Get on your back and bend your knee. Pull the knee up to your chest and hold it in place before switching legs. Then, get on your knees and hands and arch your back up as high as you can without moving your head, legs, or arms. Then, dip your back in the opposite direction as far as you can without moving the rest of your body. Hold each stretch for 15-30 seconds. Talk to your doctor or therapist before exercising to find the best stretches for you. Stretching is also a requirement if you're preparing for some other physical activity. Stretching the muscles helps relieve tension that might be causing back pain and minimizes your risk of injury. There are dozens of other stretches that alleviate back pain. Talk to your doctor or physical therapist to figure out which stretches are right for you. Either go on a jog, jump rope, do some jumping jacks, or take your bike out for a spin. Use whatever aerobic exercise you enjoy so long as it doesn't cause you any pain. You can also break your exercise up into 5-minute sessions if you're just starting out. Do this every day to strengthen your back muscles and keep your body happy and healthy. Stretch first before doing any aerobic exercise. When your back is in pain, your leg and abdomen muscles often overcompensate for your movement to avoid using your back muscles. Aerobics can help strengthen your abs and legs to help alleviate your pain. Beyond stretching and aerobics, talk to your doctor about doing crunches, lunges, light weight lifting, and other forms of exercise. Get a physical examination and ask your doctor about what type of exercise will be best for you. Staying physically fit is the best way to keep your back pain at bay but you need medical direction first. Yoga has also been proven to help alleviate back pain over time. It's also a great way to get some exercise in and stay fit without breaking out any exercise equipment. Green vegetables, tomatoes, olive oil, and fruits are also known for their inflammation-fighting properties. All of these foods help your muscles repair themselves naturally which will reduce the pain in your back. Switching to a low-inflammatory diet won't help right away, but if you're consistent with your diet will certainly help after a week or so. Red meat, white bread, fried food, and soda can trigger inflammation. Stay away from these foodsespecially if you're dealing with active back pain. If you eat a low-inflammatory diet, your back muscles are more likely to relax over time which can cut back on your pain. This will also make it less likely that you experience back pain in the future.

Summary: Stretch your back out daily to strengthen the muscles and improve flexibility. Get at least 15 minutes of aerobic exercise a day to improve your fitness. Get as much exercise as you can after getting a physical exam. Eat a low-inflammatory diet full of nuts, fish, and vegetables.

Once you've figured out what words challenge you, you need to make a plan for how you will move through your list in a limited amount of time. You need to make a plan so that you can cover all of your words quickly at least 3 times. Preferably, you want to cover tougher words 4 or 5 times (or until you're comfortable with those words). Consider a few things: Your limited amount of time. Days you might be too busy to study. Periodic tests and quizzes. Extra time for extra challenging words. Find yourself a good dictionary and some websites that will help you study. Your dictionary is going to be your most important study resource, so it should be one that you are comfortable using. In addition, websites will make studying a bit more fun, and perhaps easier. Dictionaries can be bought at pretty much any book store, but make sure to get one that is recommended and/or approved by your spelling bee organization. A good dictionary will show a word's root, phonetic spelling, common usage, and even origin. Oxford is a good choice, but Merriam-Webster's is the official choice of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and many smaller spelling bee organizations also recommend it. Vocabulary.com has a very helpful word list building tool. See it at https://www.vocabulary.com/lists/vocabgrabber Take a look at Merriam-Webster's Word Central at http://www.wordcentral.com/. If you are a younger spelling bee competitor, you can play games and build your own dictionary of tough words! Make sure to get a notebook in order to store your word lists and the paper that you'll be writing on when studying. A good organized notebook with your main word list, lists of challenging words, notes, definitions, and more, will be critical to your success.
Summary: Make a plan. Get yourself a dictionary and find helpful websites. Get yourself other materials to help study and prepare.