What's the best lower back exercise?

Stop wasting your time an join a gym with barbells. Start deadlifting and barbell rowing, your back will explode.

 

A shame that you're in such a position. Right, then in that case I recommend bodyweight exercises like planks, pushups, and situps. Run, too. Your back will be stimulated enough to see development, but it won't be near what a barbell can achieve.

If your situation permits, start working a casual job. Independent money you can spend on a gym membership is the best.

 

Roman chair exercises are the best.

 

Calisthenics is a great way to train and be independant with your training by using your own bodyweight burpees, pullups, chinups, dips. Iron Wolf has some free content and is an awesome way to train, I suggest you check him out. As for lower back exercise back bridging will leave your spine feeling great.

 

I agree with @Magic Bullets. I would also do calisthenics if I wouldn't have a serious injury.

I train at home often too. I got myself 2x 20 kg dumbbells quite cheap (plastic filled with sand - does its job or maybe second hand?). I would recommend you getting these and also a small home bench (something like this https://www.amazon.com/-/en/Adjusta...1671389120&sprefix=liftingbench,aps,67&sr=8-5).

If you are absolutely without equipment: Planks are a great lower back exercise. Also Reverse Crunches, Mountainclimbers, Donkey Kicks, Bridge.

 

Some really good Calisthenics channels from which to get workouts from, forget PTs for the most part they are only after the dollars. What you want is the ability to train anywhere and have a level of training independence where you can constantly improve. Calisthenics offers a hell of a lot of scope and many moves take years of mastering. To do full back bridging aka Convict Conditioning may not be something you can jump into straight away, much like Muscle Ups, it often recquires patience.

 

Hi ranger ,
It is not at all compulsory to get a gym membership .
I personally did crazy number of pushups and I got more than well defined chest and back (well enough to flex)
So , do pushups, pullups , vholds , planks , hanging led raises .
People advice gym just because guarantee of getting visible results is more in 2-3 months and targeted exercises can be done But I advice you to do crazy number of reps of the above given exercise and you start seeing the results in 3-4 months.
Like , I used to do 240 pushups(touching my nose to the ground each rep and not just half way pushups) in 40 min . So just do high reps and ignore people saying rest , in normal bodyweight exercises your body is made to do even more so you can ignore light fatigue .

Also this was my own experience and my height to bodyweight ratio is excellent so I got visible results.
But for your question of making your back strong it will definitely work but remember consistency is very important .

You can join gym if you want to but risk of injury is way high so chose your exercises correctly (I had my hernia surgery that's why I am saying ..not by gym tho but I did go to gym at that time)

 

I would suggest pullups and chinups, perhaps you can do those at a local park assuming weather is not a problem.

 

I agree pullups and chinups, also full back bridging.

 

Pullups is arguably the best back exercise there is. Not all calisthenics is a "waste of time". Inverse row under a table is also a decent exercise. Pushups is great (how many can do 15 single arm pushups with halfway decent form, honestly? One can progress far with pushups), but it isn't a back exercise. Same with dips.

 

Just hanging, without doing the pull up, hurts my lower back now.

 

Dead hangs really work the scapular and decompress the spine, great for shoulder health and grip strength.

 

But do they hurt your lower back, or is it just me?

 

I have a spinal minor curviture or scholiosis (exactly the same as Usain Bolt) and I am very tall - 6'5" - so prone to lower back issues. I cannot do deadlifts or anything that compresses the spine as a result, I discovered this the hard way via a 6 month back injury (I later deduced this from reading about Usain Bolt's gym routine - he also doesn't touch deadlifts I believe, despite these being a mainstay for many atheletes).

The #1 exercise for lower back in my personal experience are therefore back extensions. These can be done at home just lying on the floor, or at a gym (using a back extension machine or a special extension bench). Honestly, since I started doing 50 reps 3 times a week I have had zero lower back problems, despite sitting around all day (although I walk a lot). This has now been for about 4+ years.

I also, as others have said, recommend pull ups and seated rows or some similar alternatives for upper back/lats. My posture has improved immensely as a result. Most public parks these days have a pull up bar. Start with Australian pull ups and reverse pull ups if you cannot yet do a full pull up or chin up.

I know most professional advice is to balance the exercises of the back and front in the gym. I think though you should exercise the back a bit more than the front to promote good posture. Too much dissproportionate exercise of the chest (e.g. bench press/push-ups) can be really bad for your posture, but I dont think too much back exercise is an issue for most people who spend hours sitting in front of a computer.

 

Planking and various forms of hollow holds, also working towards lsits are a great way to strengthens the core.

 

This is Why You Should Do Bridges Everyday (lifehack.org)

 

Best lower back exercise (In my honest opinion): The plank. You lower back will act as a stablizer to most core exercises. Your lower back will stabilize your core during pushups too.

Best exercise for entire back? It's a tie between pullups and deadlifts. Just be careful not to round your back or lift too much weight for the latter.

I see from your comments going to a gym is a problem. That's okay. The great thing about exercise is that they can be done without equipment. I've seen guys who can bench press a lot of weight, but can't do ten pushups. Bodyweight exercises (calithenics) Are good for muscle endurance, whereas weights are good for hypertrophy (size) and strength. In our (mostly) white-collar world, the former is quite practical.

 

Supergirl aka Superman pose holds!

pull-up for rest of back