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Exercises

Lower back exercises at home, with or without weights

Published October 19, 2026

The best lower back exercises at home are the superman and the ball back extension when you have no weights, the Romanian deadlift and good morning with dumbbells, the deadlift, good morning and swing with a kettlebell, and the band deadlift and reverse hyper with a resistance band. Each one makes the muscles along your spine hold your back flat while your hips move. Start with the bodyweight pair and add a loaded hinge once 15 to 20 clean reps come easily.

  1. Superman Lower Back
  2. Exercise Ball Back Extension Lower Back
  3. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift Hamstrings, Glutes
  4. Dumbbell Good Morning Hamstrings, Lower Back
  5. Kettlebell Deadlift Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower Back
  6. Kettlebell Swing Glutes, Hamstrings
  7. Band Reverse Hyperextension Glutes, Hamstrings

Lower back exercises with no equipment

Without weights, the way to load the lower back is to lift your own chest and legs against gravity. The superman does it on the floor; the ball back extension does it over a stability ball with a bigger range, and you can hold a weight at your chest once body weight is easy.

Lower back, bodyweight extension

Superman

Lower Back

It needs only the floor, and it trains the muscles along your spine by making them lift your chest and legs at once. It is the place to start if you have never trained your lower back, and a good warm-up before the loaded hinges.

How to do it

  1. Lie face down with your legs straight and your arms reaching past your head, palms down.
  2. Brace your stomach lightly and squeeze your glutes.
  3. Raise your chest, arms and legs a few inches off the floor together, keeping your neck in line by looking at the floor.
  4. Hold for two to three seconds at the top, then lower everything slowly to the floor.

Cues

  • Reach long, not high
  • Glutes tight
  • Eyes on the floor

Common mistakes

  • Throwing your head back to get higher: a long, low lift is the goal, not a tall arch.
  • Rushing the reps: a short hold at the top is where the work happens.

Swap for: Exercise Ball Back Extension

Build a session with Superman

Lower back, extension over a ball

Exercise Ball Back Extension

Lower Back

Draped over a stability ball, your torso can fold down and then lift past level, a much bigger range than the superman. That range, plus the option to hold a weight at your chest, makes it the main bodyweight lower-back exercise once supermans get easy.

How to do it

  1. Kneel behind a stability ball and roll forward so your hips and lower stomach rest on top of it.
  2. Straighten your legs and press the balls of your feet against a wall or under a couch, feet wider than your hips for balance.
  3. Cross your arms on your chest or put your fingertips by your ears, and let your chest curl down over the ball.
  4. Lift your chest until heels, hips and head line up, pause, then lower slowly.

Cues

  • Rise to a straight line
  • Hips stay on the ball
  • Slow down, pause up

Common mistakes

  • Arching far past straight at the top: stop when your shoulders line up with your hips and heels.
  • Letting the ball roll: wedge your feet against a wall so the only thing moving is your torso.

Swap for: Superman, Band Reverse Hyperextension

Build a session with Exercise Ball Back Extension

Lower back exercises with dumbbells or a kettlebell

Your spinal erectors are built to hold your back still while your hips bend, so hinges are the way to train them with weight. The deadlifts load them most, the good mornings make a light weight feel heavy, and the swing builds endurance.

Lower back, hamstrings and glutes

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, Glutes

This is the heaviest lower-back exercise most home gyms allow. Your spinal erectors have to hold your back flat while the dumbbells travel down your legs, and because the weight hangs at arm's length you can load it far more than a good morning.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall holding two dumbbells in front of your thighs, feet under your hips.
  2. Soften your knees and push your hips straight back, sliding the dumbbells down the front of your legs.
  3. Stop when you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings, usually just below the knees, with your back still flat.
  4. Drive your hips forward to stand back up, tightening your glutes as you finish.

Cues

  • Hips back like closing a car door with your butt
  • Dumbbells brush your legs
  • Flat back the whole way

Common mistakes

  • Squatting the weight down by bending your knees more: the knees stay soft and the hips do the moving.
  • Reaching for the floor: the depth ends when your back would start to round.

