Back pain has become a household term in recent times. From teens to adults, a majority of the population faces the problem of neck or back pain. One of the leading causes of this is a sedentary lifestyle.
However, exercising can easily solve this problem by making your weak points stronger. The back is the biggest and strongest group of muscles in the upper body. Almost every activity engages our back muscles, directly or indirectly. From picking up something from the floor to pulling our bodies up from the bed, our backs work tirelessly every day.
Thus, training the back to strengthen its strength is necessary to make it more robust and withstand everyday loads. Training the back can quickly cure back pain.
One misconception about back training is that it requires a lot of equipment or heavy weights to train it optimally, so it cannot be done efficiently at home. This thought needs to be corrected. You can train your back nicely at home, even with your body weight.
However, if you have a resistance band and some dumbbells, your training will be enhanced.
There are different muscles on our backs. If we categorize them, then we can find:
- Traps
- Rotator Cuffs
- Teres Major
- Lats
- Spine Erector
There are mainly two types of movements that train the back. They are:
- Pulling Movements
- Rowing Movements
Pulling movements are those in which we pull against a given resistance vertically, like lat pulldowns, pull-ups, etc. Rowing movements are those in which we pull against a given resistance horizontally, like seated rowing, T-bar rowing, etc.
An optimal back training routine is a mixture of pulling and rowing exercises.
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Best home workout for back development
You will not need much to train your back at home. If you have a home gym, chances are you already have the pieces of equipment that will be required to train your back optimally at home. Our top picks are:
Resistance Band Lat Pulldowns
Lat pulldowns are one of the staple exercises for back development. It is straightforward, so every beginner can perform it from the start.
If you don’t have a lat pulldown machine at home, you can perform the exercise using a resistance band.
How to Perform:
- Grab a resistance band and lock it in the anchor of the door or anywhere that is comfortable for you. Make sure to use a good-quality resistance band and lock it nicely.
- Your hands should be further from the shoulder width. Hold the band ends with a thumb-less grip.
- Keep a slight arch in the back.
- Pull the band straight toward your upper chest. Slightly lean backward while pulling the band.
- Slowly release the band. Move your body a bit forward to get the full stretch on the lats.
Pull-ups
Pull-ups are one of the most popular back exercises. It almost trains the entire upper back area.
To do pull-ups at home, you will require a pull-up bar. Attachable pull-up bars are available in the market that you can easily attach and detach on the doorway.
Doing pull-ups can be a bit difficult for beginners. If you are a beginner, you can use a resistance band in the initial stage. However, be very careful when using the resistance band, as it can spank you back if not set up correctly.
How to perform:
- Stand on a chair to grab the bar if it is beyond your reach from a standing position.
- Grab the bar wider than the shoulder width.
- Arch your back by pulling the shoulder blades down and tightening your core.
- Bend your legs for stabilization.
- Slowly go down by controlling the weight, and hold that position for a second.
- Pull your body up to your chin height or chest height.
- Slowly go down by controlling the weight, and hold that position for a second.
Single Arm Dumbbell Row
The single-arm dumbbell row is one of the best rowing movements you can perform at home. It trains most of your upper back area like traps, rhomboids, teres major, and lats.
You do not need anything besides one dumbbell to perform this exercise. You can perform it on a bench, on your bed, or standing anywhere with something to hold on for stabilization.
By adjusting the elbow movement in this exercise, you can bias the upper back or the lats more. Rowing back towards the chest will bias the upper back muscles more, and rowing back towards the hips will bias the lats more. As it is a unilateral exercise (one hand at a time), it also helps fix muscle imbalances.
How to perform:
- Place the non-working hand and the corresponding leg on the bench. Your toes should be outside of the bench.
- Arch your back by pulling the shoulder blades down and tightening your core.
- Grab the dumbbell.
- Row the dumbbell up towards your chest or hips (It depends on which part you want to put extra emphasis on).
- Slowly lower the weight and go for a full stretch without bending the non-working arm.
Resistance Band Low Row
Low rows are an excellent exercise for developing the lower back. This exercise stimulates the lower lats and spinal erectors.
You can easily replicate this exercise at home using a resistance band. You can perform it one arm at a time, or you can use two hands at once. It can be performed standing or seated. As seated variation provides more stability, we recommend this exercise seated.
How to perform:
- Lock the resistance band in someplace where the resistance band is in line with your belly button or slightly higher.
- Grab the band in a narrow stance (Inside shoulder width) with a supinated grip (Palm facing upward)
- Arch your back and put something in front of you to place your feet on.
- Pull the band to your belly. Do not lean back while pulling; sit straight.
- Slowly release the band and get a full stretch while keeping your lower back fixed.
Dumbbell Shrugs
Do not forget about the traps when training the back. Traps are one of the biggest upper back muscles.
The dumbbell shrug is a very beginner-friendly exercise, as you will not require anything without a pair of dumbbells to do this exercise, and it is also very easy to perform.
How to perform:
- Hold each dumbbell on the side of your waist.
- Your feet should be shoulder-width apart for stability.
- If you can lean a bit forward, do it; otherwise, stand upright.
- Rise your shoulder blades as if you are trying to touch your ear with your shoulder.
- Slowly descend the weight and go for a full stretch at the bottom position.