Best workouts to strengthen your back

 

Best workouts to strengthen your back

Workouts that are guaranteed to strengthen your back

A More Balanced Body

A big chest looks ridiculous (and doesn’t physically function all that well) without a big upper back and shoulders. Likewise, your abs are part of your core, whose role is ultimate to support your spine. For better function and aesthetics, your mid and lower back need attention.

Stronger Back, Better Posture

No one wants to exhibit poor posture when they look at themselves in the mirror—so the postural correction that comes from strong, activated back muscles is important, too.

A Strong Back Helps You to Be Stronger Everywhere

Your back muscles include your traps, lats, delts, rhomboids, erector spinae, and other muscles associated with the posterior chain. Targeting those muscles specifically is important for plenty of reasons—but your back muscles can also play a bigger role than you might expect in assisting big-time compound movements that pay off in spades, like the bench press. Your upper- and mid-back muscles help to stabilize your shoulder joints, and the stronger and more stable your shoulders, the more weight you can lift in just about every upper-body exercise. Your hands have to be involved in back-focused exercises to handle the load, too, so don’t be surprised when all those rows result in bigger arm muscles.

The V-Taper

Are you fixated on your front because you’re yearning for V-shaped torsos? You’re not going to get there without homing in on the back. If that’s all you’re looking to do, check out this workout—but you should probably be motivated to look beyond just attaining that V.

Let’s know what exercises will help you:

Kettlebell Swings

Why: KB swings aren’t just for CrossFit zealots. Far from it. Working your back’s posterior chain, kettlebell swings are also devilishly effective for building a stronger core, which will help take weight away from your lower back. Start with a lighter weight, get used to form and progress slowly.

How: Place a kettlebell a couple of feet in front of you. Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and bend your knees to lean forward and grab the handle with both hands. With your back flat, engage your lats to pull the weight between your legs (be careful with how deep you swing) then drive your hips forward and explosively pull the kettlebell up to shoulder height with your arms straight in front of you. Return to the start position and repeat without pauses.

Barbell Deadlift

Why: The true king of compound movements, the barbell deadlift is a full-body move — building stronger legs, back, shoulders and arms. Its place in your next back workout is well deserved — as you work through the full range of motion, your upper-back muscles (rhomboids, traps, rear delts and lats) are firing away helping to keep your torso straight, while preventing your back from rounding and causing injury.

How: Squat down and grasp a barbell with your hands roughly shoulder-width apart. Keep your chest up, pull your shoulders back and look straight ahead as you lift the bar. Focus on taking the weight back onto your heels and keep the bar as close as possible to your body at all times. Lift to thigh level, pause, then return under control to the start position.

Pull-Up

Why: If you want a V-shape physique — you do, that’s why you’re here — then there are no avoiding pull-ups. Targeting your lats directly, you’ll gain a wider frame and will appear slimmer. Plus, you’ll get major gym kudos once your chin goes above that bar.

How: Grab the handles of the pull-up station with your palms facing away from you and your arms fully extended. Your hands should be around shoulder-width apart. Squeeze your shoulder blades together, exhale and drive your elbows towards your hips to bring your chin above the bar. Lower under control back to the start position.

Barbell Bent-Over Row

Why: As you’re working with a barbell, you should be able to shift more weight during a barbell bent-over row. Helping your recruit more muscle — and, obviously, elicit further muscle growth — you’ll work your middle and lower traps, rhomboid major, rhomboid minor, upper traps, rear deltoids, and rotator cuff muscles. Keep your shoulder blades back to avoid slouching, which puts undue stress on your lower back.

How: Grab a barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart. With your legs slightly bent, keep your back perfectly straight and bend your upper body forward until it’s almost perpendicular to the floor. From here row the weight upwards into the lower part of your chest. Pause. And return under control to the start position.

Dumbbell Single-arm Row

Why: Another great move for your lats, the dumbbell single-arm row works both sides of your body and helps you focus (and fix) weaker spots by smashing through strength imbalances on either side. A handy tip: don’t let your shoulder drop at the bottom of the movement. Lock your torso to ensure your back lifts the weight, not your arm.

How: Head to a flat bench and place your right hand against it under your shoulder, keeping your arm straight. Rest your right knee on the bench and step your other leg out to the side. With your free hand grab a dumbbell off the floor and row it up to your side until your upper arm is parallel with the floor. Lower slowly back to the floor and repeat.

Chest-supported Dumbbell Row

Why: An ideal move for those struggling to keep the chest strong and spine straight during other back-building bent-over moves, the chest-supported dumbbell row isolates your back muscles — helping move the dumbbells considerably more efficiently and safely.

How: Lie face down on the bench with your feet other side to keep you stable. Hang the dumbbells beneath you using a neutral grip. Keep your head up and bring your shoulder blades together as you row the weights towards your chest. Lower to the starting position under control.

Inverted Row

Why: Suitable for those struggling with pull-ups and chin-ups, the inverted row is surprisingly difficult. Smoking your back and your arms, you can progress or regress the move by re-arranging where your feet.

How: Set up a bar in a rack at waist height. Grab it with a wider than shoulder-width overhand grip and hang underneath. Position yourself with heels out in front of you and arms fully extended. Your body should be straight from shoulders to ankles. Flex at the elbows to pull your chest up to the bar. Lower yourself back to the start position under control.

