Often, most people actively train their chest, arms or abs, that is, those muscles that can be seen in the mirror during exercise. However, to create a balanced, strong and functional body, you also need to train your back muscles.
Exercises aimed at working out the back will help burn a huge amount of calories and increase metabolism. The back muscles are a fairly large group, which forms the correct posture, a V-shaped silhouette, and is also the basis of a strong core.
In this article, we will consider how to strengthen back muscles at home.
Anatomy
The back muscles are divided into three large groups:
- deep - are responsible for the movement of the spine;
- intermediate - are responsible for the movement of the chest;
- superficial - are responsible for the movement of the shoulders.
Now let's take a closer look at the back muscles and their main functions:
- the broadest muscles - unbend the shoulders, participate in the movement of the ribs during breathing.
- trapezoidal - bring the shoulder blades closer to the spine, raise and lower the shoulder blades, help pull the head back and tilt to the sides. muscles of the lower back.
- rhomboid muscles - when contracting, they pull the shoulder blades to the spine and up.
- extensors of the back - unbend the spine, participate in lowering the ribs, as well as turning the head.
Now that we have examined the back muscles and their functions, we will move on to the practice and consider the exercises that help strengthen them and improve posture.
Types of exercises
Exercises for the back can be divided into two types:
- to the depth;
- to the width.
This means that you need to perform both vertical and horizontal exercises. It is very important not to rely on only one movement pattern, as this can lead to muscle imbalance. Therefore, always try to combine different types of exercises in one workout.
A fair half of humanity often does not pay attention to training the upper body, but strengthening the back muscles of both women and men is very important. Therefore, there is no gender separation in training; you can choose exercises for yourself, regardless of gender.
Body weight exercises
Even if you do not have time or money to visit the gym, you can still carry out a high-quality and effective training.
So which exercises strengthen your back muscles? At home, you can perform almost all basic and isolating exercises using only your own body weight, simple and inexpensive equipment, such as dumbbells or elastic bands.
Begin regularly to perform the following exercises that strengthen the muscles of the back, and a positive effect is sure to manifest itself.
"Snow angel"
This exercise allows you to work out the upper back. Do this exercise with your children, as strengthening the back muscles of the child is also very important.
- Lie face down on the mat. Put your hands on the sides, palms down.
- Raise your arms above the floor and begin to slowly move them through the sides forward until the thumbs touch each other at head level.
- Then gradually return to the starting position. Make sure your arms are straight and your elbows are not bent.
If you are a beginner and you are uncomfortable with moving in full amplitude, then you can move your hands to shoulder level.
"Good morning"
Leaning forward, or “good morning,” is a simple exercise aimed at training the lower back, and also involves the muscles of the legs and buttocks.
- Stand straight with your legs slightly wider than your shoulders. Put your hands on your belt. Take your shoulders back a little.
- Start to lean forward slowly until the torso is parallel to the floor. Keep your abdominal muscles tight during the entire movement.
- Slowly return to starting position.
When performing this exercise, it is very important not to round the back, as this removes the spine from a neutral position. The right technique will avoid injuries and increase the effectiveness of the exercise.
If you are a beginner, try the exercise while sitting on a chair. For advanced athletes, leaning forward with a barbell is suitable.
"Superman"
This is an excellent insulating exercise to work out the muscles of the lower back. It will allow you to form the correct posture and teach you to maintain balance.
- Lie face down on the mat, stretch your arms and legs in opposite directions. Put your palms on the floor.
- Raise your arms and legs off the floor. Straining the muscles of the back, buttocks and shoulders, raise your arms and legs about one height. Stay in this state for 15-30 seconds, while maintaining tension throughout the body.
To work with the deeper lower back muscles, try raising and lowering the opposite arm and leg.
"Cobra"
This exercise, which came from yoga, will help improve flexibility in the lower back.
- Lie face down on the mat. Stretch your legs and rest your socks on the floor. Place your palms on the floor, elbows bent, arms under your shoulders.
- As you inhale, start lifting your body up using your hands. Press your legs and hips to the floor. Hold this position for 15-30 seconds.
- As you exhale, slowly return to starting position.
Squats near the wall
This exercise is very useful for the prevention or relief of back pain that you may experience during sedentary work.
- Stand with your back to the wall, feet shoulder width apart, palms against the wall.
- Start to slowly go down until your knees are at an angle of 90 degrees. Hold this position for several seconds.
- Then slowly rise to the starting position.
Exercises with optional equipment
Exercising your back is challenging, as many people cannot feel the muscles working while doing the exercises. This is because you cannot see and fully control your back, and biceps are often involved in many exercises and take part of the load on yourself. Therefore, it is very important to perform all movements with the back muscles, and not pull with your hands.
