When you think of working out at the gym, a lower back machine probably isn’t the first thing to come to mind. Because let’s face it, lower back muscles aren’t the most glamorous muscles to exercise.
But they are one of the most important muscle groups to exercise.
If you’ve ever experienced low back pain in your life, you’re one of many. In fact, up to 23% of adults across the world suffer from chronic lower back pain. [1] And that’s just chronic.
The truth is: Lower back pain is just a part of the human experience. But it doesn’t have to be a part of your normal, daily life.
When you add in lower back exercises–either without equipment or with a lower back machine–you put a hard stop on the cycle of lower back pain. Because when you strengthen your lower back, you bulletproof yourself against weakness, injury, and pain.
We’re Back Muscle Solutions, and lower back pain is our specialty. That’s because we’ve lived it ourselves. We know how debilitating it can be. And we found a solution that doesn’t involve having to go to your clinic over and over again. Instead, we put the power back in the hands of the people with the pain.
Today, we’ll discover 5 lower back exercise machine options you can find at your local gym.
We’ll cover:
- 5 Best Lower Back Machine Options to Discover at Your Gym
- Lower Back Massage
- Lower Back Stretches
- Our Best Lower Back Resources
- Lower Back Machine FAQs
5 Best Lower Back Machine Options to Discover at Your Gym
Whether your gym has some–or all–of these lower back machine options–these lower back machines are worth checking out at your local gym. Especially if you want to build long-term resistance to lower back pain and injury.
Lower Back Machine #1: Back Extension Machine
What Makes This Lower Back Machine So Great
Back extensions are one of the most popular lower back machine options to find at your local gym. As you lower your torso down, the weight of your own body will cause your lower back muscles to engage, making this a simple movement with powerful lower back muscle-building results.
It may be simple, but this lower back workout machine is not for the beginner. The back extension machine can ironically cause lower back pain and problems if not done with proper form. For this reason, I recommend this lower back machine for more advanced gym-goers.
The safer variation of this exercise involves biassing your glutes instead of your lower back. We’ve got a whole article on back extensions for glutes below:
“Back Extensions for Glutes: Unlock Glute Gains With This Exercise”
If you do decide that this lower back exercise machine is for you, you might find yourself with a few options at the gym:
The Horizontal Back Extension Machine
The 45-degree Back Extension Machine
Which one you use is totally up to you, but my personal recommendation is the 45-degree back extension machine. And that’s because it’s a bit safer on your lower back.
- The 45-degree back extension machine allows for a wider range of motion.
- The 45-degree back extension machine helps you get a better sense of whether or not you’re overextending your back.
Muscles Worked With This Lower Back Machine
- Erector spinae muscles (lower back muscle)
- Glutes
Here’s an article all about this lower back machine:
“Back Extension Machine: How To, Tips, Variations, & More”
How to Use This Lower Back Machine
1) Step onto the foot platform of the back extension machine, positioning your ankles just above the lower leg pad. Adjust so your pelvis is just below the thigh pad. Ensure your knees and ankles are aligned, and keep your legs hip-width apart.
2) Engage your core, maintaining a neutral pelvis and spine. Keep good posture by aligning your head and neck, and look straight ahead for proper positioning.
3) Once you're settled, slowly hinge at the hips, lowering your upper body down toward the floor.
4) Pause briefly at the bottom of the motion, then activate your lower back and glutes to lift your torso back up.
5) Return to the starting position slowly, keeping your spine neutral throughout the movement.
6) Repeat for your desired number of reps.
Lower Back Machine #2: Reverse Hyper Machine
What Makes This Lower Back Machine So Great
Few lower back gym machine options will wake up dormant lower back muscles the same way as the reverse hyperextension machine.
While this lower back machine can be found at many gyms, what I appreciate about this exercise is the fact that you can also use any flat surface to perform this movement. Without the machine, you won’t have the same ability to add weights, but it can still be a great lower back exercise.
Check out Ben in the video below–using a folding table to perform a reverse hyperextension.
Reverse Hyperextensions - The BEST Lower Back Exercise You Aren't Doing
Muscles Worked With This Lower Back Machine
- Erector spinae muscles (lower back muscle)
- Glutes
- Hamstrings
How to Use This Lower Back Machine
1) Set your feet in the belt attachment at the bottom of the machine, taking a narrow stance.
2) Hoist your hips up onto the machine.
3) Grab the handles.
4) Bring your feet out behind you, engaging your core and your glutes during this movement.
5) Lower your legs back down without allowing momentum to bring your feet too far forward.
For more info on the reverse hyper, check out our resources below.
“Reverse Hyper - The BEST Low Back Exercise You Aren't Doing”
Lower Back Machine #3: Lat Pulldown Machine
What Makes This Lower Back Machine So Great
As implied by the name, this machine works your latissimus dorsi muscles–or your lats. These are large muscles that span from your shoulder blades to your pelvis. So, while they are much larger than just your lower back, lats still count as lower back muscles.
With lats being such a large muscle, strengthening them plays a huge role in overall back strength–including the lower back.
There is a lat pulldown machine you can find at most gyms. It looks like this:
Or you can also use a cable station with a bar to create your own lat machine.
Muscles Worked With This Lower Back Machine
- Lats (lower back muscle)
- Biceps
How to Use This Lower Back Machine
1) Sit on the bench, and grab the handles above you with your palms facing away from you–shoulder-width apart.
2) Pull the handles down toward your upper chest, feeling a flex in your back.
3) Allow for a slight pause at the bottom, keeping those lats contracted.
