Resistance training is a great way to improve your spine health! The muscles that surround your spine help to provide additional support so that the spine itself isn’t under all the strain. Resistance training is a quick way to build muscle. You just have to be sure to focus on the muscles of the neck, back, and core because these are the muscles that help the spine to support the body when sitting, standing, and moving about.
Resistance Training Tips to Support Spine Health
You want to be sure that you are doing your resistance training the right way. This will strengthen the muscles that support your back and neck without exposing you to unnecessary risk of injury. Here are a few things you should know.
- Resistance training should never be painful – If an exercise hurts, stop and find out why. Of course, muscle soreness after a workout is natural.
- Progressive overload is the best strategy – This means you should start with a lighter routine and gradually increase your weight, sets, reps, etc., over the course of weeks or months. This gives your muscles time to get stronger before you just go into a more intense routine.
- Multi-joint exercises are the best – These are exercises like squats and deadlifts that activate multiple joints at the same time.
- Be a stickler for good form – If you don’t have a mirror to exercise in front of, record yourself doing your exercises and watch it back. Make sure you are never rounding your spine while performing resistance exercises.
- Stay away from workouts that encourage you to do as many reps as possible – Working out until exhaustion often leads to form as your muscles wear out. As a result, you can end up injuring yourself.
- End each set 1-2 reps before technical failure – In other words, when you feel like you are about to no longer be able to hold proper form, that is when you should end your set. You can rest and then do another set if you want to do more reps. Remember, if you hurt yourself trying to push past your limits, you are defeating the purpose of resistance training, which is to get strong so that you can prevent injuries.
Support Your Spinal Health with Chiropractic Care
Ward Chiropractic & Rehabilitation is here to help you reach your spine health goals. Contact us today at 703.672.1661 to schedule an appointment at our practice in Fairfax, VA. You can also request an appointment online from our website.
