Exercise library
Back exercises, step by step
Every exercise in the Remedy app, with how to do it, form cues, common mistakes, and where it fits in a back program. General fitness information, not medical advice.
Mobility
Move the spine and hips through a comfortable range. Remedy uses these to warm up.
Cat-cow stretch
An all-fours movement that alternates rounding and arching your spine.
MobilityOpen-book rotation
A side-lying rotation for the upper and middle back.
MobilityChair thoracic extension
A gentle backward bend of the upper back over the top of a chair.
MobilityHip flexor stretch
A lunge-position stretch for the front of the hip.
MobilityMcKenzie press-up
A press-up from lying on your stomach where the hips stay on the floor and the lower back extends.
Core and stability
Hold the trunk steady while arms and legs move. The base everything else sits on.
Dead bug exercise
A core exercise done on your back: you slowly lower an opposite arm and leg while keeping your trunk still.
Core and stabilityBird dog exercise
From your hands and knees, you reach one arm forward and the opposite leg back while keeping your back still.
Core and stabilitySide plank from the knees
A shorter-lever side plank with your knees on the floor.
Core and stabilitySide plank
A side plank on your feet.
Core and stabilitySuitcase carry
Walking while holding a weight in one hand, like carrying a suitcase.
Glutes and hips
Hip extension strength, so the hips do the lifting instead of the low back.
Glute bridge
Lying on your back with knees bent, you drive through your heels to lift your hips.
Glutes and hipsSingle-leg glute bridge
A glute bridge on one leg, with the other leg held straight.
Glutes and hipsBarbell hip thrust
A loaded bridge with your upper back on a bench and a barbell across your hips.
Strength
Hinges, squats, and rows that build the back and legs up over the weeks.
Hip hinge
Bending forward by pushing your hips back while your spine stays long.
StrengthBanded Romanian deadlift
A hip hinge against a resistance band anchored under your feet.
StrengthSingle-leg Romanian deadlift
A hip hinge on one leg while the other leg reaches straight back.
StrengthDumbbell Romanian deadlift
A hip hinge holding a dumbbell in each hand.
StrengthKettlebell deadlift
Lifting a kettlebell from the floor between your feet using a hip hinge.
StrengthBodyweight squat
A controlled squat with no load.
StrengthGoblet squat
A squat holding one dumbbell or kettlebell at your chest.
StrengthSplit squat
A squat in a staggered stance, one foot forward and one back.
StrengthLeg press
A machine press for the legs.
StrengthResistance band row
Pulling a resistance band toward your lower ribs and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
StrengthSeated cable row
A seated horizontal pull on a cable machine.
Strength45-degree back extension
A hinge on a 45-degree bench with your hips on the pad and feet anchored.
Stretches and recovery
Easy holds Remedy uses to cool down at the end of a session.
Child’s pose for back pain
A resting stretch where you sit back toward your heels with your arms stretched out in front.
Stretches and recoveryFigure-4 stretch
A stretch for the glutes and the piriformis, done lying on your back with one ankle crossed over the opposite knee.
Stretches and recoveryLying hamstring stretch
A hamstring stretch done lying on your back, holding behind your thigh and straightening the knee.
How to use this library
Pick a few exercises from different groups rather than many from one. A useful routine covers mobility, core stability, and strength. Exercises for lower back pain has a ready-made starter routine, and core exercises for back pain shows how the stability exercises progress.
If you would rather not assemble it yourself, Remedy picks from this library for you based on your answers, sets the reps, and moves you to harder versions as you go.
Get a back program you can actually keep
Free to download on the App Store. Answer a few questions and your first session is ready in minutes.
