What are some good body weight exercises to strengthen my lower back muscles?

My favorite is Back Extensions.  You can start with no weight and gradually add if needed, or just add reps.

Squats, deadlifts, and hyperextensions.

Pain in one area of your body doesnt necessarily imply that the root cause is in the same vicinity. For people who sit a lot, like programmers, the cause could be due to immobility of your hip or ankle combined with atrophy of your glutes. These two issues would cause your lower back to bear loads (in certain situations) that it was not designed to bear. Ie your lower back is compensating for issues in your hip and ankle. Go have yourself checked up by a physical therapist or osteotherapist. They will be able to let you know whats the root cause and how you can solve it. This is a great introductory article to read if you are interested in understanding more about stability and mobility of joints: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_repair/the_mobilitystability_continuum Also get in touch with Stuart McGill who has done some amazing work on effective treatment of back pain. http://www.backfitpro.com/

Reverse curl ups / back extensions as pictured in Sean Duckett's post will certainly work.  If you are looking for more ideas then follow the link below a and answer a quick questioner about your low back pain (if you have pain) and receive free customized exercises.  http://apps.facebook.com/irehab_backpain/

After consulting a licensed health professional, you could try these exercises. They worked for a number of my training partners.

It actually can be your hip flexors and in this case you should do some hip flexor stretch. For lower back stretch you can try updog or cobra and you can also try child's pose and downward dog. If you are interested in these stretch poses you can check out my cool down stretch video here (has hip flexor as well): Hopefully this helps and if you are interested in strengthen your lower back you can do the following if you have gym access: deadlifts is probably the best for lower back, barbell squats also are great for lower bar core, superman, rocketman and swimmers are all great for lower back. If you are interested in the lower back core exercises you can check out my core and lower back workout here: Hopefully this helps :-)

It's true that pain in your lower back does not necessarily mean that the root cause is in the same area. Having an occupational therapist or osteopath have a look is not a bad idea. However to strengthen lower back, try squats (add weights), prone cobra, Romanian deadlifts, superman (or horse stance), reverse crunch on a Swiss ball and body row (like a lying down pull up). I think it's a good idea to work the secondary muscles to support it as well, so consider trying back raises, bent-over rows, ab crunches on a ball, Swiss ball glute bridge, woodchoppers and pulse ups.

1. If you have chronic back pain, you deserve at least one good evaluation to ensure you don't have a serious condition that may worsen with exercise or inattention. 2. Go to a neurologist (yes, I'm biased), physiatrist or other physician knowledgable about the spine. I generally tell patients to avoid seeing a surgeon initially as there are just too many that over utilize surgery (Maslow's hammer.) 3. Once you have been evaluated (and even if you have spinal stenosis, scoliosis, etc.), you can now get into a program geared towards a healthy spine. 4. Your back hygiene and exercise program should be multifaceted and individualized to your health and goals. If your really serious, hook up with a knowledgable trainer or physical therapist. 5. If you smoke, stop. Not only is smoking related to lung cancer, heart disease and vascular disease, people who smoke have a much greater degree of degenerative disease of the spine (felt to be due to microvascular compromise.)

The lower back is a crucial component of the body because it makes up a portion of your core, along with your abdominal and oblique muscles.  A great body weight exercise to strengthen the lower back is a movement called the superman.  Simply lie on your front on a mat with your arms extended in front of you and your face flat or alternatively you can rest your forehead on a towel.  Simultaneously elevate your left leg and right arm off the mat.  You can hold this position for a couple seconds and slowly bring both arm and leg down to its starting position.  Repeat this 5-10 times using both legs and their opposing arm. This will definitely help strengthen the lower back and once you are comfortable with this exercise, you can move on to elevating both arms and legs at the same time. You can read up on other ways to strengthen and improve the flexibility in you lower back http://stretchingexercisesite.com/lower-back-stretches