This was undoubtedly the hardest muscle group for me to start working, as I had never touched it before. Endless sit-ups, check. I figured running covered my legs, so check there too. And my arms are pretty strong from years of cheerleading and stunting, so I had some strength in that muscle group as well. Unless it was worked out inadvertently through other activities, I had never focused on my back muscles at all.
Back is now one of my favorite workout days, especially hitting the upper part of my back, the lats. What's ever better, strengthening my back muscles has absolutely improved my running form and posture. And my new favorite style of dress? Razor back! A sexy back is key for guys and girls, and I don't just mean your behind!
I will break this down by areas of your back that you want to hit. Each exercise will target your lats, middle back (inner and/or outer), or lower back, or a combination of these muscles. Let's start with lats, since that is my favorite one to do!
LAT PULLDOWN
Form is absolutely key here. I am pretty sure I did this wrong for the first few months, and once I started doing it right, I could really feel the difference! Grip the bar as pictured above and pull the bar until it touches your chest. Slightly lean back and imagine your lats squeezing together as you pull the bar towards your body. Note: Make sure the leg pads are adjusted correctly, or you will embarrassingly fly into the air from the weight of the bar. Not that its ever happened to me, I'm just saying...! I started very light on this exercise, and have worked up to 15 reps of 40 pounds, 12 reps of 50 pounds, and 8 reps of 60, then 50, then 40. Change the bar to a close grip bar ( pictured right) to target a different part of your lats. You can also do this exercise by pulling the bar behind your head to touch your shoulders, it targets a different part of your lat muscle. Make sure you are upright if you pull it behind your head, do not lean back and try to keep a straight back. If I pull it behind my head, I do the same reps but with 10 pounds lighter (15 reps of 30 pounds, 12 reps of 40 pounds, etc.).
LEVERAGE LAT PULLDOWN
Same motion here as the pulldown shown above, just on a different machine. This is a good switch up from using the bar, as you use your arms independently to squeeze your shoulders together. Because you do not have the stability of one bar, you may need to do lighter weight here than on the previous lat pulldown.
LAT PULL-UP
At my gym, there is a bar for assistance weight for this exercise, which I absolutely use. If you can do a lat pull-up relatively easily without assistance, try adding ankle weights or chain weights to make it harder. Again, as you pull up, focus on squeezing your lats together towards your spine. Here, I do 15 reps of 20 pounds (88 pounds bodyweight), then 12 reps of 15 pounds, then 8 reps of 10 pounds, 20 pounds, and 30 pounds. I go up in weight in higher increments on the drop weight set because I lose form if I try to do more bodyweight than that!
STANDING LAT PULLDOWN
I couldn't find a picture for this one, but it is by far my favorite! Using the lat pulldown machine in the first picture, stand in front of the machine instead of sitting on the bench. Pull the bar down so that it is straight out in front of you at shoulder length. Keeping your arms locked out straight, pull the bar straight down in front of your body until you touch the bar to your legs, ALWAYS keeping your arms straight, then raise them back up. This is a LOT harder than it sounds, so I do 15 reps of 20 pounds, then 12 reps of 25 pounds, then 8 reps of 30 pounds, 20 pounds, and 15 pounds. 15 is pretty light on this machine and it can stall if you pull too hard, so go really slow on the last set and feel the burn!
Now let's move on to middle back exercises.
CLOSE GRIP CABLE ROW
Pictured perfectly above, this exercise hits your inner middle back and lats. If I am seated, I do 15 reps of 40 pounds, then 12 reps of 50 pounds, then 8 reps of 60, 50, and 40. When standing, however, you can do more weight and the stability factor adds a challenge. I do not like this guys form here- when rowing while standing, lean back slightly and pull the weight towards your belly button. NEVER lean forward.
WIDE GRIP CABLE ROW
Same idea as close grip, but this targets more of your outer middle back.
BARBELL ROW
The form on this one is hard to get, so practice to make sure you feel that you are hitting the muscle correctly. Bend your knees slightly and lean forward, always keeping your back straight. Pull the bar up to your belly button, and slowly lower it back down. This hits your lower and middle back, as well as your arms. You can also switch your grip to hit different parts of your back. I do 15 reps with 40 pounds, 12 reps with 50 pounds, and 8 reps of 60 pounds, then 50, then 40.
STANDING BARBELL ROW
I use both arms here and interchange this exercise with the one listed above with the same weight. This targets more of your inner middle back.
BENT OVER DUMBELL ROW
LOVE this one! Don't like his positioning though. stand with the weight in between your leg and the bench. When you lower the weight, lower it past your shoulder height so you can get a better pull when you bring the weight up. I do 15 reps on each arm with 20 pounds, then 12 reps with 25 pounds, then 8 reps with 30, 20, and 15 pounds. Again, on some exercises I go lower than the weight I started with because I want to keep my form and really feel the burnout.
SEATED ROW
This exercise can also be done on a cable machine. Make sure you have something to keep your feet in place so that when you lean forward, you go past your feet to get the full pull. This exercise is great, as it hits all parts of your back when executed correctly. Lean all the way forward and pull the weight back as you would in a row, pictured in the close grip cable row exercise above. By leaning all the way forward, you can hit your lower back, as well as your middle back and lats when you pull back.
Let's move on to lower back. There are 3 main exercises I do to target this area of my back. Let's start with the one I hate the most but works the best!
DEADLIFTS
This can also be done to target your glutes by keeping your legs straight, but either execution hits your glutes and lower back. To target your lower back, bend your knees and keep your back flat as you lower down. Pull the weight back up, focusing on using your lower back muscles to bring you back up. I do 12 reps of 30 pounds, 10 reps of 40 pounds, then 8 reps of 50, 40 and 30 pounds. Honestly I lower the reps on this exercise because it is absolutely my least favorite. They call it a deadlift for a reason- you will be dead when you're done, so always finish your back workout with this one!
BACK EXTENSION
Exactly as pictured above. I hold a 25 pound weight to my chest and do 10 reps straight up a down, then twist my body as I come up to each side 5 times for a total of 20 reps. I repeat this three times.
BACK EXTENSION MACHINE
Same idea as the weighted back extension, but a good switch up on the machine. Make sure the foot rest is adjusted to your height so that your knees are slightly bent. Lean back against the rest until your body is extended backwards, then curl back in. Try not to ever let the weight come all the way back down until you are done with your reps. You can do much heavier weight on the machine, so I do 15 reps of 65 pounds, 12 reps of 80, then 8 reps of 90 pounds, 80, then 65 (I know, weird increments, but that is how the machine at my gym is set up).
Do not ignore this muscle group! It is extremely important in developing good posture and form in cardiovascular exercise... plus it does get your sexy back!
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