Best Bodyweight Exercises for Back

The back is used in almost all activities and movements. Sitting down for long hours, bad sitting and sleeping postures, and carrying heavy objects exposes the back to possible injury. Often, the back is neglected during workouts.

Paying little attention to a back routine can result in an imbalanced non-proportional body. This increases the back's susceptibility to pain. Professional bodybuilders use bodyweight back exercises to evaluate their strength. This demonstrates the importance of calisthenics back workout.

1. Benefits of Calisthenics Back Workout

  • Exercising the back widens it hence giving the waist a small appearance and making one look trimmer.
  • Practicing the best back workout strengthens the back muscles. Research shows that back muscles are among the strongest in the body.
  • Calisthenics back workout enhances endurance. This gives people the ability to withstand strenuous exercises.
  • People who do bodyweight exercises for back lose more calories as compared to other exercises.
  • Lower back bodyweight exercises help prevent lower back pain. The lower back is involved during various exercises. Neglecting the lower back during exercise makes it weak resulting in pain.
  • They add strength to the hip flexors and the abdomen.
  • Some back exercises like the leg curl help strengthen the muscle groups located at the lower back. This helps provide support to the spinal cord.
  • They improve coordination between the core muscles and the lower body muscles hence promoting muscle group balance.

2. How To Build Back Muscles

Back muscles

Many fitness enthusiasts yearn for a big and strong back. However, achieving this is not an easy task. One needs a lot of strength, an appropriate plan, intensity, and persistence to develop the ideal big back workout. There are various moves designed to develop the back. They include;

  • Deadlifts
  • Barbell rows
  • Chin-ups
  • Cable rows

Before embarking on a back biceps workout routine, understand the target muscles and their roles. The back is made up of major muscle groups namely;

Trapezius

The trapezius muscle is located closest to the skin. It is responsible for depressing, elevating rotating, and retracting the shoulder blade.

Spinalis muscle

The spinalis muscle is located closest to the body's midline. It is responsible for bending and extending the trunk and neck.

Teres major

The teres major muscle is located between the elbow and the shoulder right under the upper arm. It helps the latissimus dorsi to move the humerus back and down and preserves the upper part of the humerus.

Rhomboids

They are located under the trapezius. They are responsible for preserving the scapula during arm movement and rest.

3. Best Back Workout Routine

Barbell Rack Rows

Barbell rack rows involve the use of muscle fibers in order to achieve more strength. These exercises improve back thickness.

How To Do Barbell Rack Rows

The bar should be on a rack at mid-shin height. Hold it with the hands placed at shoulder width. Use an explosive motion to pull the bar close to the ribcage. Repel the weight back to the rack and stop shortly. This helps discharge tension and prepares one for repetition of the exercise.

One can add chains on every bar to boost progressive resistance during the pulling phase. Chains help develop strength too.

Alternating Kettlebell Rows

These exercises aim at developing and balancing one side of the back at a time. Alternating kettlebell rows improve back and pulling strength. Executing these exercises requires sufficient energy. These exercises are designed to boost grip and functional strength.

How To Do Alternative Kettlebell Rows

Bend the knees marginally and hold heavy kettlebells. Swivel from the hips. With the back flat and support the body. Pull one kettlebell towards the armpit spinning through the obliques. Bring up the elbow and let it go past the torso. Repeat this on the opposite side. These exercises should be performed explosively and continuously.

Chin-Ups

Try the 21s method of the chin-up style to prolong the muscle’s tension time. This enhances the development of the overall back muscles resulting in a wider V-taper.

How To Do The Chin-Up 21s

Use a broad overhand grip to hold the chin-up bar. Begin from a bottom position and have the back fully stretched. Do 7 bottom to midpoint repetitions, followed by 7 midpoint to top repetitions. Do the final 7 repetitions on a full range of motions. Pulling and lifting the body up requires one to pull the shoulder blades together and down. Repel bodyweight while going down to the starting point.

What is The Best Back Workout For Mass

There are various back workouts at home which are convenient for everybody. These back workouts without weights can be performed anywhere at any time. They include;

The Hip Hinge

To do the hip hinge, place the hands on the hips and stand straight. Place the feet solidly on the ground and marginally wider than the hips. Engage the core and push the ribs down while pulling the shoulders marginally back. Have the neck in an inactive position.

Keep the shoulders alongside the hips and slowly bend forward at the waist. Engage the hamstrings and the glutes during the entire exercise. The goal of this exercise is to bend forward such that the body is aligned to the floor. Slowly go back to the starting position and repeat the exercise. Avoid twisting the back as it can cause impartial loss of the spine position.

Reverse Snow Angels

Lie on the ground facedown. Place the arms at the palms and sides facing down. Lift the hands and shoulders few inches above the ground. This can be achieved by pinching together the scapula and engaging the rhomboids and lats at the mid-back.

While still facing down, lift the arms past the shoulders and to the ears to ensure the thumbs converge above the head. Return the arms to the starting position. Repeat the exercise 5 times in sets of three. Have one-minute breaks between each set. The elbows should be kept locked and the arms straight during the exercise.

Conclusion

The above exercises can help one develop a big strong back when done correctly. A good tip to ensure consistency in these back weight exercises is to do them consistently. With time they become irresistibly fun to do. While back exercises help alleviate back pain, persistent pain can be a sign of serious complications. In such cases, individuals should seek medical attention.