Back exercises

[Phlebas]

A while back I asked for advice on muscle training specifically for Kendo. It was suggested by a few people that back and abdomen are important, but the only back muscle exercise I can think of is the old "Roman sit-ups" (ie: lying face down on the floor and raising your head and chest slightly). Are there any other good ones? I know that exercising a muscle (or muscle group in this case) with a single movement is good, but two or three different movements would be better. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

-Phlebas

[Kingu]

Try the same exercise, lying on the edge of a bench (for example) raise your chest from down to horizontal level (not upper!). You'll need someone to hold your ankles...

[Phlebas]

DAMN. Not sure why I didn't think of that myself, as I've seen the "racks" at the gym years ago. I could always rig something up to fasten my ankles at the end of the bench press I have downstairs. Not going above horizontal sounds like sound advice too.

Thanks Kingu!

[Ares2907]

Chin-ups, hands pronated (facing forward), wide grip. Slow and controlled movements.

You could always join a gym and take advantage of their facilities, failing that, buy yourself a cheap set of weights (stay away from anything that has 'spinlocks'. Plenty you can do with a couple of dumbells.

[munenmuso]

On a seiza position, lay on your back flat for 10 minutes.

[JSchmidt]

Hmm a little tricky to explain, but here goes. (This was the one my physio gave me when I had back problems as my main exercise)
Basicly stand up straight. Feel with your left hand for the muscle runnning on the right side of the spine, near the lumbar.
Slowly lift up your right hand. You should feel the muscle 'engage'. It should take at least 10 seconds to lift the arm up to vertical, where the muscle will then relax. Do 10 reps and switch sides and do at least 5 sets.
Eventually you will learn the feeling of the muscle engaging and you can start with some very light weights.

Just plain walking is actually also very good for the back.

Jakob

[Ares2907]

Munenmuso - technically that is a stretch, not an exercise per se. It also sounds like a hip-flexor/quad stetch to me (unless I am completely misreading your description). Not only that but an active stretch like that should not be held for much more than 15-20 seconds.