Build Your Back

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Dead lifts

With a barbell loaded up on the ground before you, stand with your feet a shoulder width apart.  Keeping your back straight, bend at your knees and grasp the barbell with a wide over hand grip to work more of your deltoids - this is your starting position.  Raise the weight using your legs and back until you are standing upright with your chest pushed out.  Carefully lower the weight back to the starting position. Once again correct form is vital so that you don’t strain yourself.  Start small with 10kg’s on each side and aim for 3 sets on 10 reps. Once your comfortable with the exercise begin to add more weight and drop the reps down to 6 with a 30 second rest in between.

Bent-Over Barbell Rows

This is great for adding strength to your back.  With a barbell loaded up on the ground before you, stand with your feet a shoulder width apart and a bend at the knees. Keep your head up and bend at the waist, grasping the bar with an overhand grip just wider than your knees. Without moving your back, bend your arms and bring the barbell up to your stomach.  Reverse the movement but do not let the barbell touch the floor. Pause, and then continue with another rep.Like the deadlifts, it’s best to start light with high reps and low weight and then work your way up in weight with lower reps.  3 sets of 10reps with 5kgs each side allows you to monitor your form in a mirror until you are comfortable to raise the weight.

It’s always best to perform these 3 exercises at the start of your back routine as they really kick start your back into high gear. With your back now well and truly working you can then play around with more ‘focused’ exercises to get that chiseled V-shape look.

Close Grip Pulldowns

Using a narrow grip handle, put your knees underneath the station pad and lean backs lightly.  Pull the handle down until it has reached your chest, pause and then slowly extend your arms back to the top. This exercise is great for working your trapezius and the mid section of your back which is great for posture.  To really accentuate the exercise, try and keep the pause with the handle on your chest for 3 seconds each rep.  Aim for 3sets of 10 reps.

Swimmers Breast Stroke Imitation

A swimmers breast stroke will work your trapezius and your rhomboid (upper back) muscles. Hold a light dumbbell in each hand while lying face down on a bench, bend your arms at a 90-degree angle (from the shoulder) and your palms facing each other at shoulder height. This is your starting position. Next, smoothly extend your arms until the weights are touching in front of you.  Then, while rotating your palms outwards, ‘stroke’ your arms backwards keeping them parallel to the floor until they are fully extended at your sides. Bringing your arms back to the 90-degree starting position counts as 1rep; try for 10 reps.

Now you have the tools and the education to make your first steps, so you have no excuses. Not working your back with the same intensity and frequency as you do your chest can cause server muscular imbalances making serious injuries much more likely.  Start off slowly, giving time to introduce your back to the exercise, but once you are familiar and confident with the exercise, you need to make back exercises an integral part of your weekly workout.

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