4) Slowly return to the starting position, allowing a stretch in your lats at the top.
Lower Back Machine #4: Low Row Machine
What Makes This Lower Back Machine So Great
This “lower back workout machine” can be created easily at any cable station at your gym. Find a built-in bench and the proper handle, and you’ll be good to go.
For the handle type, I recommend a Double-D handle, which you’ll find in the pictures below.
One reason I like the low cable row is that you can really load up the weight due to the extra support provided by the foot pads on this lower back exercise machine.
Muscles Worked With This Lower Back Machine
- Lats (lower back muscle)
- Erector spinae (lower back muscle)
- Deltoids
- Trapezius
- Rhomboids
How to Use This Lower Back Machine
1) Locate a built-in bench at a cable machine and attach a narrow handle to the cable.
2) Sit upright with your chest lifted, shoulders pulled back, and core engaged.
3) Lean forward slightly to start.
4) Pull the handle toward your stomach, leaning back as you do so.
5) Control the handle as you return to the starting position.
6) Repeat for the desired amount of reps.
Lower Back Machine #5: Oblique Twist Machine
What Makes This Lower Back Machine So Great
Okay, I know what you’re thinking. Wait a sec…obliques aren’t lower back muscles.
And you’re right. Obliques are core muscles.
But obliques are closely interconnected with your lower back muscles. In fact, they work hand in hand with your erector spinae and QL muscles to stabilize the spine and pelvis.
For these reasons, we’ve added in this final lower back gym machine. Plus, it’s just a really cool machine!
Muscles Worked With This Lower Back Machine
- Obliques
How to Use This Lower Back Machine
1) Kneel down on the pad of the machine.
2) Grip the handles of the lower back machine, and press your chest into the chest pad.
3) Straighten your back and engage your core, keeping your abs tight.
4) Then, rotate your torso to the right and left to really work those obliques.
Lower Back Pain
At Back Muscle Solutions, we teach a 3-step approach to gain sustained lower back strength and resistance to injury and pain.
Step 1: Lower Back Massage
Step 2: Lower Back Stretches
Step 3: Lower Back Strengthening
For the sake of this article, we’ve been discussing Step 3–how to strengthen your lower back and fortify against injury by using lower back machines.
But if your back is in daily, constant pain, and your gym performance and daily life are getting wrecked by it, I actually don’t recommend starting with lower back strengthening exercises.
Instead, you’ll want to start with Step 1 and then Step 2.
So, let’s backtrack a moment, and I’ll share with you our best resources for how to build up to lower back strengthening.
STEP 1: Lower Back Massage
When you dive into strengthening a muscle that’s tight and angry, you’ll find pretty quickly that your muscle won’t respond all too well.
First, we want to massage and loosen the lower back muscles to prepare them and build them up to strengthening.
For this, I recommend the QL Claw. It’s our lower back massage device that’s different than any other massage device out there.
Why, you ask?
Well, the QL Claw is:
- The only massage device on the market designed to hit the QL–an elusive, deep lower back muscle responsible for wreaking havoc on backs around the globe
- Versatile enough to provide deep tissue massage to all 5 lower back muscles that tend to cause lower back pain.
For those days when you want to push it at the gym but your lower back is a hindering factor…the QL Claw is the fastest way to get lower back pain relief…right from your home.
Check out some reviews below to see what people have to say.
Learn more about the QL Claw by clicking below:
Step 2: Lower Back Stretches
Step 2 in healing a lower back is stretching.
And that’s because you won’t want to strengthen a muscle that hasn’t been stretched and prepped for the exercise.
For the best tips on lower back stretches, I recommend the resources below:
“13 Potent Stretches For Lower Back Pain That Actually Work”
My Top 4 Stretches For Lower Back Pain Relief
Step 3: Lower Back Strengthening
Okay so now for the all-important question: What is the best exercise machine for lower back problems?
It all depends on which lower back machine you prefer and what muscles you want to work.
Me personally: I like the low row machine. But I recommend trying out each lower back machine in this article to find what works for you. Good luck!
Our Best Lower Back Resources
We specialize in all things lower back, and we care about providing the best resources for people to feel empowered in their lower back pain journeys.
Here’s some more great stuff for you:
Articles
“Lower Back Strength And Low Back Pain”
“McGill Big 3 - Back Pain Relief From The Lower Back Legend”
“Lower Back Pain From Lifting | Heavy Lifting Triggered Back Pain”
“Spinal Erector Exercises - Protect The Back!”
Videos
3 Core Strengthening Exercises for Lower Back Stability
Have You Heard Of The Spinal Erector Crunch?
The Founder Exercise In 1 Minute - INSTANT Back Strength And Stability That WORKS
Lower Back Machine FAQs
What machine works the lower back?
There are several great options when it comes to finding a lower back exercise machine at your local gym. Some of the most popular lower back machine options include the lat pulldown machine, the back extension machine, and the reverse hyperextension machine.
How to properly use the lower back machine?
For the back extension machine, you want to make sure your spine is in neutral position and not getting overextended while you use this lower back machine.
Is a low row machine good for the back?
Yes, a low row machine is a great lower back workout machine option. It strengthens several back muscles, including the lats, delts, and erector spinae muscles.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537074/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538173/
[3] Donnelly, Joseph M. Travell, Simons & Simons Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: the Trigger Point Manual. 3rd ed., Wolters Kluwer Health, 2019.
[4] Davies, Clair, and Amber Davies. The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief. 3rd ed., New Harbinger Publications, Inc., 2013.