Sound familiar? Ease your travel-weary back with these easy exercises.

How often have you said that? After a day of sightseeing or booth hopping at some convention, your posture is shot and your hands move automatically to your lower spine. Look around you the next time you're stuck at the airport due to some flight delay or layover. How many tired travelers are extending their arms forward, massaging their backs or sitting in awkward positions?

Back fatigue and strain to due to stress or overuse is unavoidable. Especially when you are schlepping luggage or souvenirs. Maintaining good posture is key, as well as regular stretching. The key to decreasing back pain is increasing flexibility and regularly training your torso.

Strong torso muscles are necessary for maintaining power and stability for any activity. A few simple exercises done correctly can relieve many of the aches and pains associated with the wear-and-tear on your back. For a small expense a Dyna-band can be used to exercise every muscle group in your body including the torso. Just throw it in your bag and you have mini-gym with you no matter where you travel.

For the following exercises you will need to wrap the Dyna-band around the corner of the bed:

Seated Row
This exercise targets the muscles in the upper back and rear shoulders. Face the bed and sit tall with your legs together, extended in front. Wrap one end of the Dyna-band around each hand with the palms facing down. Exhale and squeeze your shoulder blades together as you pull the band toward you until your hands are alongside your chest. As you bend your elbows, they should travel directly behind you, not out to the side. Turn your palms to face your hips at the top of the movement. Hold for a count of two and release in a slow controlled motion. Repeat 20 to 25 times.

Abdominal Crunch
Turn your back to the band attached to the bed and lie faceup, knees bent, feet flat on the floor and shoulder width apart. Wrap one end of the Dyna-band in each hand with the palms facing the floor, extending your arms by your sides. Keep your head and neck relaxed. Exhale as you contract your abdominals to bring your shoulders off the floor, hold for a count of two. Inhale as you slowly lower to starting position. Repeat 20 to 25 times. (For a variation rotate the torso and alternate bringing the right hand toward the left knee and then the left hand toward the right knee.)

Roll-Up, Roll-Down
This exercise is adapted from Pilates and targets abdominal and back muscles, improving spinal flexibility. Sit tall with your legs together, extended in front. Center the band under the soles of your feet and then wrap one end of the Dyna-band around each hand. Keep your arms extended so there is tension in the band. Contract the lower portion of your abs so your torso curves inward. Keeping the abs contracted, roll backward down to the floor one vertebrae at a time, until your shoulder blades touch the floor. Curl your torso back up to starting position. Repeat 4 to 6 times.

Prone Hyperextension
This exercise targets the lower back muscles. Lie facedown on a towel with your legs extended behind, feet slightly apart, and arms extended overhead on the floor. Contract your abdominals. Exhale as you lift your left arm and right leg about 6 inches off the floor. Hold for a count of 5. Inhale as you slowly lower to starting position. Repeat 5 times and then switch sides. (To make it more challenging, raise both arms and legs at the same time. Repeat 10 times.)

Adding a Dyna-band to your workouts is an efficient and economical way to diversify your routine when you are away from home. Look for the incorporation of the Dyna-band in future columns.

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