2. Best workouts to strengthen your back
Workouts that are guaranteed to strengthen
your back
A More Balanced Body
A big chest looks ridiculous (and doesn’t
physically function all that well) without a
big upper back and shoulders. Likewise,
your abs are part of your core, whose role
is ultimate to support your spine. For better
function and aesthetics, your mid and lower
back need attention.
Stronger Back, Better Posture
No one wants to exhibit poor posture when
they look at themselves in the mirror—so
the postural correction that comes from
strong, activated back muscles is important,
too.
A Strong Back Helps You to Be Stronger
Everywhere
3. Your back muscles include your traps, lats,
delts, rhomboids, erector spinae, and other
muscles associated with the posterior chain.
Targeting those muscles specifically is
important for plenty of reasons—but your
back muscles can also play a bigger role
than you might expect in assisting big-time
compound movements that pay off in
spades, like the bench press. Your upper-
and mid-back muscles help to stabilize your
shoulder joints, and the stronger and more
stable your shoulders, the more weight you
can lift in just about every upper-body
exercise. Your hands have to be involved in
back-focused exercises to handle the load,
too, so don’t be surprised when all those
rows result in bigger arm muscles.
The V-Taper
Are you fixated on your front because
you’re yearning for V-shaped torsos? You’re
4. not going to get there without homing in on
the back. If that’s all you’re looking to do,
check out this workout—but you should
probably be motivated to look beyond just
attaining that V.
Let’s know what exercises will help you:
Kettlebell Swings
Why: KB swings aren’t just for CrossFit
zealots. Far from it. Working your back’s
posterior chain, kettlebell swings are also
devilishly effective for building a stronger
core, which will help take weight away from
your lower back. Start with a lighter weight,
get used to form and progress slowly.
How: Place a kettlebell a couple of feet in
front of you. Stand with your feet slightly
wider than shoulder-width apart and bend
5. your knees to lean forward and grab the
handle with both hands. With your back
flat, engage your lats to pull the weight
between your legs (be careful with how
deep you swing) then drive your hips
forward and explosively pull the kettlebell
up to shoulder height with your arms
straight in front of you. Return to the start
position and repeat without pauses.
Barbell Deadlift
Why: The true king of compound
movements, the barbell deadlift is a full-
body move — building stronger legs, back,
shoulders and arms. Its place in your next
back workout is well deserved — as you
work through the full range of motion, your
upper-back muscles (rhomboids, traps, rear
delts and lats) are firing away helping to
6. keep your torso straight, while preventing
your back from rounding and causing
injury.
How: Squat down and grasp a barbell with
your hands roughly shoulder-width apart.
Keep your chest up, pull your shoulders
back and look straight ahead as you lift the
bar. Focus on taking the weight back onto
your heels and keep the bar as close as
possible to your body at all times. Lift to
thigh level, pause, then return under control
to the start position.
Pull-Up
Why: If you want a V-shape physique —
you do, that’s why you’re here — then there
are no avoiding pull-ups. Targeting your
lats directly, you’ll gain a wider frame and
7. will appear slimmer. Plus, you’ll get major
gym kudos once your chin goes above that
bar.
How: Grab the handles of the pull-up
station with your palms facing away from
you and your arms fully extended. Your
hands should be around shoulder-width
apart. Squeeze your shoulder blades
together, exhale and drive your elbows
towards your hips to bring your chin above
the bar. Lower under control back to the
start position.
Barbell Bent-Over Row
Why: As you’re working with a barbell, you
should be able to shift more weight during
a barbell bent-over row. Helping your
recruit more muscle — and, obviously, elicit
8. further muscle growth — you’ll work your
middle and lower traps, rhomboid major,
rhomboid minor, upper traps, rear deltoids,
and rotator cuff muscles. Keep your
shoulder blades back to avoid slouching,
which puts undue stress on your lower
back.
How: Grab a barbell with an overhand
grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder
width apart. With your legs slightly bent,
keep your back perfectly straight and bend
your upper body forward until it’s almost
perpendicular to the floor. From here row
the weight upwards into the lower part of
your chest. Pause. And return under control
to the start position.
Dumbbell Single-arm Row
9. Why: Another great move for your lats, the
dumbbell single-arm row works both sides
of your body and helps you focus (and fix)
weaker spots by smashing through strength
imbalances on either side. A handy tip:
don’t let your shoulder drop at the bottom
of the movement. Lock your torso to ensure
your back lifts the weight, not your arm.
How: Head to a flat bench and place your
right hand against it under your shoulder,
keeping your arm straight. Rest your right
knee on the bench and step your other leg
out to the side. With your free hand grab a
dumbbell off the floor and row it up to your
side until your upper arm is parallel with
the floor. Lower slowly back to the floor and
repeat.
Chest-supported Dumbbell Row
10. Why: An ideal move for those struggling to
keep the chest strong and spine straight
during other back-building bent-over
moves, the chest-supported dumbbell row
isolates your back muscles — helping move
the dumbbells considerably more efficiently
and safely.
How: Lie face down on the bench with your
feet other side to keep you stable. Hang the
dumbbells beneath you using a neutral
grip. Keep your head up and bring your
shoulder blades together as you row the
weights towards your chest. Lower to the
starting position under control.
Inverted Row
11. Why: Suitable for those struggling with pull-
ups and chin-ups, the inverted row is
surprisingly difficult. Smoking your back
and your arms, you can progress or regress
the move by re-arranging where your feet.
How: Set up a bar in a rack at waist height.
Grab it with a wider than shoulder-width
overhand grip and hang underneath.
Position yourself with heels out in front of
you and arms fully extended. Your body
should be straight from shoulders to ankles.
Flex at the elbows to pull your chest up to
the bar. Lower yourself back to the start
position under control.
