Four Moves To A Stronger Back

If you’ve setting out on a workout program, one group of muscles that you must make sure to hit regularly is your back.  Some people forget to perform enough back work because this isn’t a group of muscles that you regularly see.

Many get far more focused on training their chest, shoulders, and arms, as these are far more noticeable on your body.

But, if you’re not performing enough back work, you could suffer from muscular imbalances over time, setting you up for some serious injuries.

Let’s have a quick look at four great back strengthening exercises that you should be performing.

Pull-Ups

The first exercise to ensure you’re doing is the pull-up.  Pull-ups are great for increasing the total back thickness as they’ll be targeting the lat muscles, which run along the side of the body.

In addition to that, they’re also ideal for working the biceps as well, so you’ll get some additional strengthening benefits in that regard also.

When performing the pull-up, to best increase back thickness, place the arms farther apart on the bar.  This will ensure you hit the lats maximally.

Bent Over Rows

The second of the exercises to focus on is bent over row.  Bent over rows are great for improving your back strength as you’ll be very powerful in this position.  When performing the bent over row, just be sure that you do maintain a flat back position, never letting the back round or become hunched over.

That would quickly cause you to place great strain on the vertebra in the lower back and increase your risk of lower back pain.

When doing this exercise, always think of pulling up with the back muscles versus using the biceps or hamstrings to direct the movement.

Supermans

The third back exercise to consider is the superman exercise.  This exercise is great for those who want to improve their posture and strengthen all the smaller muscles running up and down the spinal column.

To perform this exercise, hold a weighted plate across your back while in a prone position lying on the floor and then slowly lift directly upwards as high as you can go.

Pause for a brief second at the top of the movement and then lower yourself back down to complete the rep.

One Arm Rows

Finally, the last back exercise to include in your workout program is the one arm row. The one arm row is a movement that is going to isolate one area of the back entirely, so is good for making sure both sides of the back have an equal strength level.

Furthermore, the one arm row allows you to zero in slightly better on the back muscles in general, making sure they’re contacting with maximum intensity.

Perform all reps on one side and then switch sides and repeat.

So there you have four great movements that you should be adding to your back workout routine. Each will target the muscle in a slightly different manner and ensure that you have a well-structured workout plan put together.

For help choosing a home gym to perform these exercises with, check out this guide.