What exercises can someone with a bad back do to lose weight and strengthen their back muscles?

That really depends on what you mean by a "bad back". Do you have a slipped disk? Is your spine degenerating? Are your back muscles weak? Do you have kyphosis or scoliosis?

The best exercises for losing weight are aerobic exercises. This use up the most calories and thus end up burning used fat. While running is one of the best aerobic exercises, its appropriateness for you would depend on its effect on your back. Swimming isn't as effective at burning fat as running, but it provides a good full body workout, is less of an impact on your joints, and is excellent at building your endurance. The water will also provide support for your back and other joints.

Different exercises will strengthen different back muscles. For example, the reverse fly will work the upper back (rhomboids) and rear shoulder muscles, while the lat pull downs work the Latissimus Dorsi (upper back) muscles.

Whatever you work into your back routine, don't forget to work supporting muscles (like the abdominals). The more muscles that are supporting your back, the less stress they have to bear and the easier it will be for them to grow.

With any new exercise programme, you should consult a physician. You should also consult a fitness trainer who can personalize your workout for your back.

[Added in response to bapuji]

As I mentioned at the beginning of my answer, it depends on what the asker meant by "bad back". If the back has some inherent problems (like scoliosis, kyphosis, arthritis, etc), then rest will do nothing.

My answer still is appropriate in answering the question how to lose weight and strengthen back muscles.

You best bet is swimming..if you can't swim then walking and yoga..infact you may want to combine the 3 for better results but take your time and seek advise from your doctor before commensing any exercise programme :D

I myself had a lower back fusion (S1,L5,L4 and L3). I just started to ride a bike and my back does not hurt at all when I ride. One thing that you can do is to strengthen your abdomen.

No, you need therapy to settle your Back Problems First and then, proceed with exercises....

I found out about 3 yrs ago, I was born missing a bone in my spine called sponda something when my legs started going numb and I would get random pain like I was being stabbed in my legs and feet (I thought maybe at first I was having some sort of stroke but it would come and go depending what I was doing, it was so bad if I layed on the floor with my kids I had to roll over grab something and kind of crawl up, when I was at the store I had to use the cart to hold me up so pain would lessen, I could never find a place to just be exsist without pain). They x-rayed me and told me about the bone and then I was put in physical therapy which helped a lot. I was told the reason I hadn't noticed it before was because I was in shape when I was younger and then each pregnancy (2) stretched out my stomach muscles (and I had gained weight stopped working out and just got worse and worse as pain got worse, since it hurt to do anything) so they no longer helped hold the spine in place. My insurance only covered a few months but they taught me different stuff (though I am not always good at keeping up with it, I know when I have been slack because pain comes back to remind me to start up again). But here was the stuff they had me do; I started each session (3xs a week) with stretches designed to stretch out the spastic muscles pulling on my spine in my back and also stretching out my legs (like laying down one leg out the other one bent and then pulled across to the opposite side of my chest then changing and many more stretches). Then I spent a lot of time on the incumbernt (sp?) bike over time increasing the hardness, its suppose to be a good bike for ppl with back problems because it puts no direct pressure on it. Then I did weight machines designed to strengthen my back and then they had me do a lot of stomach strengthening on the ball with balancing and rolling out and all sorts of crazy stuff. lastly, they would have me do electrodes on my back for 30min to loosing the muscles further. Mainly they told me I needed to strengthen my stomach muscles to keep my spine in place since the bone was gone (simple like just holding the stomach in while walking around helps), no twisting at the waist, laying on my back would make it worse and no arching backwards my spine couldn't handle it, and they told me nothing that involves jumping or something that could compress the spine it'll cause pain. They also put me on muscle relaxers to keep the spasms down. But without the physical therapy I wouldn't have made it to the condition I am now, now I just have to maintain it with stomach exercises. I hope my story helps you get an idea on how to approach helping your back, good luck.

You could try getting into ballet :) if you do it right and have a good instructor, you shouldn't be putting strain on your back at all.

