It’s estimated that 80% of adults experience lower back pain at some point in their lives. To avoid that and other workout-related injuries, it’s essential to know how to strengthen your joints during exercise.
Fortunately, there are several injury prevention exercises you can add to your workout routine that will help keep you in great shape without risking common injuries.
Keep reading to learn about seven exercises that can help you avoid injuries. If you’re already dealing with an injury, be sure to ask your doctor or physical therapist if it’s safe for you to perform these exercises.
1. Hip Thruster
When you sit for long periods, your glutes and back muscles can become atrophied. To build them back up and stabilize your back, you’ll want to use hip thrusters. This exercise targets both of these areas.
2. Forearm Plank
One of the best ways to prevent back pain is to strengthen all of your core muscles. The stronger your abdominals are, the more stable your back is since these two muscle groups work together. A forearm plank is an excellent exercise for this.
3. Internal and External Rotation
Rotator cuff injuries can happen if you don’t ensure the muscles around your shoulder are getting enough exercise. To help stabilize your shoulder join, try using a cable or band to do internal and external rotation exercises.
4. Lateral Band Walk
Another activity that uses a band is the lateral band walk. However, you use it on your feet to build up your hips, which helps to stabilize them and your knees. This exercise can also help you avoid injury during other exercises like squats.
5. Y-T-A
Although it may make you feel like you’re performing a particular song by the Village People, this exercise will help your upper back and shoulders stay strong. It’s particularly useful to do as a warmup for more intense back and shoulder workouts.
6. Chest-to-ground Pushup
Pushups are challenging to do. This is why so many people cheat while doing them and allow their elbows to flare out to the sides. Cheating this way can damage your elbow, which is why you should try this style instead and lower your chest all the way down.
7. Leg Lifts
To stabilize your knees, you’ll need to work on the muscles on either side of this joint. One of the best exercises to target your quadriceps is a leg lift. This will also help strengthen your core muscles.
Let lifts can be difficult to do if you have back pain. For that reason, it’s essential to learn about back injuries and ask your doctor before you do this exercise.
Need More Injury Prevention Exercises?
Now you have seven of our favorite injury prevention exercises that can allow you to keep building up your muscles and endurance without hurting your back or joints in the process.
If you want to learn more ways to keep your body strong and pain-free, continue reading our blog. It’s packed full of the information you can use to improve your health through diet, exercise, and other healthy life choices.