This is an exercise
that actually surprised with how good it felt...and
I actually made it a staple of my training after that!
It's not a heavy exercise...it's
a back extension done with lateral-pulling resistance
from the cable, which immediately activates the lateral
stabilizing muscles of the lower back and spine as
you're doing the back extension exercise.
Here's the good part...it
involves NO twisting on the spine even though it works
the lateral and rotational-stabilizing muscles. The
uneven resistance on the body is what forces that
activation by PREVENTING rotation and twisting.
It's an extremely effective
exercise that really hit my lower back and mid-back
in a way I hadn't ever experienced before and is DEFINITELY
worth trying out. Do just a few sets at the end of
each workout, aiming for about 6 to 8 reps per set.
So to do this, you'll
need a low pulley and a moveable hyper bench (45 degree
one will work the best).
Set it in the center
of the two pulleys (or if you just have one, set it
about 4 or 5 feet away) and a little back from being
in line. You'll see why it needs to be a bit back
when you see the exercise in action.
Go to the left pulley
and grab it with your left hand. Use a light weight
for this - only a couple of notches on the cable stack,
especially the first time you do it. As I mentioned,
it's NOT a heavy exercise - it directs unilateral
resistance through your torso, forcing the small stabilizing
muscles of the spine to activate to counter that torque.
Get in position on the
hyper bench as you normally would, but holding your
left arm (and the cable) directly out to the side,
with your right arm behind your back.
Now lower down in the
bottom of the extension. Keep that arm STRAIGHT out
to the side. The only function of the weight here
is to provide lateral-pulling tension on the body.
Perform these very deliberately
and with tight form. Because the pull is coming from
the left, you'll need to push with your left foot
a bit harder to maintain balance.
Once you've performed
your reps on the one side, switch to the other.
This gives you a good
vide of how the cable is held. Here you can see exactly
why the bench needs to be a bit back from the line
of the cable.
Come down into the extension,
keeping that arm straight out to the side.
That's the exercise!
It's performed almost exactly like a normal back extension...the
lateral pulling tension is going to really hit those
small stabilizer muscles of the lower back and spine
and help you develop much better spinal strength and
stability, while also working the bigger spinal erector
muscles.
