Banish Back Pain With This Dryland Resistance-Band Exercise

In swimming, you do a lot of reaching overhead and sometimes you rely on your low back to arch to create that movement. If this happens repeatedly, it can result in back pain. But learning to control that low-back position can help you avoid this issue and alleviate back pain. The supine arm-reach resistance-band exercise can help. 

Supine Arm-Reach

Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Anchor your feet to the ground and loop a resistance band around the back of the upper thighs. 

Then, think about pressing your abs down to the floor—really concentrate on trying to stick your belly to the spine and anchor your lower back to the floor. 

Then, while hanging onto the resistance bands, reach your arms straight up overhead as through you’re doing a double-arm backstroke. Keeping your elbows straight but not locked, bring your hands up and back above your head. Bring your hands as close to the ground above your head as you can while keeping your elbows straight. Keep that lower back pushed into the ground. Pause for a moment with your arms straight, parallel to the ground. 

Release the stretch slowly and bring your hands back along the same arcing path toward your thighs in a controlled manner. Complete three rounds of 10 repetitions while remembering to really focus on low-back positioning.