By Laura Billings
Part of strengthening your core is to strengthen your back as well. Strengthening your back is essential if you don’t want to suffer from nagging back pains. It also helps in improving your balance, stability, and posture. So if you don’t want to be slouching all the time, we suggest that you strengthen your back while you are lifting weights by following the tips below.
1. Do weight training exercises that put emphasis on strengthening your back.
If you prefer to lift weights while at the gym, there are a couple of weight training exercises that work efficiently in strengthening your back muscles. Try one of these exercises to strengthen your back muscles:
● Barbell Deadlifts: This particular exercise can help in building up your total-body strength by focusing on the lower and upper back, glutes, traps, hamstrings, and quads. The exercise can also increase your core strength and stability while also helping to build good-looking back muscles.
Step-by-step Instructions:
➔ The goal here is to lower the barbell while keeping your chest up and your back flat.
➔ Bend your hips and knees and then grab the bar with an overhand grip.
➔ Stand up without rounding your lower back. Pause for a second, and then lower the bar back to the starting position while keeping it as close to your body as much as you can.
➔ Repeat the exercise for three sets while doing 4-6 reps for each set. Also, don’t forget to rest for 2-3 minutes between each set.
● T-Bar Row: The T-bar row is an excellent exercise that involves multiple joints in your upper body. It emphasizes on strengthening your back and shoulders. The T-bar row exercise focuses on the middle of your back by putting the resistance through the center of your body.
Step-by-step Instructions:
➔ The goal here is to do the exercise by pulling the barbell to your chest while maintaining proper posture.
➔ Stand and position the one end of a barbell between your legs. Push your hips back until your back is at a 45-degree angle to the floor. Grab a V-handle and hook it to the bar and then grab it with your two hands.
➔ Pull the bar towards your chest by squeezing your shoulder blades together and driving your elbows back. Pause, and then return to the starting position.
➔ Do this exercise for three sets while doing 4-6 reps for each set, just don’t forget to take a quick 2-3 minutes break between each set.
● Dumbbell Row: Dumbbell row is an easy exercise that does an excellent job of strengthening your shoulders, biceps, and your back while keeping your core active throughout the routine. Dumbbells also allow you to achieve stability and balance on both sides of your body.
Step-by-step Instructions:
➔ Stand with both of your feet shoulder-width apart from each other and hold a dumbbell in each of your hands.
➔ Bend your knees slightly and then bend your waist while keeping your back straight. Avoid rounding your upper back and be sure to keep your head steady.
➔ Extend your hands fully, so each dumbbell is just above the floor. Contract your back and pull the dumbbells up to your ribcage.
➔ Be sure to pull through the elbow and then hold for one second at the top position before you lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
➔ Do this exercise for three sets while doing 8-15 reps for each set.
2. Observe correct posture while lifting weights.
Remember to maintain proper posture as you are lifting weights. This could be a bit hard to do, but you should be able to do it eventually. Remember that poor posture is one of the major causes of back pain. So if you don’t observe proper posture as you lift weights, it will put more stress and pressure on to your back muscles which results in nagging back pain.
3. Learn how to lift weights correctly.
Although there are weight training exercises that focus on strengthening your back muscles, chances are that they can still injure your back while doing these, especially if you misuse the weights. You need to know how to lift weights correctly and follow the step-by-step instructions of the weight training exercises you are trying to do.
4. Remember to give your back muscles some time off.
Strength training can cause tiny tears in your muscle tissues. These tears might not be harmful, but they are crucial to making your muscles to become stronger as the tears recover. Always give your back muscles a time off and let them recover for at least 48 hours before you start doing weight training exercises again.
We hope that these tips can help you strengthen your back muscles while lifting weights. Once you follow these tips, you should be able to create strong and sexy back muscles, and you will no longer be vulnerable to back pains.
– Laura Billings is a law enthusiast and budding writer. She makes it a habit of making sure her pieces are informative enough to help even the common person understand important aspects of the rules of law. Laura likes to read books and write creative pieces during her free time.