I have had some pretty severe back pain the last couple days- unfortunately it's located in the small of my back so everything seems to tweak it- moving my neck, my arms, etc.

I think I just slept funny and I hope it goes away soon, but do you guys have any suggestions for working out with back pain in the meanwhile??

If you are having back pain, then rest. I'd suggest putting some ice on it, taking some ibuprofen and then putting heat on it to help it relax. I'd also look at what shoes you are wearing as improper shoes and exercise can cause back/joint issues.

I agree---rest.
Maybe some gentle stretching. That might hurt too, though.
Best wishes

I agree with everyone...with back injuries you should really rest. If you just HAVE to work out you might try riding a stationary bike (the kind that has the chair you sit in, not the ones that look more like real bikes). My hubby gets bad back pain every few months and he says that is about all he is able to do.

When my back bothers me I like to do gentle Yoga stretches, the one I like is the cat stretch where you get on your hands and knees and just round and arch your back, slowly...

I feel for you. I have sporadic low-back pain, and it can be a real bear. My doctor sent me to physical therapy for it once when it was really bad. The PTs had me ride a stationary back, do some resistance band work while sitting on an exercise ball, and a lot of stretches. I've had it often enough that I've figured out a routine to minimize the pain until the problem resolves itself. I do a lot of stretches that stretch out the muscles in the lower back: lie on your back, pull your knees up to your chest and hold; get on your hands and knees and arch your back like a cat; etc. I do these on a bed rather than on the floor--it's much easier to get on and off a bed when your back hurts than it is to get up off the floor. But the most important thing for me is to sleep in a particular way. I sleep on my back, with a wedge-shaped pillow propping me a up a bit, and with my knees bent over a pile of pillows. I start sleeping this way as soon as I feel a problem and keep doing it for a few days after I think I'm OK. It makes a HUGE difference for me. Before I figured this out, the pain could be nearly unbearable, and I ended up in the ER a couple of times. I haven't been back to the ER since I've started doing this, and level of pain seems to be much less. I normally cannot sleep on my back, so I usually take some antihistamine so I can sleep in that position. If your pain is like mine, it's going to hurt when you move from sitting to standing, when you start walking, etc., but it gets better the more you move around. Good luck!

I used to have back pain and muscle spasms all the time--sometimes my back would just freeze up on me. Since I've lost some of the weight, it doesn't happen anymore. However, I do occasionally tweak my back working out and I've found that if I lay around and rest it hurts more and takes longer to heal. Generally, I try to take a slow walk (now power walking!) a couple times a day to keep the muscles loose and some stretching. Hamstring stretches especially help. Doing this helps my back heal faster and it feels better while it's healing.
Hope it's feeling better soon!