by Lela Simon

Created on: March 06, 2007   Last Updated: April 18, 2007

Check it out your back and abdominal muscles are a team, if your back hurts when you are exercising your abs, it probably means that you have spent too much time trying to tighten up your abs and not enough strengthening your back.It is important to keep these two large muscle groups in balance.
(Barring spinal injury, of course, in which case you should talk to your doctor and physical therapist.)

Try this work out to get the team playing together again. All you need is a stability ball.

First do your crunches on the stability ball. Really think about pushing your ower back into the ball as you crunch up. (Tip: if you aren't comfortable on the ball and think you will fall off face a wall and push your toes into the wall, it will make balancing easier.)

Next flip over and set the ball under your belly, balancing on your hands in a push up type position. Now, lift both legs up in the air behind you. Really pay attention to your lower back, and make sure you lift-don't swing.

You won't need your ball for this one it is pretty simple. lay down on the ground face down. Now using your toes and your forearms to support you push your self off the ground until you are hovering in what is called plank position. Make sure you body is flat, no sway backed belly touching the floor, and no butt stuck up in the air. Hold this position for 5 seconds to start, gradually building up to 30 seconds.

Last but not least is the ball back extension, kneel in front of your ball with your toes pushed against a wall for support. Now lean over the ball so that you are looking down at he floor and your body is bent at approximately a 90 degree angle. Next lift your upper body so that you are at about 120 degrees. Lift using your lower back muscles.

There are many exercises that you can use to strengthen your core as a whole as opposed to just the "mirror muscles", the ones you see all the time. It is very important to keep your body balanced, as opposed to trying tricks or gadgets that just make the imbalance worse.

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