Reverse Leg Lifts
A simple and dynamic exercise to strengthen your back is the reverse leg lift. This is another exercise you can do in your bed, on the floor, or anywhere you can find a flat space. All you need to do is get on your hands and knees and lift your straight back and up. Lift an arm out in front of you at the same time to increase the challenge and further work the back. Doing this will transform the exercise to one called the “bird dog”. Hold the lift for a couple seconds and return to starting position. Do 3 sets of 8, 2-3 times per leg.
The reverse leg lift will work your erector spinae, lower back muscles, hamstrings and glutes. Do this exercise before bed for a good night’s sleep.
4. Swimming
One of the best core strengthening exercises for seniors and the elderly you can do for your back and body is by swimming 3-4 times per week. The breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, and front crawl will do wonders for your muscular strength and endurance. Find a pool and create a routine that forces you to swim laps a few times a week.
Swimming will work almost every muscle in your body, but your back, abs, shoulders, quads, hams and glutes will get the most benefit.
If you don’t think you can swim, get a quality Speedo Team Kickboard to help hold you up in the water until you are able to do it for yourself. This kick board makes it easy to stay afloat and swim laps for an extended period of time. The easy to grip grooves plus the non-slick surface a no-brainer.
5. Glute Bridge
The glute bridge is another low back strengthening exercise for the elderly you can do immediately when you wake up. To do this exercise you need to lay on your back, pull your heels in to create a bend in your legs and lift your hips straight up in the air. Building up your glutes will provide your back strength and stability.
The glute bridge will work the glutes, hamstrings, lower back, while stretching the quads and psoas.
6. Clams
Clams are simple exercises you can do right on your coach. The clam will work a lot of the same muscles as the glute bridge, except it will target the glute medius. Instead of laying on your back with your heels pulled in, lay on your side with heels pulled in. Lift your top knee up, rotating it back.
If you need more of a challenge, wrap a band around your knees to add some resistance.
7. Reverse Flies
Last, but not least are reverse flies, a great standing back exercise for seniors. You can do this exercise right in front of the television. Just use your arms or grab some light weights, put one foot forward and slightly bend at the hips. Let your arms hang down in front of you. With elbows slightly bent, pull your elbows out and around your torso, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Rinse and repeat.
Add the standard row to this position by pulling your elbows straight up next to your body, like starting a lawnmower.
The reverse flies will work the erector spinae, rhomboids, and rear delts.
A great set of dumbbells for this exercise are the BalanceFrom GoFit All-Purpose Dumbbells. These light weight dumbbells will give you the added resistance you need to get those muscles in tip-top shape.
Summary: Top 7 Back Strengthening Exercises for Seniors and Elderly
If you are focused on strengthening your back as you get older, focus on the warrior I and warrior II poses, supermans, reverse leg lifts, swimming, glute bridge, clams, and reverse flies. These exercises, whether for standing, core, or lower back will be safe, effective, and easy exercises seniors and elderly can do in the comfort of their home.
If you have lower back pain and would like to alleviate it naturally, check out my article: Top 10 Stretches for Lower Back Pain
Let me know if these exercises helped you out below!!
