Back is human’s one of the strongest muscle group in the body. We have to make sure it is strong enough to support us. A weak back will cause hunchback because the muscles does not have the capability to support the heavy torso. However, many people forget to include some exercises that are extremely beneficial to build a strong and muscular back. Especially the newbies, they only think that biceps curls are going to make them huge, which is totally wrong. In addition, back is the opposite muscle of chest. This means your back is vital to support you when you are doing any type of bench press, otherwise you back is going to hurt. Below shows you 5 excellent back exercises many people are not doing today. After reading this article, I believe you would love to include them!
1. Upright
rows
This exercise has two variations. One’s emphasis is on
shoulders and another’s is on your back and today we will focus on the back. Upright
row is a best exercise to bring up your lacking upper to middle back because it
just target your these two parts of the
back so much that you will feel the full contraction at your back, as well as
your traps when performing upright rows. Importantly, if you have wrist pain or
you feel your wrist hurt when rowing, you can grab the bar at a wider grip
or/and use a wrist support. Do not overlook the positions where you grab the bar,
this makes a huge difference and changes the purpose of the training.
How to upright-row: Firstly, grab a barbell or dumbbell.
I suggest you use a barbell instead of a pair of dumbbells to practise your
form first. Bad forms injure your body. Secondly, while holding the barbell,
you stand straight with your chest out and shoulder back, and you must keep
this form strict when performing the upright rows. This is just like the base.
You cannot build a house without a good base. Thirdly, you lift it up
vertically until it touches your lower chest. At this point, you should totally
feel the contraction if you follow second step. Forth, slowly lower down the
back down your waist. Then you repeat this steps until you reach the number of
repetitions you want to achieve.
2. T-bar
rows
This bar row is undeniably a good move to build those lower
parts of your back. It targets your latissimus dorsi and erector spinae, which
means your whole lower back, as well as your stabilising muscles like legs and
core. Do not worry there is a photo above to show you the location of these
muscles. Before doing T-bar rows, you grab the bar so the bar is then at an
inclined level, which requires more of your stabilising muscles to support this
position. Look, before you start rowing, you have to use many muscles to
stabilise yourself. Doesn’t this involve more muscles, which means more growth?
How to T-bar row: Firstly, you stand on it. Secondly, you
squat down and make your back straight. With this position, you lift up the
handle of the bar. Why squat down not bent down? Bending down to lift the bar
up is detrimental to your spine, especially you are lifting heavy, which is
also the reason why some people have spine pain because they carry up the
weight without using a proper way. Thirdly, you row. The handle of the bar
should be lifted up to your abdominal muscles or below in order to target your
lower back muscles. Forth, slowly lower down the bar. Then you repeat this
steps until you reach the number of repetitions you want to achieve.
3. Deadlifts
Deadlift can be said that it is my favourite exercises. I
never ever skip deadlift. There are also many variations of deadlifts such as
sumo deadlift and stiff legged deadlift but today, we will focus on the regular
deadlift which targets our back. The whole back I could say is being hit by
this exercise. I feel my upper back, trap, lower back and more when
deadlifting. As our back is a considerably big muscle group on our body, more
efforts are needed to perform deadlift. Significantly, this exercise also
stimulates more muscle growth on your back. With confidence, I would say people
who deadlift are generally stronger and more stable.
How to deadlift: First of all, you stand in front of your
barbell. Both of your shins should be just slightly touching the bar. Secondly,
you stand straight with your shoulders back and chest out. Then you bend down
and grab the bar at about shoulder’s width apart. After all this, you look up
and be mentally and prepared for some heavy lifts. Lastly, lift the bar up and
contract your back by moving your shoulder back as much as possible to the
point where you still stand stably. I do not mean falling backwards.
Importantly, looking up will help straighten your back to some degree. Never
hunch you back or bend your back when lifting up. This is imperatively critical
because you can literally hurt your back when you hunch. Unfortunately, if you
injure your back, you have to take months to even years to rest. I believe you
would not want this to happen too.
In addition, you can also use Beast Strength Belt to stabilise your core if your core is weaker, which might hinder your performance in gym.
In addition, you can also use Beast Strength Belt to stabilise your core if your core is weaker, which might hinder your performance in gym.
4. Pull-ups
Pull-ups is also one of my favourite exercises. In the
past, I could hardly get one repetition for pull-up. Now, I pull up with a weight
to train my back and biceps. Pretty badass right? Could you imagine how
important pull-ups is in helping me to develop my back?
Pull-ups target almost the same muscles as deadlift,
except erector spinae. It does not really work on the erector spinae. This
exercise develops your latissimus dorsi a lot, which means honing a wider back.
Additionally, it also works your grip strength. You palms and your traps are
responsible for hanging you up there but let us place the emphasis on your
palms. Today, a lot of people do not actually train their grip strength, wrists
and finger strength. These are also especially vital when you do any pulling
movements, such as pull-ups itself, deadlifts, rows as well as curls.
How to pull-up: Firstly, you hold on to the bar and hang
yourself up there. Take note that you should very slightly bend elbows to
prevent excessive pressure acting on your elbows. Secondly, you slowly lift
yourself up in a count of 2. Remember, you should put your shoulders back and
chest out when you are lifting yourself up, as well as lowering yourself down. This
is the form. I emphasize it for these 5 exercises, do you notice it? Hold it at
the top that for 1 second, then thirdly, slowly lower yourself down. Do not
forget that you should keep your core tight while lowering down. If you do this
correctly, you should not be swinging when pulling-up. Repeat the steps again.
5. Weight
Shrug
Shrug is an awesome exercise to develop those traps. As
you can see in the picture, traps are responsible for bigger inner back. The muscles
stretch from your inner back along to the back of your neck. These muscles, if
well-developed, provide you an image of a thicker neck and an image of small
mountains on your shoulders. Importantly, stronger traps are also very helpful for
you when you are holding heavy weights. It is also worth mentioning that 7 out
of 10 people do not certainly train their traps, which as a result, becomes
weaker. I have seen a huge guy with small traps. You, of course, would not like
to be like him.
How to do: Personally, I would prefer shrugging on
machine and on smith machine, as well as with dumbbells because they lock the
weight in the position. Firstly, you can grab a pair of dumbbells and place
your arms of the side of your body. Stand straight and tall with chest out and
shoulders back. Keep this form strictly. Secondly, squeeze your traps. Take
note that you should not squeeze your back and if you do correctly, you should
feel your traps burning. The rest of your back will never feel the burn.
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy reading this
article. Please remember to follow this blog, me on Google Plus as well as on
Facebook. I am looking forward to your follow. Have a nice day and train hard!
