10 Back Exercises for Beginners, Recommended by Physical Therapists

Your back is one of the most important structures in your body. In fact, when it comes to movement, your back is at the center of all operations. It helps you do everything from lifting heavy objects to walking up stairs to powering you through your cycling workout. Naturally, you’ll want to make sure your back remains strong enough to support you — and these PT-recommended back exercises for beginners are a great place to start as you build a strengthening and stretching regimen. 

“The stronger your back is, the more stable and resilient to pain it will be,” says Nikki Bond, PT, DPT, a physical therapist at Hinge Health. And given that more than 80% of people experience low back pain at some point in their lives, it’s important not to neglect this very vital part of the body.

Read on to learn more about the importance of strengthening your back, as well as the best back exercises for beginners recommended by Hinge Health physical therapists. 

Interested in getting a personalized exercise therapy plan? Learn more about Hinge Health’s digital physical therapy programs and see if you’re eligible.

10 Back Exercises for Beginners

Whether you’re currently experiencing back pain or simply want to prevent it, incorporating back exercises into your lifestyle is important. But it can be hard to know where to start. You want to focus on exercises that work a wide variety of your back and core muscles, advises Dr. Bond. “All these muscles work together, so the stronger they are, the less stress is put on your spine,” she explains. It will also help to encourage stability, so you’re less likely to injure yourself in day-to-day activities. The moves below, recommended by Hinge Health physical therapists, are good back exercises for beginners.

“This is one of my favorite back exercises because it takes your back through a nice range of motion,” says Dr. Bond. It’s also simple enough to do pretty much anywhere, at any time. “You can do it during your workday as a movement snack,” she adds. 

How to do it: 

• Sit in a chair with your hands clasped behind your head. 

• Bend your chest and head towards your thighs to round your back. Focus on your breath as you hold this position.

• Extend your shoulders and head toward the top of the chair to arch your back. 

• Return to the starting position.

Like the seated cat cow, this exercise is great for encouraging your back’s range of motion, says Dr. Bond. Since it’s more advanced, it’s also a nice progression from the seated version. 

How to do it: 

• Start on your hands and knees. Your hands should be positioned under your shoulders and your knees in line with your hips. 

• Slowly round your entire back toward the ceiling while drawing your chin to your chest. 

• Return to the starting position. 

• Look up to the ceiling as you arch your back toward the floor. 

• Return to the starting position.

Get more information on how to do cat cow.

These can be done seated or standing. If possible, try to do them standing up because it’ll activate your abdominal muscles, explains Dr. Bond. Either way, this exercise strengthens your shoulder muscles while strengthening and elongating your chest muscles, which tend to stiffen up when you work at a desk and can contribute to a back strain. 

How to do it: 

• Stand tall with your arms extended in front of you at chest height, holding a band in both hands with a bit of slack in the band, palms facing down. 

• Keep your arms straight as you open your arms out to the sides. 

• PT Tip: Make sure to keep your arms at chest height and avoid letting your shoulders lift toward your ears. 

Get more information on how to do a band pull apart.

This dynamic standing exercise focuses on your glutes (buttock muscles) and lower back. “It’s a great functional strength exercise to help you with daily tasks like lifting a bag of groceries or a child,” says Dr. Bond. 

How to do it: 

• Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and hold a large towel. Your hands should be about one to two feet apart. 

• Move your chest and hands down towards the floor by hinging at your hips.

• Pull the towel tight by moving your hands apart. 

• Aim to have your back and legs mostly straight with a soft bend in your knees as you hold this position.

• Tighten your glutes to return to standing and relax your arms.

“So many of us are sedentary during the day, which can tighten our hamstrings and cause them to pull on the lower back,” explains Dr. Bond. This stretch helps loosen your hamstrings and reduces strain on your back. 

How to do it: 

• Start by standing comfortably. Straighten one foot out in front of you, placing your heel on the floor with your toes lifting toward the ceiling.

• Hinge at your hips to move your chest toward the floor while your legs remain straight.

• Return to standing. 

Get more information on how to do a hamstring stretch.

When you sit a lot, it causes the muscles on the front of your hip joint, like your hip flexors, to tighten up, which can lead to back pain. Stretching out your hip flexors can help relieve some of that stress on your back. 

How to do it: 

• Stand comfortably with your feet hip-width apart. 

• Take a big step forward with one foot.

• Bend through your front knee while you push your other hip forward. 

• Keep your chest upright as you hold this position. 

• Push through your front foot to step back and return to standing. 

Get more information on how to do the hip flexor stretch.

This move strengthens the core muscles you use when you rotate your torso — for example, when you lift a toddler and place them in their booster seat. “You need to have a good range of motion and balance to be able to do that without straining your back,” points out Dr. Bond. 

How to do it: 

• Stand tall, then reach your arm across your body, bending your elbow so that your fist rests against your opposite hip.

• Move your hand out in front of your chest and extend your arm above your shoulder, opening your hand and pointing your thumb back.

• PT Tip: Imagine holding a frisbee in the starting position and flinging it up and behind you to get to the end position.

This is a classic move that strengthens the muscles attached to the back of your spine that are also important for core stabilization. 

How to do it: 

• Get into a comfortable position on your hands and knees with your hands below your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips.

• Lift and extend one leg behind you while you reach your opposite arm off the ground. Your leg and arm should form a straight line with your back. 

• Return to the starting position.

• Repeat on the opposite side, lifting your other arm and leg off the floor. 

• Return to the starting position.

Get more information on how to do a bird dog.

This breathing technique stretches out your back and abdominal muscles. It also helps lower stress, which research shows can contribute to back pain, notes Dr. Bond.  

How to do it: 

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. 

• Rest one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.  