Swap for: Kettlebell Deadlift, Band Deadlift

Build a session with Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Lower back and hamstrings

Dumbbell Good Morning

Hamstrings, Lower Back

With the dumbbells held at your shoulders, the load sits much farther from your hips than in a deadlift. That long lever makes your lower back work harder for the same weight, which suits a home setup with only light dumbbells.

How to do it

  1. Hold a dumbbell on each shoulder, elbows tucked, and stand with your feet under your hips.
  2. Unlock your knees and keep that bend for the whole set.
  3. Push your hips back and tip your chest forward until your torso is close to parallel or your back starts to round.
  4. Drive your hips forward to come back up to standing.

Cues

  • Bow at the hips
  • Weights stay pinned to your shoulders
  • Knees soft and still

Common mistakes

  • Letting the dumbbells roll forward off the shoulders: keep your elbows tight to your sides.
  • Using too much weight too soon: start light, since the lever makes a small dumbbell feel heavy.

Swap for: Kettlebell Good Morning, Band Good Morning

Build a session with Dumbbell Good Morning

Lower back, glutes and hamstrings

Kettlebell Deadlift

Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower Back

A single kettlebell between your feet keeps the weight centered, so the deadlift is easy to learn and hard to do wrong. It is the right first loaded hinge if your only weight is one kettlebell.

How to do it

  1. Stand over a kettlebell with it between your feet, roughly in line with your ankles.
  2. Push your hips back and bend your knees to reach the handle, keeping your back flat and arms straight.
  3. Grip the handle, brace, and stand up by driving your feet into the floor and your hips forward.
  4. Lower the bell back to the floor along the same path, hips going back first.

Cues

  • Push the floor away
  • Shoulders over the bell
  • Lock out with your glutes

Common mistakes

  • Lifting with a rounded back: if you can't reach the handle with a flat back, set the bell on a step or book.
  • Leaning back at the top: finish standing straight.

Swap for: Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Band Deadlift

Build a session with Kettlebell Deadlift

Lower back and hamstrings

Kettlebell Good Morning

Hamstrings, Lower Back

Hugging the kettlebell at your chest gives you the good morning with only one bell. It shifts the load forward, closer to where your hands would be on a front squat, so your upper back works a bit too.

How to do it

  1. Hold the kettlebell by the horns at your chest, elbows pointing down.
  2. Set your feet under your hips and soften your knees.
  3. Push your hips back and lean your torso forward, keeping the bell glued to your chest, until you feel your hamstrings stretch.
  4. Stand back up by pushing your hips forward.

Cues

  • Bell on your chest
  • Hips back first
  • Long spine

Common mistakes

  • Letting the bell drift away from your chest: it turns into a front raise and loads your shoulders.
  • Bending the knees more as you lean: keep the angle you started with.

Swap for: Dumbbell Good Morning, Band Good Morning

Build a session with Kettlebell Good Morning

Lower back, glutes and hamstrings, power

Kettlebell Swing

Glutes, Hamstrings

The swing is a hinge done fast: your hips snap forward and the bell floats up to chest height. Your lower back holds the spine rigid against that pull for many reps in a row, which builds endurance that slow hinges do not.

How to do it

  1. Set the bell a foot in front of you, hinge, and grip the handle with both hands.
  2. Hike the bell back between your legs, forearms against your inner thighs.
  3. Snap your hips forward and squeeze your glutes so the bell floats up to about chest height, arms straight and relaxed.
  4. Let the bell fall back between your legs, hinging as it passes your hips, and go straight into the next rep.

Cues

  • Hips throw the bell, arms just hold it
  • Plank at the top
  • Hike, don't squat

Common mistakes

  • Lifting the bell with your arms: if your shoulders burn, your hips are not doing the work.
  • Squatting down instead of hinging: your hips go back and your shins stay nearly vertical.

