Welcome to the Get Fit Guys' quick and dirty tips to get moving and shape up.

My name is Brock Armstrong, and I'm the Get Fit Guy.

If you're one of those unlucky people who has thrown their back out,

well, you know that sinking feeling that comes after, I don't know,

picking something up the wrong way, or getting bumped the

wrong way during a sporting event, or reaching into a deep drawer, or way up onto a high shelf,

and suddenly feeling a twinge of pain surging through your muscles around your lower spine.

Now, if you take a look at an anatomy chart, you will see that there is a large and complex group of muscles all working together to support your lower back.

These muscles help hold your body upright and allow the trunk of your body to move and twist and bend in many directions.

Specifically, the three back muscles that help your spine function are, number one,

the extensor muscles, number two, the flexor muscles, and number three, the oblique muscles. Let's look at

each one of those, starting with the extensor muscles. These are attached to the back of the spine

and help us stand and lift things.

The extensors include a large pair of muscles in the lower back called erector spin-eye,

which hold up the spine and the gluteal muscles.

Then there's the flexor muscles.

These are attached to the front of the spine and enable flexion of the spine, bending forward, lifting and arching of the lower back.

And then there's the oblique muscles, and these muscles are attached to the sides of the spine and help you rotate the spine and also do most of the work to help you maintain proper posture.

Spine, hip, and shoulder flexibility also play a role in allowing the lower back to move

through a proper range of motion, but to avoid injury, it is crucial to have proper strength

in the lower back. The lower back becomes stronger when it's forced to extend against resistance,

and there are several movements that allow this extension to happen. But before we get into that,

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