Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
I've had back problems for quite a while. Age, mostly. Climbing falls. I just constantly work on keeping it strong. I go to the gym. Ab work, back work, and squats. Squats are the best for me. Year 'round, except for the middle of summer. And position. Keep the back straight and relaxed.
+1
Although I don't do it all the time... For core exercises I like crunches, hyperextensions are great. Close grip pulldowns don't sound like a core exercise but they seem to help me. I also like thr Nautilus lower AB machine. It works the psoas and ipsoas. There are other ways to do that, most notably that thing that is a wheel with a handle on each side.
But the 'core' of the core are crunches and hyperextensions for me.