I had a couple of requests last week, and I have to admit, I honestly did not know of many lower back strengthening exercises. I've been working on rows and push ups for toning my upper back, but it never really occurred to me that it was also very important to strengthen the lower back. It is!! Having a strong lower back will help prevent injuries and back pain, so I think incorporating things that target the lower back will help us all.

Here's a very simple, quick workout that I found on line. I was surprised to see that some of the exercises I thought specifically targeted the legs (lunges and bridge ups) also strengthen the lower back. That's good to know. This is just a series of four different exercises that will help strengthen that very important lower back area:

4 Back-Strengthening Exercises

And I also wanted to focus on my legs this week, specifically the thighs!

The Single Leg Circle: Our Top 10 Thigh Exercises: The Single-Leg Circle

Outer and Inner Thigh Kick Stretch: Our Top 10 Thigh Exercises: Outer and Inner Thigh Kick Stretch

Seated Leg Raise: Targets quads (front of thigh)
Sit on floor with your back pressed into a wall, legs extended in front of you with feet flexed. Raise right leg off floor as high as you comfortably can, keeping foot flexed. Lower to floor without touching; do 20 continuous reps. Repeat with left leg.

Scissor Kick: Targets adductors (inner thigh)
Lie faceup on floor with arms at sides, palms down and legs extended. Lift legs about 45 degrees, pointing toes. Quickly open and close your legs, crossing the right thigh over the left and then reversing the movement. Continue scissoring legs; do 12 to 15 reps per side.

These are just quick strengthening and toning circuits, but remember that a real Pilates workout will strengthen your entire core, including back, and a good step routine will burn tons of calories AND strengthen and tone your entire lower body, so if you get a chance, try incorporating those into your week a couple of times, either with a class at a gym or a good DVD.

Sounds interesting Thanks for finding all of these great workouts for us This week I will be back to working out like I should. Was thinking of getting back to Jillians routine for this week. I will try to work in these workouts too as I think there are really great

Awesome circuit as usual Shaina thank you I plan on doing some cardio today but I am going to work on the circuit tomorrow. The lower back does often get neglected so I am excited to work on strengthening it this week. Good luck to all!

Had to work until late yesterday and didn't had a chance to do any workout This morning I got my butt out of bed though for a nice 45 minute walk. I hope it is a start and I am on my way back to my routine of getting up every morning
Tonight I am planing on doing the Jillian circuit I wanted to do yesterday. I will make sure to add some of Shaina's workouts

I didn't do it yesterday. I was fishing and thought about it, but didn't have it written down any where to do it. So I am going to give it a try today.

Went to a Step Class last night! It kicked my booty and i think it was a great workout! I feel my legs are already looking better!

alright it kicked my butt. I feel fablous now though. Great curruit Shaina!

Originally Posted by 495346

I didn't do it yesterday. I was fishing and thought about it, but didn't have it written down any where to do it. So I am going to give it a try today.

Nice... hope you had fun fishing

Originally Posted by 21770

Went to a Step Class last night! It kicked my booty and i think it was a great workout! I feel my legs are already looking better!

Awesome girl

I am just full of excuses and that has to stop I didn't do the circuits last night and could come up with a ton of "why not's" but I know that there really is no excuse and I could've somehow squeezed the workouts in. I am working on getting my motivation back and back to my routine and I will make it