4 Back Exercises to Perform at Home
Why are back exercises so important?
Back exercises can be overlooked in your list of priorities when you train - especially when access to equipment and gym membership is a problem. One of the main reasons is the fact that these muscles are behind you.
The natural habit is to want to train the parts of the body that you see most often in the mirror, or that you see looking down. Or, envy follows an action: eating a muffin will make you want to go for abs, or the approach of summer will motivate a series of bench press.
Yet, it's not just a question of aesthetics. Back exercises lead to a stronger back and muscle development. This can help correct your posture and balance. And for those who remain seated during the day, back exercises can solve problems of pain and stiffness of the posterior chain.
Exercises without equipment to do at home
Exercises for the upper back
Lie on your stomach with your whole body flat on the floor, from your forehead and chest to your thighs and toes. Stretch shoulders and straight hands, then lift them up to your back so they stay straight and a few inches off the ground.
You made snow angels when you were a kid? As the name suggests, it's the opposite of that. Make a flying motion with your arms, very slowly, in a steady and controlled movement, raise your hands from the sides of your legs over your head. Keep your arms straight at all times and really work to keep your shoulders and hands at the same distance from the ground throughout the movement. Your elbows must be locked.
Reverse Snow Angels work your dorsal, deltoids and trapezius without the necessary equipment.
Superman
The next step is to engage your shoulders and glutes in a similar way while contracting your lap strap. Your feet and hands should lift several inches off the ground (with your head) while your lower abdomen remains in contact with the ground.
The difficulty (or challenge) here is to keep all your limbs and muscles involved contracted, similar to running a board.
You can make this exercise a bit simple by lifting one arm and one leg at a time. You can make it more difficult by keeping the up position contracted longer.
Exercises for the lower back
You will need something to hold - ideally something similar to a bench. Lie on the bench or the edge of your bed, with your chest and forehead or chin touching the bench. Stand with him. At this point, your legs will be loose and you will be positioned so that your lower abdomen will be at the edge of the bench.
Engage your lap strap and your glutes. Keeping your legs contracted and your knees locked at all times, lift your legs up like a circular saw while keeping your upper body motionless and in contact with the bench.
The result is a lower back exercise similar to what you could usually do with back hyperextension.
Hip Hinge
For this one, you must be standing up. Stand with your hands on your hips. Keep your feet wider than your hips and make sure you do not move your feet.
Most of the movement is leaning forward in a right angle and then straightening up. The technique is to do it in a slow and focused way that pulls no muscle.
You should keep your muscles engaged at all times and really exaggerate the movement so that you feel the active muscle. Keep your back straight without arching at all times.
There is also a sitting version, which makes it an almost entirely different exercise. Sitting with your feet directly below your knees, bend forward at a 45-degree angle while engaging your lap belt and keeping your shoulders back.
Common mistakes
The common mistakes when working at home are first of all just doing push exercises and therefore only really working your pushing muscles. When working your back with equipment at your fingertips, the main exercises are rowing. In other words, you work your back with traction movements. The common mistake is to think that's all your back is doing.
You must get into the habit of thinking about what your muscular functions are. Hyperextension is a good example in each of the exercises mentioned above that do not require traction or rowing.
Do not consider yourself limited by working at home. At the end of the day, it's the number of repetitions and the amount of resistance applied that builds and strengthens your muscles. These factors can be adjusted by changing the angles of the exercises so that you make your body weight more difficult to move.
Related article: work back in less than an hour.
Home equipment
If you want to get the most basic gym equipment - or do it yourself, then you need something rugged and reliable. While you could be creative and build your own pulley cable system or dumbbells with loaded suitcases (why not?) The first suggestion you will find is a simple pull bar to work your back.
Pull-ups and chin-ups allow you to work your back, deltoids, lap and biceps in the same way as a gym pulldown machine. Hold something heavy for increased strength and alternate full and partial repetitions to really work on your muscle fibers.
Message to Remember
Working at home does not necessarily mean working halfway. It must be an opportunity to be creative and add variety to your workouts. Especially when it comes to back exercises, be sure to work all your muscle groups. The back in particular is important because it can affect your balance, your posture and the development of some of the largest muscle groups in your body.
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