Written by Lauren Rae, CPT and Wellness Coach at TRYM Fitness
Have you ever thrown your back out completing simple tasks like picking up a sock? How about chronic suffering from upper neck and shoulder discomfort, low back pain, or problems with form and core muscle control? It’s possible that your back could be in need of a little TLC. In fact, 31 million Americans suffer from back pain at any given time as a result of poor posture, obesity, and psychological stress. Sound like you or someone you know? Worry no longer, I’ve got you covered with this upper body, back, and core workout that is sure to help you build a stronger, better, higher performing you.
Why back strength is so important:
The back muscles allow us to perform many activities from everyday actions like lifting groceries and children to more intense sports and fitness training. Although we use these muscles regularly, key areas can be often overlooked during strength training or other physical activities and can lead to weak muscles, muscle imbalances, and injury.
Our very complicated three dimensional body winds and weaves muscles, intersecting with ligaments, tendons, and bone, to create one of the largest muscle groups in your body - your back. These muscles—which include your back, arms, trunk, and core body, in addition to head, neck, and shoulder muscles—all work together to support the spinal cord and movement in every plane of motion. Those muscles support a healthy spine and posture to avoid nerve impingement and other related issues.
How to exercise safely:
Because our backs are responsible for so much of our structural alignment, precautions should be taken into consideration when performing exercises that target back muscles—especially if you’ve ever suffered an injury or are new to working out. Always remember Rule #1: Do no harm by listening to your body. If you feel more discomfort than feels safe, carefully come out of the exercise and rest accordingly.
- Obtain a doctors approval before beginning any workout program (supervised or otherwise).
- Always warm up with light cardiovascular activity and stretching to properly warm up your muscles.
- Execute proper form. If you’re not sure how your form is, consult a professional to ensure safety.
- Begin with low to moderate weights and work your way up as you feel works best for you.
- For bigger muscle gains, exercise with higher weights and lower reps (6–8). To increase strength and improve performance with lean muscle tone, complete higher (12–15) reps with lighter weight.
Warm up
1 minute Cat-Cow Pose- 3x30 second Floor Hip Bridge
- 30 second Roll Like a Ball
- 1 minute Jumping Jacks
- Arm circles, 10 in each direction
Build a Stronger Back Workout
- TRX Alternating High and Low Rows: 3 sets, 12 reps of each
- Close Grip Assisted Pullups: 3 sets, 10 reps
- Wide Grip Seated Cable Lat Pulldown: 3 sets, 12/12/15 reps
- Jump Pullups: 3 sets, 20 reps
- Low back extensions: 3 sets, 15 reps
- Bent over DB rows: 3 sets, 12/12/15 reps
- Side Plank: 3 sets, 30 seconds on each side
- Cobra: 3 sets, 4 reps - 15 second hold
