Exercises to make your back stronger also define your back and gives you a sexy V-shaped torso, regardless of your gender. Your back is part of your core and making it stronger means improving balance, posture and overall strength. When you exercise back muscles, you’ll burn more calories, since back muscles are large. If you’re constantly working on your abs, but not your back muscles, it creates an imbalance. You need to make both strong to be at your best.
Pull-ups can target larger back muscles.
If you have a chin-up bar, you can build back muscles with one exercise and lots of variations. Pull-ups target larger back muscles, while burning a lot of calories. You can modify your grip to work different muscle groups on various planes. If your palms are facing you and closer together, it’s a chin-up, but if they’re facing away and further apart, it’s a pull-up. Pull-ups work the lats and traps more.
You don’t need any equipment for bodyweight exercises.
Back muscles and abs can be made stronger with superman exercises. Lay on the floor with arms stretched in front of you and legs straight, tops of the feet on the floor. Lift both arms and legs off the floor at the same time, stretching your back as you do. You look like Superman flying. Hold that position then slowly lower your arms and legs back to the floor. Modify the superman by just lifting your upper body, then bringing your arms back to form a W. Return to starting position as you straighten your arms.
A bridge not only helps strengthen your back, it builds your abs as well.
You’ll build lower back muscles and abs with a bridge, but form is important. Lay on your back with your hands near your hips for support, knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Raise your bottom off the floor by pushing through your heels and tightening your butt. Lift your hips until it creates a straight line from your hips to your shoulders. Slowly lower your body, keeping your abs tight.
- Take a lesson from yoga with the cobra pose. Start face down, hands directly under your shoulders with elbow bent. Inhale lift your chest off the floor, rolling your shoulders back. Hold the position keeping your neck neutral and your gaze forward.
- A plank is one option that builds core strength, particularly the abs and the back muscles. Get into push-up position and hold. You can modify it by resting your upper body on your forearms instead of the palms of the hands.
- Do jumping jacks but instead of your hands touching at the top, cross your arms both at the top and the bottom. You can even do the jumping jacks without jumping, just do the arm movements.
- A personal trainer can help with a number of exercises that use both bodyweight and equipment. Band exercises, like the band row and band pulldown, use resistance bands. These are inexpensive and perfect for a home gym.
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