This is a great movement for those dealing with lower back pain or have a hard time keeping their back arched while squatting and/or pulling.
The key to this movement is to keep the upper back in a contracted state. To do this you will hold a 5 or 10-pound plate or dumbbell in each hand. Pull your elbows up and squeeze the upper back and traps as tight as you can. This will shut the upper back down from doing the back raise. Now you will perform a standard back raise, making sure to arch and keep the focus on the lower back. This is a shallow movement so there is no need to drop all the way down as you would with a normal back raise. Keep the tension on the lower back and rep speed down. A couple sets of 5 reps will be enough with this movement.