Exercises with a barbell or dumbbells will increase the amount of muscle mass and achieve the desired relief, so do not neglect them.
1. Pullups
This is one of the best and easiest exercises to work out your back muscles. For it, you only need a crossbar, which you can install in the doorway or use a street horizontal bar.
- Wrap your arms around the crossbar a little more than shoulder width apart.
- Pull yourself up with your back muscles. Your chin should be just above the bar. Pause at the peak to maintain muscle contraction.
- Return to the starting position.
Different grips when pulling up allow you to work out various muscle groups. The wider the grip, the harder it will be for you to pull yourself in, but you better focus on your back muscles. Reverse grip will allow you to pay more attention to biceps.
It is very important not to swing during pull-ups. The temptation is to help yourself and use the impulse, however, in this case, the load is removed from the back muscles. If you are a beginner, then it is worth starting with pull-ups with elastic tape.
2. Deadlift
Properly executed deadlift is an excellent exercise for working out the back, as well as the legs and buttocks. This exercise is very energy consuming, so it should be performed at the beginning of the workout.
- Take the barbell. Put your feet shoulder width apart.
- Bend your hips and knees. Keep the natural deflection in the back. Start slowly lowering the bar until it drops to the floor.
- Pull the body, push your hips forward and return to the starting position.
Exercise can be performed with a barbell, dumbbells or kettlebell.
3. Belt dumbbell pull
This exercise will help develop the shoulders and upper back. To perform traction, you will need a bench or chair for emphasis, as well as dumbbells.
- Put one knee and arm on a support. Keep your opposite arm with a dumbbell extended to the floor.
- Pull the dumbbell up, pressing your elbow to your body. Make sure your movements are slow and controlled. You should not jerk your hands up and down. At the end point, hold the position for a second to maximize compression.
- Then slowly return the hand to its original position.
Exercise can be performed without support, if you do not have a bench. In this option, you need to bend your knees and hips to lean forward. You can also use two dumbbells at once, since both hands are free.
4. Romanian craving
Properly performed Romanian traction can help stretch the muscles of the middle and lower back, and also work out the back of the thigh.
- Stand straight and place your feet shoulder-width apart. Take dumbbells in your hands and make sure your knees are slightly bent.
- Start leaning forward slowly, keeping your back straight until your back is parallel to the floor. Your arms should remain straight and your stomach drawn in.
- After a short pause in this position, slowly start lifting the casing until you are fully upright.
5. Thrust with expander
You can use an elastic expander to simulate a rowing machine for traction. It will provide resistance to your shoulders and upper back.
- Sit on the mat and straighten your legs in front of you. Take the expander and grab it with your feet.
- Slowly pull your hands toward the body, moving your shoulder blades away. Make sure your legs are fixed and motionless during the exercise.
- Then gradually return to the starting position.
Main mistakes
So, we examined the issue of how to straighten your posture and strengthen your back muscles through various exercises. Now consider the very common mistakes that occur during training.
- Do not look around. As a rule, many athletes look in the mirror to check the technique of the exercise. Despite the fact that it is very important to follow the technique, tilting the head to the side can lead to neck injury when you are working with heavy weights.
- Keep your neck neutral. It is best to keep the neck in a straight line with the rest of the spine, rather than diverting it excessively up or down.
- Keep your back straight. This is the golden rule for all back exercises.
- Do not round the lower back. This may be due to flexibility problems, but is more common when the operating weight is too heavy. Rounding exerts excessive pressure on the lower back, which can result in personal injury.
- Do not work with your hands. Concentrate on your back muscles while doing exercises. Do not pull the biceps of your arms.
Features of back training
Now let's move on to the features of back training - how, when and how much to train.
- Back training can be combined with arms, legs, or shoulders.
- Only 2-3 exercises will be enough to strengthen the back.
- When performing exercises without weight for muscle tone, perform 15-20 repetitions. To increase the relief and muscle mass, do 10-15 repetitions. To develop strength, reduce the number of repetitions to 5-7.
- Use a neutral grip (with palms facing each other). This will allow you to shift the focus from the biceps of the arms to the back and get the maximum stimulating tension.
- Excessive stress on the spinal column and improper exercise technique can lead to dangerous injuries and chronic diseases. Therefore, it is very important to feel your muscles and not chase a quick result.
- Use light weights in the initial stages of your workouts or work without weight at all. Before moving on to significant loads, you need to prepare your muscles and ligaments in advance.
Summary
Regular exercises for the back can strengthen the muscles of the back and neck, improve posture, protect the body from injuries, and increase strength in other workouts. Therefore, do not neglect the exercises described in the article, and very soon you will see the result.