Lat Pulldowns
Why: Just like pull-ups, lat pull-downs — a
firm bodybuilding favourite — will build
12. your lats, while working at a slow tempo
will maximise your muscle gain. Keep form
strict and reap the rewards. A tip: always
bring the bar in front of your head. The
behind-the-neck version can damage your
rotator cuff.
How: Kneel in front of the cable machine
and face away. Grab the bar with your
palms facing away from you, shoulder-
width apart. Lean back slightly and push
your chest out. Pull the bar down to your
chest, then return slowly to the start
position. Your torso should remain still
throughout.
Single-arm T-Bar Rows
Why: You’ve probably seen the standard T-
bar row being performed (often incorrectly)
13. at the gym, but the single-arm T-bar row
ensures that, as you’re using a lighter load,
form is stricter and muscle imbalances are
being ironed out.
How: Add weight to one end of a barbell.
Bend forward until your torso is almost
parallel to the floor and keep your knees
slightly bent. Grab the bar with one arm
just behind the plates. Pull the bar straight
up with your elbow in until the plates touch
your chest and squeeze your back muscles
at the top of the move. Slowly lower to the
starting position and repeat without letting
the plates touch the floor.
Farmers’ Walk
Why: Building a stronger back, bigger
shoulders and insane grip strength, there’s
14. very little the humbling farmers’ walk can’t
do. Moreover, it blitzes belly fat and builds
muscle far quicker than most functional
moves.
How: Hold two kettlebells or dumbbells by
your side. Keep your arms strong and walk
short, quick steps as fast as possible. Turn
around and walk back.
Renegade Row
Why: A great way to target those traps and
lats, with a little bit of bicep building thrown
in for good measure.
How: Get into a press-up position with your
hands on the handles of two dumbbells.
Keeping your core tensed, row the right
dumbbell up to your abs then return to the
15. start position. Repeat with the left dumbbell
to complete one rep.
Your body is your vehicle, so you have to
keep your engine running when you work
out. That means fueling up your body by
eating the right foods and drinking the right
fluids, in the right amounts at the right
times.
The American College of Sports Medicine
says, “Adequate food and fluid should be
consumed before, during, and after
exercise to help maintain blood glucose
concentration during exercise, maximize
exercise performance, and improve
recovery time. Athletes should be well
hydrated before exercise and drink enough
fluid during and after exercise to balance
fluid losses.”
16. “You don’t have to adhere to a rigid
schedule and there are no hard-fast rules,”
said Riska Platt, M.S., R.D., a nutrition
consultant for the Cardiac Rehabilitation
Center at Mount Sinai Medical Center in
New York. “But there are some things you
should do before, during and after you
work out.”
Ideally, fuel up two hours before you
exercise by:
– Hydrating with water.
– Eating healthy carbohydrates such as
whole-grain cereals (with low-fat or skim
milk), whole-wheat toast, low-fat or fat-free
yogurt, whole grain pasta, brown rice, fruits
and vegetables.
17. – Avoiding saturated fats and even a lot of
healthy protein — because these types of
fuels digest slower in your stomach and
take away oxygen and energy-delivering
blood from your muscles.
If you only have 5-10 minutes before you
exercise, eat a piece of fruit such as an
apple or banana. The key is to consume
easily digested carbohydrates, so you don’t
feel sluggish.
Superman
Why: There aren’t too many back exercises
that don’t require kit, but the Superman is
definitely one of them. Done correctly, this
will work your mid-back muscles, as well as
your rotator cuff muscles.
18. How: Lie facedown on a mat with your
arms extended in front of you and your legs
extended behind you. Engaging your glutes
and lower back, raise your arms, legs, and
chest off the floor. Hold for a count, then
slowly return to the starting position.
If you’re new to working out, start slow. Use
lighter weights and do fewer reps. Easing
into your workouts helps you avoid injuries.
Getting these strong legs isn’t impossible in
fact with proper exercise and a good diet,
it’ll be easy and that’s how HealthCodes
DNA can help you by providing a
personalized exercise routine, it will help
you have a strong toned back muscles that
would make you look amazing and
stronger.
With HealthCodes DNA, It features an
amazing program which is the custom
19. workout plan as which will help you if
you’re looking to build a workout plan
designed for your unique aerobic and
anaerobic genetic profiles, that will help
you strengthen your back muscles and have
toned back muscles so you can rock every
outfit confidently as keeping your back
strong especially important as you age.
While also learning how to better align your
body’s recovery and mindset to keep
exercising sustainably. Look no further. The
Fitness Panel DNA training program from
HealthCodes DNA™ is the most efficient
way to optimize your health and diet. All
plans are made exclusively for you, right
down to your DNA. we even help you know
how much protein, carbs and fat you need
in your diet so you can have your dream
body fast.
20. HealthCodes DNA™ uses proprietary
results algorithms coupled with clinical-
grade genetic testing technology to deliver
ultra-premium DNA testing services. The
end results speak for themselves: thousands
of healthy clients are currently changing
their lifestyles, and now you can, too.
Not to mention, by choosing HealthCodes
DNA™ you receive end-to-end support
throughout your personal health journey.
HealthCodes DNA™ coaches and
nutritionists are on standby to put your
results to work to help you unlock your best
self–guaranteed, or your money back.
HealthCodes DNA™ uses proprietary
results algorithms coupled with clinical-
grade genetic testing technology to deliver
ultra-premium DNA testing services. The
end results speak for themselves: thousands
21. of healthy clients are currently changing
their lifestyles, and now you can, too.
Not to mention, by choosing HealthCodes
DNA™ you receive end-to-end support
throughout your personal health journey.
HealthCodes DNA™ coaches and
nutritionists are on standby to put your
results to work to help you unlock your best
self–guaranteed, or your money back.