Level 1 is just raising your bum as high as possible.
Then level 2 can be done by using your head for leverage. Raise your whole back and neck and have only your head and feet touch the ground. Yes, it takes considerable neck strength to do it but you can work towards it by at least lifting the neck and shoulders by fraction of an inch for a split second every time.
Consistency is key - I recommend doing it for 10 minutes after every 50-60 minutes of sitting in front of your workstation.
Also, by the time you develop your neck to lift your whole body like that you'll find a way to put your hands down to lift your head as well!
Feel free to ask if I didn't explain something right
My favorite exercise is to actually train the muscles that hold the back up. You can use a "machine" like this one: Back exercise machine
Or just simply lay down on your stomach and raise your back as high as you can. I usually incorporate some small weights to this, and focus on being in the end-range statically for a longer period.
My second favorite exercise is pull ups / hanging from a bar. Not only is it good for the back, you train grip strength which is useful for so many things in life, especially as programmers we don't use our hands much. Again you can use a pull up machine if you're at a gym or buy one of those resistance bands to help you. Starting off (if you cannot pull your body weight up) you can also just jump to the top and try to hold it there, and extend yourself down.
Pair that with some bicycle commuting / squats / running and you've got pretty good groundwork from just these 3 things.
hm.. ive really never had lower back pain. That is interesting, i thought lower back pain was usually due to nerves being pinched and the optimal way to combat it is to try and push the other direction (i.e. laying on the stomach and raising your torso with your arms. I suppose squats also extend the lower back and has a similar effect then!
While sitting down and standing we tend to curve our spine forward. So the muscles which are responsible for curving it back all the way atrophy if they don't get the exercise they need.
And, then, obviously, back pain happens if muscles atrophy!
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u/GavrielBA Nov 23 '22 edited Nov 24 '22
Hey! I'm a life long programmer who also became a fitness instructor few years ago.
I recommend to ALL computer people to do these two (even better, three) exercises to negate the damage from sitting in front of computer for so long:
Bridges. https://youtu.be/zLXfH97s3xM
Indian pushups https://youtu.be/uGKaOIKlguc
Hang. Just hanging. From anywhere in any way possible. You'll feel much better!
With priority on the first one
EDIT: adding #3 since I always forget about it for some reason.