Swap for: Kettlebell Deadlift

Build a session with Kettlebell Swing

Lower back exercises with resistance bands

A band gives you the same hinges without iron. Stand on it for the deadlift and good morning, or anchor it to a bench for the reverse hyper, which works the lower back while your chest rests on the bench.

Lower back and glutes

Band Deadlift

Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower Back

Standing on a band gives you a deadlift with no weights. The tension is lowest at the bottom and highest at the top, so it is gentle on the stretch and hard at the lockout.

How to do it

  1. Plant both feet on the middle of the band and hold the ends at arm's length.
  2. Push your hips back and bend your knees until your hands reach about mid-shin with your back flat.
  3. Come up by snapping your hips through and tightening your glutes.
  4. Lower slowly to the same depth.

Cues

  • Hips back, chest forward
  • Fight the band at the top
  • Slow down

Common mistakes

  • Rounding to reach lower: stop at mid-shin or where your back is still flat.
  • Leaning back at lockout: stand straight with your ribs down.

Swap for: Kettlebell Deadlift, Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Build a session with Band Deadlift

Lower back and hamstrings

Band Good Morning

Hamstrings, Lower Back

The band version loops over your neck or sits in your hands at your shoulders, and it gets lighter as you bend, so the deepest point of the hinge is also the easiest. That makes it a forgiving way to learn the good morning.

How to do it

  1. Plant both feet on the band and bring the top of the loop over the back of your shoulders.
  2. Soften your knees and keep them there.
  3. Fold forward from your hips until your torso is close to parallel or your back starts to round.
  4. Push your hips forward to stand tall.

Cues

  • Fold at the hips
  • Band stays on your shoulders
  • Knees still

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees into a squat: hips back, knees fixed.
  • Craning your neck up: keep your head in line with your back.

Swap for: Dumbbell Good Morning, Kettlebell Good Morning

Build a session with Band Good Morning

Lower back and glutes, lying

Band Reverse Hyperextension

Glutes, Hamstrings

Your chest rests on a bench and your legs lift behind you, so the lower back works without any load pressing down on it. It is a good choice on days your back feels tired from standing hinges.

How to do it

  1. Lie face down on a flat bench, hips at the edge, and grip the bench edges.
  2. Loop a band around your feet and anchor it under the bench or a heavy object behind you.
  3. Squeeze your glutes and lift your straight legs until they line up with your body.
  4. Hold briefly, then lower slowly.

Cues

  • Chest down, legs up
  • Squeeze to lift
  • Stop at straight

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the legs above level: stop when your legs line up with your torso.
  • Bending the knees to lift higher: keep them straight so the hips do the work.

Swap for: Exercise Ball Back Extension, Superman

Build a session with Band Reverse Hyperextension

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

No weights: floor space and a stability ball

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets18 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentExercise Ball

You have no weights at home, or you are new to training your lower back and want to start with body weight before adding load.

The superman teaches you to lift with your back and glutes together; the ball back extension adds range once that is easy. With body weight only, the sets use long holds and high reps and stop 2 reps short, because the goal in this phase is clean reps you can add to each week, not exhausting sets. Three short sessions a week gives the muscles frequent practice. Each session has 6 working sets.

Floor and Ball
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
SupermanHold 3 s at the top. 3 × 8–15 2 45 s
Exercise Ball Back ExtensionFeet against a wall. Pause at the top. 3 × 10–20 2 1 min
How to run it
Do the session three times a week, for example Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It takes about ten minutes and fits after any other workout.
How to progress
Add a rep or a second of hold each week. When you reach 20 ball extensions at 2 reps in reserve, hold a water bottle or a light dumbbell at your chest, or move to one of the loaded plans.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

One kettlebell

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets18 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentKettlebells

You have a single kettlebell, around 12 to 24 kg, and want lower-back strength and some conditioning in a short session.

The deadlift trains the hinge heavy, the good morning makes the same bell harder with a longer lever, and the swing adds fast, repeated hip extension that slow lifts miss. The deadlift and good morning stop 2 reps short to keep your back flat on every rep; swings stop well before your form fades. Session A has 9 working sets and session B has 9.