Lat Pulldowns

Why: Just like pull-ups, lat pull-downs — a firm bodybuilding favourite — will build your lats, while working at a slow tempo will maximise your muscle gain. Keep form strict and reap the rewards. A tip: always bring the bar in front of your head. The behind-the-neck version can damage your rotator cuff.

How: Kneel in front of the cable machine and face away. Grab the bar with your palms facing away from you, shoulder-width apart. Lean back slightly and push your chest out. Pull the bar down to your chest, then return slowly to the start position. Your torso should remain still throughout.

Single-arm T-Bar Rows

Why: You’ve probably seen the standard T-bar row being performed (often incorrectly) at the gym, but the single-arm T-bar row ensures that, as you’re using a lighter load, form is stricter and muscle imbalances are being ironed out.

How: Add weight to one end of a barbell. Bend forward until your torso is almost parallel to the floor and keep your knees slightly bent. Grab the bar with one arm just behind the plates. Pull the bar straight up with your elbow in until the plates touch your chest and squeeze your back muscles at the top of the move. Slowly lower to the starting position and repeat without letting the plates touch the floor.

Farmers’ Walk

Why: Building a stronger back, bigger shoulders and insane grip strength, there’s very little the humbling farmers’ walk can’t do. Moreover, it blitzes belly fat and builds muscle far quicker than most functional moves.

How: Hold two kettlebells or dumbbells by your side. Keep your arms strong and walk short, quick steps as fast as possible. Turn around and walk back.

Renegade Row

Why: A great way to target those traps and lats, with a little bit of bicep building thrown in for good measure.

How: Get into a press-up position with your hands on the handles of two dumbbells. Keeping your core tensed, row the right dumbbell up to your abs then return to the start position. Repeat with the left dumbbell to complete one rep.

Your body is your vehicle, so you have to keep your engine running when you work out. That means fueling up your body by eating the right foods and drinking the right fluids, in the right amounts at the right times.

The American College of Sports Medicine says, “Adequate food and fluid should be consumed before, during, and after exercise to help maintain blood glucose concentration during exercise, maximize exercise performance, and improve recovery time. Athletes should be well hydrated before exercise and drink enough fluid during and after exercise to balance fluid losses.”

“You don’t have to adhere to a rigid schedule and there are no hard-fast rules,” said Riska Platt, M.S., R.D., a nutrition consultant for the Cardiac Rehabilitation Center at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. “But there are some things you should do before, during and after you work out.”

Ideally, fuel up two hours before you exercise by:

– Hydrating with water.

– Eating healthy carbohydrates such as whole-grain cereals (with low-fat or skim milk), whole-wheat toast, low-fat or fat-free yogurt, whole grain pasta, brown rice, fruits and vegetables.

– Avoiding saturated fats and even a lot of healthy protein — because these types of fuels digest slower in your stomach and take away oxygen and energy-delivering blood from your muscles.

If you only have 5-10 minutes before you exercise, eat a piece of fruit such as an apple or banana. The key is to consume easily digested carbohydrates, so you don’t feel sluggish.

Superman

Why: There aren’t too many back exercises that don’t require kit, but the Superman is definitely one of them. Done correctly, this will work your mid-back muscles, as well as your rotator cuff muscles.

How: Lie facedown on a mat with your arms extended in front of you and your legs extended behind you. Engaging your glutes and lower back, raise your arms, legs, and chest off the floor. Hold for a count, then slowly return to the starting position.

If you’re new to working out, start slow. Use lighter weights and do fewer reps. Easing into your workouts helps you avoid injuries. Getting these strong legs isn’t impossible in fact with proper exercise and a good diet, it’ll be easy and that’s how HealthCodes DNA can help you by providing a personalized exercise routine, it will help you have a strong toned back muscles that would make you look amazing and stronger.

With HealthCodes DNA, It features an amazing program which is the custom workout plan as which will help you if you’re looking to build a workout plan designed for your unique aerobic and anaerobic genetic profiles, that will help you strengthen your back muscles and have toned back muscles  so you can rock every outfit confidently as keeping your back strong especially important as you age. While also learning how to better align your body’s recovery and mindset to keep exercising sustainably. Look no further. The Fitness Panel DNA training program from HealthCodes DNA™ is the most efficient way to optimize your health and diet. All plans are made exclusively for you, right down to your DNA. we even help you know how much protein, carbs and fat you need in your diet so you can have your dream body fast.

HealthCodes DNA™ uses proprietary results algorithms coupled with clinical-grade genetic testing technology to deliver ultra-premium DNA testing services. The end results speak for themselves: thousands of healthy clients are currently changing their lifestyles, and now you can, too.

Not to mention, by choosing HealthCodes DNA™ you receive end-to-end support throughout your personal health journey. HealthCodes DNA™ coaches and nutritionists are on standby to put your results to work to help you unlock your best self–guaranteed, or your money back.

HealthCodes DNA™ uses proprietary results algorithms coupled with clinical-grade genetic testing technology to deliver ultra-premium DNA testing services. The end results speak for themselves: thousands of healthy clients are currently changing their lifestyles, and now you can, too.

Not to mention, by choosing HealthCodes DNA™ you receive end-to-end support throughout your personal health journey. HealthCodes DNA™ coaches and nutritionists are on standby to put your results to work to help you unlock your best self–guaranteed, or your money back.