Best exercises to train your back

Having a strong back is important because you’re improving the key support system for your entire body by strengthening your back muscles. A strong and healthy back will help to support and brace your spine, making it simpler to achieve your health and fitness objectives.

On the back of our body, we have a total of 40 muscles, there are 20 muscle pairs, on one on each side of the body. However, the 4 main back muscles are the deltoids, trapezius (Traps), lats, and erector spinae – the muscles that run along down the spine. In this blog I will list the best exercises for each of these back muscles and some extras. Strong lower back muscles that connect your spine and pelvis are the main muscles including your core that help with your posture. Some of these muscles move your torso and others stabilize the pelvis and spine in a natural neutral position.

4 of the best exercises to train your back and how you can perform them:

1. Best exercises for the Deltoids: Standing bent-over lateral raises

• Stand with a dumbbell with a light weight in each hand (Gradually increase weight when you are ready), then bend over at the hips until your lower body is just about parallel to the floor.
• Keep your chest out, back flat and keep your knees a little bent, and then let the dumbbells hang from beneath you and your elbows a little bent. Palms facing each other.
• And then while maintain that position raise the dumbbells up until your upper arms are parallel with the floor and at the levels of your shoulders. Then slowly lower the dumbbells.
• Don’t bounce your knees or use your upper body for momentum, aim to use just the target muscles and ensure to squeeze your deltoids.

2. Best exercises to train the Trapezius: Shrugs with dumbbell

• Starting in a standing position, place your feet flat on the floor. Shoulder-width distance between your feet is ideal.
• Turn your hands to face each other with your arms at your sides. Bend down and grasp the weights if you’re doing the workout with them.
• Bend your knees slightly to line up with (rather than past) your toes. Keep your chin up and your neck straight when staring straight ahead.
• Bring your shoulders as high as you can near your ears while inhaling. Slowly do the exercise to feel the resistance of your muscles.
• Before repeating the action, lower your shoulders and breathe out.

3. Best exercises for lats: Bent-over barbell row

• Grab the bar with the same grip position as your bench press in a bent-over position (knees slightly bent and feet shoulder-width apart).
• Remove the bar from the floor and bring it to the bottom of your breastbone. Return the bar to the floor, take a breath, and then resume.
• Make a deliberate effort to lift the bar up using your lats and then squeeze your scapulae together at the top.

4. Best exercises for erector spinae: Conventional Deadlift

• Stand with your legs approximately shoulder width apart, toes pointing forward or slightly outwards, facing the barbell.
• Bend your knees forward slightly so that your shins are in contact with the bar.
• Bring your bum backwards to a half-squat position with your thighs over your knees and lift your chest up so that your entire back is tight and flat.
• Take a deep breath and tense your lower back while flexing your abdominal muscles.
• Either your head should be in alignment with your spine, or you should be facing slightly forward. Also, try to engage your lats.
• Begin the exercise by pressing down hard on the floor with your legs, as if you were trying to push it away from you.
• Hold this position for 1-2 seconds before slowly lowering the weight to the floor in a steady motion, being careful not to round your lower back. Exhale. Then take another deep breath and tighten your core before starting the next rep.

For a more in depth how-to-do a deadlift, checkout this Phd blog on how to do a deadlift: https://www.phd.com/eu/perform-smart/how-to-deadlift/

Overall, strengthening your back is crucial since it not only improves your posture but also helps you perform other activities that require you to have a strong back. This can help you avoid injury when exercising and maintain a sense of balance in your movements which is why it is important to use these exercises to train your back.

Exercises to train your back at home

Not everyone is able to access a gym or may not want to go to the gym to develop their back muscles, and that’s fine. There are many exercises that can be done with body weight at home with no or minimal equipment required.

5 of the best at home exercise to train your back and build stronger muscles

1. Superman:

• Lie on your stomach and slowly
• Lift both your arms and legs simultaneously, as much as possible
• Hold this position for as long as you comfortably can and keep looking straight ahead
• Squeeze your glutes, hamstrings and your back
• Do this multiple times until failure
• Take some rest and then repeat

2. Aqua man (A variation of Superman):

• First lift your right arm and the left leg as much as you can
• And when you bring the two down, lift your left arm and your right leg
• Do both these movements as fast as possible
• Do this multiple times till failure
• Take some rest and then repeat

3. Dolphin Kicks:

• Place your torso on a table or bench as you lie on your stomach
• Slowly, lift both your legs together in the air as high as you can
• If lifting both the legs together is particularly tough, do it one leg at a time
• Do this multiple times till failure
• Take some rest and then repeat

4. Bent over Row (With resistance bands):

• Stand on the resistance band
• Bend forward slightly
• Hold both handles just under your knee
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together and lift the band up towards your upper rib
• Lower the band and repeat

5. Face pull (with resistance bands):

• Secure the band at waist height and stand square on holding the band in front of you
• Pull the band towards your face, lifting your elbows and keeping your back straight
• Hold the final position, squeezing your shoulder blades together, then return to start
• Standing further away increases the resistance

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Written by The Performance Solutions Team