Kettlebell A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Kettlebell DeadliftBell between your ankles. 3 × 8–15 2 2 min
Kettlebell SwingStop the set if your hips stop snapping. 4 × 12–20 2 75 s
SupermanHold 2 s. 2 × 10–15 1 45 s

Open Kettlebell A in the session builder

Kettlebell B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Kettlebell Good MorningBell on your chest. 3 × 10–15 2 90 s
Kettlebell Swing 3 × 15–20 2 75 s
Kettlebell Deadlift3 s lowering. 3 × 10–15 1 90 s

Open Kettlebell B in the session builder

How to run it
Alternate the two sessions, twice a week, with at least two days between them. Put session A first in the week if you also train legs.
How to progress
Add reps until every set hits the top of its range at the target RIR. With only one bell, slow the lowering on deadlifts to three seconds, then pause at the bottom of each good morning, before you buy a heavier kettlebell.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Dumbbells, a bench and a band

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets17 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Resistance Bands, Flat Bench

You train at home with adjustable or a few fixed dumbbells, a flat bench and a loop band, and you want to grow your lower back and hamstrings, not just maintain them.

The dumbbell Romanian deadlift is the heaviest hinge here and leads session A. The dumbbell good morning leads session B because it works the back harder with less weight. The band reverse hyper finishes each session lying on the bench, adding back and glute volume without more load on your spine. Main lifts stop 1 to 2 reps short; the reverse hyper goes to 1. Session A has 9 working sets and session B has 8.

Hinge A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift1 warm-up set first3 s down. Stop below the knees. 4 × 8–12 2 2:30 min
Band Good Morning 2 × 15–20 1 1 min
Band Reverse HyperextensionHold 1 s at the top. 3 × 12–20 1 1 min

Open Hinge A in the session builder

Hinge B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Good Morning1 warm-up set firstDumbbells on your shoulders. 3 × 8–12 2 2 min
Band Deadlift 2 × 12–20 1 1 min
Band Reverse Hyperextension 3 × 12–20 1 1 min

Open Hinge B in the session builder

How to run it
Train twice a week with two or three days between sessions. On weeks you train legs hard elsewhere, keep only session A.
How to progress
Use double progression: when every set of a lift reaches the top of the range at the target RIR, add 2 to 5 lb per dumbbell and drop back to the bottom of the range.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What exercises can I do to build my lower back?

Hinges. The Romanian deadlift, good morning and kettlebell deadlift make the muscles along your spine hold your back flat while you bend at the hips, and adding weight over time is what builds them. Back extensions over a ball and supermans do the same with body weight and are where to start if you have no weights.

What muscles support the lower back?

The erector spinae run along both sides of your spine and do most of the work of keeping it straight. Your glutes and hamstrings extend your hips, and your abs and obliques brace your trunk from the front and sides. The hinges on this page train the erectors, glutes and hamstrings together.

Can you strengthen your lower back without equipment?

Yes. Supermans work with no gear at all, and a stability ball turns them into back extensions with a bigger range. Hold each rep for two to three seconds at the top and add reps each week. Once 20 clean reps are easy, hold a weight at your chest or move to a loaded hinge.

How often should I train my lower back at home?

Two or three times a week works for most people. Bodyweight work recovers quickly and can go three times a week; heavy hinges like the Romanian deadlift need two or three days between sessions. If you also squat or deadlift elsewhere, count those as lower-back work too.

Are supermans or back extensions better?

Back extensions over a ball train a bigger range and can be loaded, so they build more strength once you are past the beginning. Supermans need no equipment and are easier to learn, which makes them the better start. Many people do both: supermans to warm up, extensions as the main set.

Is the kettlebell swing a lower back exercise?

It mostly works your glutes and hamstrings, but your lower back holds your spine rigid through every rep. That makes it good for lower-back endurance. For pure strength, pair it with a slow hinge such as the kettlebell deadlift or good morning.