• Slowly inhale as you fill your belly with air so the hand on your belly rises up toward the ceiling. The hand on your chest remains mostly still. 

• Focus on staying relaxed as you hold that breath in your belly. 

• Slowly breathe out so the hand on your belly lowers with you. 

Get more information on how to do diaphragmatic breathing.

This pose stretches out your lower back as well as your pelvic and inner thigh muscles. “It improves overall core and pelvic mobility and flexibility, which can decrease back pain,” says Dr. Bond.

How to do it: 

• Get into a comfortable kneeling position with your shins and feet flat on the floor. 

• Sit your hips back toward your heels with your feet together and your knees wide apart. 

• Slide your arms out in front of you on the ground while moving your hips toward your heels. 

• Relax your head and chest down toward the floor, as far as is comfortable for you. 

• Walk your hands back toward your knees and return to an upright position. 

Get more information on how to do a child’s pose.

The information contained in these videos is intended to be used for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice or treatment for any specific condition. Hinge Health is not your healthcare provider and is not responsible for any injury sustained or exacerbated by your use of or participation in these exercises. Please consult with your healthcare provider with any questions you may have about your medical condition or treatment.

Benefits of Back Exercises 

Routine back exercises, especially movements recommended by a physical therapist, play an important role in strengthening your back muscles so that you can stay as active as possible. “A strong back translates into a strong foundation,” stresses Dr. Bond. “Your back plays a key role in everything you do, whether it’s playing pickleball, going grocery shopping, or lifting a suitcase.” 

Here are some key benefits of doing the above-recommended back exercises for beginners. 

• Injury prevention. If you sit in the same posture for a long period of time, you raise the risk of injury since back muscles can tighten up. “The stronger and more flexible these muscles are, the better your overall body mechanics will be,” points out Dr. Bond. And if you do injure your back, research shows that back exercises are an important way to increase blood flow and nutrients such as oxygen to the area. This, in turn, can speed healing and reduce stiffness.  

• Improved breathing. You may not realize it, but tight lower back or hip muscles make it harder for you to breathe effectively and efficiently. “It’s more difficult to do diaphragmatic breathing,” points out Dr. Bond. Tight back muscles limit the activation and expansion of your diaphragm. And the shallower your breathing, the more likely you are to experience back pain. Back exercises can help you break this cycle and boost both your overall breathing and back strength.

• Better spinal positions. Given all the time we spend on computers, phones, or sitting down, it’s no wonder so many of us develop neck and back pain. “We automatically end up in this forward head posture with rounded shoulders that can cause our lower back to tighten,” says Dr. Bond. But back exercises help to encourage a full range of motion. “They give us the ability to uncurl out of that tight little ball so that we can more easily arch and extend,” she explains. In fact, a 2024 study in the journal Sports Medicine found that back strengthening exercises were more effective than back stretches at promoting spinal alignment.

• Increased flexibility. “Your back is an overlooked workhorse,” points out Dr. Bond. “Many of us don’t put the time in that we need to maintain its flexibility.” Regular back exercises help your spine maintain its full range of motion. 

• More pain relief. Motion is lotion — the more you use your back and core muscles, the better they will feel. “You want to make sure that they don’t stiffen up, which can worsen back pain,” says Dr. Bond. Back exercises have also been shown to help prevent future flare-ups of back pain, too. One review of 21 studies that looked at over 30,000 people found that those who participated in back strengthening programs after a bout of back pain more than halved their risk of developing it again within a year. 

How Hinge Health Can Help You

If you have joint or muscle pain that makes it hard to move, you can get the relief you’ve been looking for with Hinge Health’s online exercise therapy program.

The best part: You don’t have to leave your home because our program is digital. That means you can easily get the care you need through our app, when and where it works for you.

Through our program, you’ll have access to therapeutic exercises and stretches for your condition. Additionally, you’ll have a personal care team to guide, support, and tailor our program to you.

See if you qualify for Hinge Health and confirm free coverage through your employer or benefit plan here.

This article and its contents are provided for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice or professional services specific to you or your medical condition.

References 

1. Choi, S., Nah, S., Jang, H.-D., Moon, J. E., & Han, S. (2021). Association between chronic low back pain and degree of stress: a nationwide cross-sectional study. Scientific Reports, 11(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-021-94001-1

2. Chou, R. (2021, September 20). Patient education: Low back pain in adults (Beyond the Basics). UpToDate. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/low-back-pain-in-adults-beyond-the-basics

3. Gordon, R., & Bloxham, S. (2016). A Systematic Review of the Effects of Exercise and Physical Activity on Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain. Healthcare, 4(2), 22. doi:10.3390/healthcare4020022

4. Owen, P. J., Miller, C. T., Mundell, N. L., Verswijveren, S. J., Tagliaferri, S. D., Brisby, H., Bowe, S. J., & Belavy, D. L. (2019). Which specific modes of exercise training are most effective for treating low back pain? Network meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(21). doi:10.1136/bjsports-2019-100886

5. Shi, J., Liu, Z., Jin, F., Wang, X., & Lv, L. (2023). Effects of Breathing Exercises on Low Back Pain in clinical: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 79, 102993. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2023.102993

6. Skelly, A. C., Chou, R., Dettori, J. R., Turner, J. A., Friedly, J. L., Rundell, S. D., Fu, R., Brodt, E. D., Wasson, N., Kantner, S., & Ferguson, A. J. R. (2020). Noninvasive Nonpharmacological Treatment for Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review Update. In PubMed. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556229/

7. Warneke, K., Wilke, J., & Lohmann, L. H. (2024). Effects of Stretching or Strengthening Exercise on Spinal and Lumbopelvic Posture: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine - Open, 10(1). doi:10.1186/s40798-024-00733-5