This article is going to be directed towards athletes, back patients, and anyone who is looking to have great back health and an injury free back.  So if any of these categories fit you, I would make sure to continue reading.  I also believe that everyone should perform this routine, no matter what fitness goal may be, I do not think that anyone wants to suffer from back pain, risk injury, or have insufficient back performance.

You will want to perform this simple back saving routine before every workout you perform.  Especially for those of you who are going to be doing some heavy resistance training, like many athletes are required to do.  These four exercises are going to take your spine through its natural full range of motion, activate its stabilizing muscles that surround the low back, and also stabilize the spine by creating optimal motor patterns.  Although these four exercises should not make up your total “core” workout, they are a staple for all pre workout routines.  I will be covering more key aspects of a full pre workout core routine in a later article, although these four aspects of a core workout are the most crucial for core performance.            

Next I will describe exactly how these exercises are supposed to be performed.  Also, check out the video below to see a visual of each of the Big 4 exercises.

Cat/Camel: On all fours, position hands directly under shoulders and knees directly under hips.   Then flex lumbar, thoracic, and cervical spine to its full range, do not force the motion.  Then extend all three portions of the spine to its max range, again do not force the spine into an exaggerated position.  Repeat for a total of 8 reps of each the flexion and extension motion.

Curl Up: Lying on your back, place both of your hands underneath your lumbar spine, bring one knee up so one foot is flat on the ground.  Next you will brace (squeeze abs like someone is going to give you a blow to the stomach, which will tighten the entire mid section and back extensors located in the lumbar spine) and lift your chest up, barely lifting the shoulder blades off the ground while maintaining that natural curve in your lumbar spine, that is the reasoning for your hands being placed under your lumbar spine, to make sure it does not collapse.  All the motion should be in the thoracic spine, the upper portion of your back, which is located at shoulder blade level.  Your neck should not curl but stay in its natural position.  To increase the difficulty of this exercise, all you need to do is try to brace harder, which will increase the resistance to which you lift yourself against.  Perform 5, 8 second holds with each leg up, a total of 10 curl ups.

Bird Dog: Resume the all fours position like in the cat/camel.  You will then brace your abs and lift opposite arm and leg straight out.  You want to concentrate on lifting your leg with only using your glute muscle.  Then lift the other arm and leg opposite of each other.  When your arm and leg are reached out, try to maintain a flat torso, not rotating at the hips or throughout the back. From the extended hand following down your back and through the extended leg, it should be a straight line.  Perform 5, 8 second holds alternating each side.

Side Plank: Start on your side in the form of a squat with your elbow on the ground and top foot in front of the bottom foot (should sort of look like you are sitting down if you were looking from above).  Now extend your hips so you are now suspended on your elbow and feet.  You should form a straight line from shoulders to feet, in order to make sure you do this, brace abs, keep glutes tight, and head and chest up.  Start out by performing 3-5, 8 second holds each side. (This one is demonstrated in the photo below.)

Side Plank: Starting Position 

Side Plank: Hold Position

There you have it, there is the Big 4.  Make sure you check out the video below to perform these exercises with precision.  Form is everything with these exercises, and you must strive to perform them with perfection in order to get the full benefit of this routine.