Low back pain is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in the US. Chances are good you or someone you know has struggled with back pain at some point. Because most of my clients work office jobs, I see back pain more than any other issue. Long days of sitting combined with too little movement and poor exercise form all contribute to an epidemic of sore, achey backs.

Thankfully, in many cases, back pain can be dramatically reduced and even overcome completely without the need for prescription drugs or costly surgeries. Moving well and often is one of the best things you can do for your back. Even people who have never experienced back pain can reduce their risk of future problems by consistently following a smart, structured training program.

Please note – I am not anti drug or surgery. These interventions help many people. If your back pain is severe and persistent, please go see a medical professional.

In part 1, I explained the dos and dont’s of training for those already suffering from back pain. This second part offers training strategies to reduce the risk of hurting your back down the road. Following these tips can keep your back healthy long into the future.

Learn how to hip hinge.

One of the most common ways people hurt their backs is by improperly lifting a heavy object from the floor. Instead of bending through the hips and using their legs, people round their backs and ask their spine to bear the brunt of the load.

Learning how to hinge through the hips is one of the best ways to spare yourself back pain down the road. To do this, you first need to learn how to move your hips independently of your spine.

First, let’s get to know your spine. Assume a quadruped position (all fours) and perform the cat-cow exercise. This is a yoga move that involves moving your spine from a fully flexed to a fully extended position. Notice that your spine is the only thing moving.

Next, we will isolate movement from the hips. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Push through your heels and squeeze your butt until your hips are fully extended. Notice how you can move through your hips without moving your spine. Pay attention to the differences between these two exercises so you can replicate this separation in a performance setting.

After you perform the cat cow and glute bridge, it’s time to work on standing hip hinges. I like to use a broomstick or PVC pipe to give clients some context about where their body is in space.

Hold the broomstick along your spine so you have three points of contact: the back of your head, in between your shoulder blades, and on your tailbone. Now, unlock your knees and reach your hips back into a hinge while maintaining all three points of contact. Be sure to keep your chest tall so if you had writing on your shirt someone could read it from across the room. When you feel a big stretch in your hamstrings, drive the floor away and return to your tall and tight standing posture.

Build posterior chain strength.

One of the best ways to protect your lower back is to build strength in all the other muscles on the backside of your body. Strong glutes, hips, and hamstrings will spare your lower back during heavy lifting and daily activities.

My favorite exercises to build glute strength are the glute bridge and hip thrust. Start with bridges on the floor and progress to hip thrusts when you get stronger. Hip thrusts can be heavily loaded to build some serious strength. However, never go so heavy that you arch your lower back or feel the movement too much in the front of your legs.

You can also use a variety of hip hinge exercises to learn to properly load your entire posterior chain. Be sure you can safely perform a hinge (using the drills above) before you attempt these exercises.

My favorite hinge exercises for people with back problems are dumbbell RDLs, cable pull-throughs, elevated kettlebell deadlifts, and kettlebell swings. You should primarily feel these exercises working your legs and butt rather than your lower back. If you want to work on regular deadlifts, consider using a trap bar or shortening the range of motion by pulling from blocks or a power rack.

Read more: Which deadlift is right for me?

Build core strength and stability.

Many people who suffer from back pain have a weak core. One of the main functions of your core is to stabilize your spine while performing other activities. For this reason, it is crucial to add some anti-extension (resisting arching of the back), anti-rotation (resisting rotation), and anti-lateral flexion (resisting side-to-side bending) exercises to your workouts. These exercises teach you to use the deeper muscles of your core to prevent unnecessary movement of your lower back.

Read more: Core training beyond crunches

Some of my favorite anti-core exercises are dead bugs, pallof press, and planks and side planks. Loaded carries are also a great option as they force you to engage your core and stabilize your spine while moving around.

It’s also a good idea to eventually add some rotational core movements to your training program. Most of the exercises we do at the gym happen in the sagittal plane (moving backwards and forwards). However, the activities of our daily lives happen in 3D and we need to be able to move safely and control our bodies in all planes of motion.

Cable rotations, chops and lifts, and Russian twists are my favorite rotational core exercises. When performing rotational exercises, go slowly and ensure you maintain control over the full range of motion. Whipping back and forth is a good way to hurt your back.

Build a stronger lower back.

Your quest to build a more resilient back should include some direct training for your lower back – assuming you don’t have any current pain or an injury history that requires you to tread more carefully.

My favorite lower back exercises are RDLs, back extensions, good mornings, and reverse hypers. All of these exercises also target the rest of the posterior chain and can be modified to hit the erectors of the lower back more or less. Always use perfect form, go slowly, and be conservative with weight increases when performing these exercises.

Lower back pain doesn’t have to be a death sentence for your training. In fact, regular exercise (using good form and a balanced training program) is one of the best things you can do for the health of your back. With some adjustments and planning, you can train around pain and implement strategies to possibly reduce future problems.

Want to work on squats and deadlifts without exacerbating lower back pain? Download your free copy of my ebook Squat and Deadlift School below. I share the exact progressions and exercises I use to help clients feel strong and confident with these exercises, including ways to modify your training if your back is bugging you.