The back is one of the most important areas of your body. Your back muscles do so many things for us
Your back muscles do so many things for us including protecting our spines, keeping our posture in check, and protecting the muscles around it from injury. The back is also an area where excess fat can build up. This fat is usually a result of sedentary lifestyle and poor diet, but as we start to lose fat in other areas of the body, this fat tends to hang around.
While keeping the back strong should be a top priority, if you perform the proper exercises, you will also have the added side benefit of eliminating this annoying fat.
The following article showcases 4 exercises that you can do to strengthen your back and remove pesky back fat.
See the article below and be sure to share this with your friends looking for some new ways to build up their backs.
Your No. 1 line of defense against back fat? Pull-ups. “When women hear the word pull-up, I think everybody gets anxiety,” Stokes says, since they seem (and are) hard to do. “But there are so many other ways to mimic the movement of a pull-up.” Plus, there are some other very basic strength training moves you can do, both at home and at the gym, to get a killer back.
Pull-ups: Your back is made up of many different muscles, and a pull-up is an all-encompassing exercise that tones and sculpts them all, Stokes says. But they’re hard, so people tend to shy away from them. If you can do a normal pull-up—gripping the bar with your palms facing out—that’s ideal. “That’s going to work more of your lat muscle and back,” says Stokes. A chin-up, where palms are facing you, is an easier option and it’s still going to work your back a bit, but it hits the biceps more, so make chin-ups your second option. Here are a few more ways you can modify a classic pull-up:
Negative pull-ups—Stand on something to hoist yourself up into the end pull-up position against the bar. Slowly lower your body down in a controlled movement.
Assisted pull-up machine—“Every gym has an assisted pull-up machine and it’s unfortunately usually empty because it looks big and scary,” says Stokes. But it’s a great tool for doing pull-ups if you can’t master them on your own. This video will give you a good idea of how to use one, but ask someone at your gym to show you the proper way to use their specific machine.
Inverted row with TRX—This is an amazing exercise for your upper back in between your scapula and your rear delt—basically all of the big back muscles, says Stokes. All you need is a TRX band, which most gyms have. Check out this video for a how-to.
2 Renegade Row
Renegade row: Get into a plank position, arms out straight directly beneath your shoulders, squeezing your butt and pulling your abs tight into your spine. Hold a 3-5-pound weight in each hand. Starting with one arm at a time, pull the weight back into a row movement, engaging the upper back and delts.
3 Push-Ups
Push-ups: This basic move primarily works your chest, but it can actually be a great back exercise, too. Get into a standard push-up position with hands on the ground wider than shoulder-width apart. “When you lower into the contracted position, you’re actually engaging your back,” Stokes notes. So lower yourself slowly and really focus on that downward movement. Hold at the bottom for 3 seconds and push back up, contracting the chest.
4 Rowing Machine
Rowing machine: There’s a reason rowing is so popular these days: It’s truly an amazing back workout. Which makes sense because it has that basic row movement that perfectly targets your back. Hop on a rowing machine at the gym, or try a rowing workout class like CityRow.
