Maintaining spinal integrity during exercise is paramount, but keeping your spine safe goes beyond the simple directive of maintaining good posture when performing big or heavy movements. It also expands into programming, workout timing and more. Here’s how to keep your spine safe and healthy from top to bottom and improve your results in the process.
Cervical Spine
Without your cervical spine, you’d lose your head — literally. This area consists of seven vertebrae originating at the bottom of your skull and running down your neck to shoulder/clavicle height. It works to support your head, move your spine and protect your spinal cord.
A common instruction when lifting is to maintain a neutral spine, but a lot of people neglect to include the cervical spine in that directive. No matter what compound movement you’re performing, your head should follow your torso every step of the way. You should never be looking up (hyperextending) or looking down (rounding over), which can cause compression in the cervical disks. And because the neck muscles that stabilize this area are much smaller and less powerful than the big spinal erectors that support the lumbar and thoracic spine, they are more easily injured.
Aside from executing proper form 24/7, strengthening the muscles that support the cervical spine 360 degrees around will help you maintain proper head posture during your workout and in all your life activities.
Do these two exercises preworkout to prep for the bigger compound movements to come.
Neck Raise
Do three to four sets of 30-second holds.
Lie faceup with your arms bent 90 degrees on either side of your head, palms facing up. Actively press your arms and hands down into the floor as you lift your head and neck up as far as you can without tucking your chin. Lower to the start and rest briefly, then repeat.
Chin Tuck
Do six sets of 10-second holds.
Stand with your back to a wall so your shoulders and glutes are touching and your heels are against the baseboard. Gently tuck your chin into your neck, and push the back of your head into the wall, gradually increasing the force as if you were trying to leave an impression. Release, rest briefly, then repeat.
Thoracic Spine
The thoracic spine consists of the 12 vertebrae located in your upper and middle back, originating at the end of the cervical spine and extending about 5 inches beyond the shoulder blades to the top of the lumbar spine. Your ribs are attached on either side to each thoracic vertebra, and those attached to T1 through T10 are also anchored in the front at the sternum.
Because this section of your spine is designed to protect and house your heart and lungs, it is fairly rigid and has limited mobility. What movement it does have is used for rotation. However, most people do not have very good mobility in this area, and this lack of rotational capacity is usually compensated for by the lumbar region. Since your thoracic spine should have about five times the rotational capacity of your lumbar spine, this is problematic. Strengthening and mobilizing this area is imperative to protect your lower back while improving performance.
Use these moves to mobilize your thoracic spine preworkout.
Foam-Roller Extension
Do four reps of 30-second holds.
Lie faceup and position a foam roller underneath you across your shoulder blades. Keep your glutes in contact with the floor as you relax completely over the roller, breathing deeply. With each breath, try to relax a little more and deepen the stretch.
Kettlebell Passive Rotation
Do four sets of 10 (each side).
Lie faceup and hold a light medicine ball between your knees. Lift your knees over your hips, legs bent 90 degrees. Hold a kettlebell in one hand over your shoulder and extend your other arm straight out to the side, palm down. Press both shoulders into the floor and keep your raised arm straight as you slowly lower your knees away from the loaded arm toward the floor. Gently touch them to the ground, then return to the start. Do all reps on one side, then switch.
Lumbar Spine
Your lumbar spine consists of five, thick vertebrae, and its function is to support the weight of your torso and head — a tall order for just five links in the chain. Now add to that the already burdensome job an overhead load such as with a squat or shoulder press and you’ll understand why the lower back is the most often injured area of the spine.
The lumbar spine can rotate, flex and extend, but even though it is pretty mobile, using correct exercise form is essential. You probably already know that when setting up for a squat or deadlift, a rounded back is quite dangerous. However, overcompensating by arching your back is no better and can cause vertebral compression, tilting the pelvis forward quite aggressively and shutting down the glutes and lower abs.
This move trains your lower back to resist excessive arching. Do it preworkout to wake up your core muscles in preparation for lifting.
Lower-back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, according to The Global Burden of Disease.
Practical Applications
Designing your workouts to support spinal health is imperative if you want to remain erect into your 90s (and beyond). Here are some factors to consider when planning your programming.
Superset Smarts
Supersets are an excellent technique for boosting intensity and volume, pairing two moves back-to-back that focus on the same muscle group. However, if you’re lifting heavy, your spine endures a lot of compression, so the best way to do a superset is by pairing a move that has a heavy spinal load with a move that has a light spinal load. This allows you to maintain proper form and still get great results.
Perform four sets of 10 reps apiece of each move in your superset. For a loaded carry, shoot for 45 to 60 seconds for each of four rounds.
Sample Superset Pairings
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