It's my lower back, my right leg goes numb, I cannot walk or stand for more than 5 minutes at a time without bad pain in my back, I had syatica and surgery did not help

I have a lower back pain, had surgery. Had siatica Right leg goes numb

Get an exercise ball from Walmart or KMart. It provides an all over safe workout for the back. No danger of hurting immobilized joints from laying down doing ab crunches, sit-ups, .....

The books are starting to show a little age, but my wife and I really like "Callanetics" by Callan Pinckney. Her program is sort of a mix of yoga and pilates, for both flexibility, stregnth, and toning. The exercises are done without special equipment, and are VERY back sensitive, as she herself had some serious back problems. There are books for beginner to advanced, and other specific purposes, along with some videos.

Go swimming. You can work your entire body without too much strain while having fun in the process.

Walking is a great exercise for losing weight and strengthening back muscles.

Running can be good depending on the severity of the back problem.

Ryoho Yoga is excellent expecially if the class is designed for either of these issues.

Yoga exercises such as Boat, Bow and Bridge are great for losing weight however, it would be very wise to do these under the supervision of an experienced teacher especially with a bad back.

Sit ups (always stretch through the heel and pull the toes back) are good for two reasons. 1. they help to strengthen the abdominal muscles, if the right sit ups are done then the psoas muscle which plays a major role in supporting the spine is strengthened.
2. sit ups contract the abdominal area. If one wants to lose weight there needs to be less food consumption. contracting in the stomach in this way will help to eliminate the need for excessive food.

If you lie on your belly and lift the legs up off the ground making sure they are straight and changing the width of your legs you will definately help a lower back problem by strengthening the lower back muscles.

If you lie on your belly and lift the torso with the arms either straight out or interlaced behind your head you will strengthen the upper back muscles.

In the same position, hands behind the head and legs wide and swinging around to left and right you will strengthen the waist muscles in the back.

If you give it a go you will feel exactly where these exercises effect.

I also healed a very serious and debilitating back problem with Ryoho yoga, shiatsu and macrobiotic eating.

Back problems can take some time to fix expecially if it is a chronic problem. you need to be disciplined and see the future as weight and pain free.

Eliminating stimulants from the diet is also a good idea and will make the process of success much quicker.

BKS Iyengar is this yoga guru from India who developed his own style (Iyengar Yoga) which is designed especially for infirm/aged people, polio victims, people with injuries etc. It uses all the healing, strengthening and flexibility enhancing properties of regular yoga but minimises risk of injury and overcomes challenges through the use of ropes, blocks, walls, bolsters etc and specially designed techniques developed to address these problems.

If you find a good Iyengar Yoga practitioner in your area (ask for accreditation) and have a consultation so you can customise your treatment/practice sessions, I believe this low impact/high strength method utilising chiefly your own body weight and tackling the problem holistically will probably have better results than using free weights or gym equipment.

Naturally, having your mind in the right 'place' helps as well, and yoga is great for this. I myself cured a very painful lower back problem by doing only a few private consultations with a yoga expert (Ryoho Yoga, not Iyengar, which is more physical and so suited me better) over a few months. He'd send me away with specific exercises for me to do for 5-10 minutes twice a day plus I attended 1 or 2 classes a week – by the end of it not only was my back better and my posture improved, I also had more energy, a clearer mind and found smoking cigarettes very unappealing, so much so that I had to quit!

The link below is to the official Iyengar website. Ask around your neighbourhood though for any other types of yoga being practiced, and try to find that special person who's recommended by other people they've treated. If you click the sub-heading "Teachers" on the Iyengar site it will actually give you the contact details of accredited teachers in your state, and all over the world.

http://www.bksiyengar.com/

I would love to lose some weight instead of waiting 6 months to have weight loss surgery. I'm 20 and I have pinched nerves, a slipped disc (other one is slipping as well), and arthritis. I'm not capable of standing longer than 10 minutes, walking for about 8 minutes, and I lose my breath easily. Is rather lose weight the right way instead of not being able to eat regular food for the rest of my life. My doctor is trying to get me to a dietitian and exercise professional but the wait is going to take 1-2 months. Any suggestions? I love working out on an elliptical but I don't have any energy to go to a gym :( I shouldn't feel like I'm 50 at the age of 20! Help!!