Our back muscles tend to get overlooked because we simply can not see them when we look head-on in the mirror.  The body parts that get all love are the abs, legs, and arms.  Our glutes, even though they are not in plain view, still get more recognition than our backs.

It is time to change that!  It is time to spread love to all your body parts and not only the ones that fight for the front seat in the mirror.

Now is the time to show your back muscles some love.

Quick story about me, growing up I was always called “quarterback.” {inseting the eye roll}

Huh, quarterback????  I didn’t get it!

To my knowledge quarterbacks played football and I didn’t play football, I ran track!

I never really paid attention to those comments until one day I compared myself to a few of my friends and realized that I had broad back and shoulders. It wasn’t until then when I understood where the name quarterback came from.

Honestly, I used to be self-conscious about my back. I use to let it bother me for a long time until one day I just decided to accept my Sexy “Quarterback” Back.”

Call me quarterback today, I will smile and flex for you.

Enough about me! Let’s learn about the benefits of working on your back muscles and some exercises we can do that will help.

Why Should You Work our Back Muscles?

1. Strengthens your back: Improves Posture and Stability

Strong back muscles which include your upper back and shoulders help with your overall body balance.  Our backs should get more recognition because after all our back holds us up and gives us proper posture and balance and also keeps our core in place.

With good posture comes self-confidence. Muscles that are along your spine help you to stand tall.  The Erector Spinae muscle helps flex your torso and hold your body upright.

2. Helps to burn more calories and gets rid of back fat

The back is made up of large muscles.  Building and working your large muscles in your back help to maximize your metabolic rate.  The involvement of the large muscles allows for the body to burn more calories and fat even while your body is at rest.

3.  Helps to prevent back injury and pain

We spend plenty of our day on our feet, slouched at our desks and behind the wheel of our cars.  These activities are the culprits that cause back pain that leads to injury.  Working your back muscles also help to prevent back injuries.   Strong back muscles help to eradicate muscular imbalances that cause back discomfort, spasms, and pain.

4 Exercises that help Build your Back Muscles

 

1. Pull-Ups or Chin-Ups

For me, this work out is one of my hardest, but I continue to work on this every day. This workout targets your Latissimus dorsi muscle (Lats). This work out is done by:

• Using a pull-up bar with your palms facing away from you.
• You use your body weight and your arm to pull your self up to the level of the bar and then release back down.
• An easier version of this is to have your palms facing away from you.  This position helps to build your biceps as well but makes it easier to maintain bring your body up to the bar position.

2. Push-Ups

Push-ups are great to help build you back muscles.  The primary muscles that get targeted are muscles of the upper back (latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, and trapezius).  Doing a standard push up alone is enough to help build and tone these back muscles. A push-up is done by:

• Starting in a plank positions, with your hands on the ground, wider than your shoulders.
• While you begin lower yourself, your back muscles become more engaged.
• Doing the workout slower (over a five-second count) allows you to engage your muscles longer during the downward movement.

If you haven’t read the Benefits of adding Push-ups to your Exercise Routine, then take a look at it here.

 

3. Dumbbell Row

This exercise movement targets the upper back and spine right up to the lower neck. The muscles targeted are the latissimus dorsi and rhomboids. To do this exercise:

• Position one knee on a bench or chair while your opposite hand holds a lightweight to start.
• WIth the weight in your hand,  bend forward your arm and keep your back flat.
• Pull your arm straight in a rowing motion
•  Contract your upper back and your elbow pulling is along the side of your body

4. Superman

The Superman is a fantastic exercise to strengthen your upper and lower back muscles.  This workout can help ease the back pain that is related to weak muscles in your back.  It is a good idea to do this exercise on a regular basis to keep your back muscles strong. The primary back muscles used are the latissimus dorsi (the side of your torso). To perform the Superman:

• lay flat on your stomach with your arms and legs extended on the floor
• lift head, arms, legs, and chest off the floor as far as possible
• hold the position for about 5 seconds then return to starting position

 

These are only four of many workouts for to help strengthen, tone and sculpt your the muscles of your back.  Try doing three sets of 10-12 reps of any of these exercises (or as many reps to fatigue your muscles).

It is best to give your muscles at least a days rest before working them again so they can heal and regenerate.  Always change up your routines weekly, so your body does not get used to the same workout moves.

These tips should get you on your way to getting that “Sexy back”!