4 Standard Back Exercises Needed to Build Size & Strength

South Padre Island with my dog Taco

Why should women or anyone work hard in the gym to build their back? A lot of people, especially women disregard the importance of training their back or entire upper body. Training the back with weights not only increases your strength, but it also improves back posture and lower back pain. If you ever get into lifting heavy, it is essential to have a strong back to develop a strong squat. 

Besides strengthening your back, training also gives an aesthetically pleasing V-tapered look which gives an illusion of a smaller waist with a developed wider upper body. Who would not want to look smaller in the waist area!? So, if you have been lacking in your back training, now is the time to pay attention to your backside! 

The Back is Made Up of 4 Major Parts:

• The Latissimus Dorsi
• The Trapezius
• The Rhomboid 
• The Erecter Spinae

Here are 4 basic gym exercises to build a beautifully strong back! 

• To build size and strength keep the reps low and the weight heavy.
• Maximum strength training: 3 - 5 reps, heavy weight and 2 - 5 min. rest
• To get lean and cut keep the reps high and the weight moderate to light.
• 12 - 15 reps, moderate to light weight and 45 sec - 1 min. rest

Cable Lat Pulldown

T Bar Row Machine

Kneeling Close Grip Cable Lat Pulldown

Back (Hyper) Extensions

 

6 Awesome Core Exercises with a Swiss (Stability) Ball

         A Swiss (stability) ball is essential for core training and strengthening. The Swiss ball provides an unstable environment which forces your core to work harder because it has to execute the execise and keep stable at the same time. The burns more calories and trains the core better than stable exercises of abdominal machines. 

People of all ages do not realize the importance of core training and strength. It keeps you from losing your balance, prepared for heavier lifting and reduces the chances of injury. Here are some examples of Swiss ball exercises you can use to change up your core training workouts.

Swiss Ball Crunch

Swiss Ball Tucks

Ball Double Side Leg Lifts

Swiss Ball Twists

Swiss Ball Back Extensions

Swiss Ball Alternating One Leg Crunch