Back Workouts – Building muscle and seeing visible, noticeable change in your body composition is a long process, and can be demotivating if you aren’t seeing the results you want to see at the start. If you are a person who’s looking to grow their back muscles such as their lats, traps, and lower back, here are a few exercises you can add to your upper body, back, or pull day!
With any aspect of fitness, you need to have patience, consistency, and must trust the process in order to see results. Make sure you are patient with the workout, but also with yourself and
Deadlifts (compound lift, should do at the start of the workout before you get fatigued)
Deadlifts are a great powerlifting exercise to include in your back workout, but since it is a compound lift it is best to start a workout off with it so that you are not too fatigued. Deadlifts are a great exercise, but your exercise form is incredibly important to make sure you don’t injure yourself. Make sure to take the slack out of the barbell before lifting and that your chest is relatively upright with your shoulders over your arms. The barbell should be sitting above the middle of your feet, and should be lifted close to your shins and thighs without warping it outwards. Remember to brace your core so that your back isn’t arched to prevent injury, and that your upper body and legs go up in one fluid motion rather than one after the other. A great way to make sure you form is correct is to have someone watch your form, or to film yourself to make sure that your bar path and bracing is done correctly.
Muscle Groups Worked
- Hamstrings
- Glutes
- Back
- Hips
- Core
- Traps
Bent Over Row (dumbbells or barbell – overhand and underhand)
Bent over rows are a great exercise to work your back and can be done with dumbbells or with a barbell with an overhand or underhand grip. Position your feet slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart and with your toes pointed slightly out, push your hips back, bend your knees slightly, and position the bar so that it’s in line with your shoulders. Brace your core and pull the barbell (or dumbbells) towards your stomach rather than to your chest.
Muscle Groups Worked
- Lats
- Traps
- Secondary: Biceps, Forearms, and Deltoids
Lat Pull Down
Lat pull downs are a great way to improve your pullups, and can be done with an underhand grip on a straight bar, a wide-grip, or with a close-grip utilizing the V-bar double grip attachment on a cable. Remember to pull down the bar in front of you rather than behind, fully extend at the top, and to stabilize your torso so that you don’t lean too far back with the momentum when pulling the bar down.
Muscle Groups Worked:
- Lats
- Traps
- Biceps
Protein consumption is also a very important component for weight loss and boosting metabolism; consuming 25-30% of your daily caloric intake from protein is what is recommended. A higher protein consumption also helps to increase feelings of fullness, while reducing appetite and caloric intake, which can be helpful for weight loss or preventing weight gain.
Seated Row (narrow grip, wide grip, overhand, underhand)
Seated rows can be done with a V-bar grip, straight bar, and can be done with an overhand or underhand grip. For form, remember to keep your elbows tucked closer to your body to work your back rather than your biceps, have a neutral spine and brace your core, and to stabilize your torso so that you’re not swinging back and utilizing momentum. Remember to also use a full range of motion, so extend your arms when starting, and to pull all the way back and squeeze your back at the end.
Muscle Groups Worked:
- Lats
- Traps
- Biceps
- Rhomboids
When doing these exercises, remember to engage the muscle group you’re trying to work on, to contract and to brace your core, and of course, to trust the process! Results can take weeks and months, but a great way to keep track of your progress is to track your reps, exercises and progress. By using the Train Fitness app, you can automatically track your reps, exercises, and progress without having to write them down, which makes workout tracking so much easier! You can also take a look at the exercise list to find new exercises to incorporate into your workout routine, and can be sorted by muscle group and even provides a short video clip so that you can see what equipment you need and the way the exercise is done. Tracking your progress is also a great way to keep yourself motivated, and the app also allows you to follow and engage with other people’s workouts so you can draw some inspiration.
To learn more, visit Train Fitness.
