Exercises for the development and strengthening of the muscles of the back
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Exercises for the back muscles help reduce the burden on the spine, improve posture, reduce soreness.
Every day the spine faces a colossal load. Uncomfortable shoes, bed or workplace, weight - all this leads to a strong strain on the muscles of the back.
Before choosing a set of exercises, it is best to consult a specialist who will prescribe a full spine examination and after that will give recommendations for training. Ideally, a set of exercises should be selected by a doctor, since there are exercises, in particular with dumbbells, which can not be done by everyone.
The back can hurt for a variety of reasons and in each case it is necessary to perform individual exercises. In some cases it is recommended to strengthen the load on the spine, in others, on the contrary, the load should be reduced. When osteochondrosis exercises improve the mobility of the vertebrae and strengthen the muscles. At home, it's best to start with a stretch in the back. The most common and affordable way is a simple hovering for one or two minutes on the bar or the Swedish wall. This exercise allows you to relax, stretch the vertebrae. Pulling helps to strengthen the shoulder girdle, arms, neck.
With scoliosis (curvature of the spine), the following exercise will help to strengthen the back:
- stand on all fours, bring the elbow of the right hand to the left knee, then round the back, then bend the spine and maximally stretch the arm and leg, then repeat with the other hand and foot (do not more than ten repetitions).
While performing the exercise it is important to keep balance due to strained back muscles.
It is good to strengthen the dorsal muscles: to lie down on the couch (or other hard surface, face down only on the upper half of the trunk, then, holding on to the support, slowly raise both legs so that the straight line turns out and stay in this position for a few seconds, then slowly lower it Repeat exercise 5-8 times.
If after performing a simple exercise in the back there is no soreness or other unpleasant sensations, then the load can be increased.
Good performance is provided by the exercise "Strong back", which can be performed as prevention of diseases of the spine. This exercise helps strengthen the abdominal and spinal muscles:
- lie on the rug, place the cushion under your back, bend your knees and elbows slightly, place your legs slightly wider than the shoulder lines. The toes of the legs should be directed to their side by applying the maximum force, and press the heels onto the floor, brush hands and point to the shoulders. Exercise is done by press: it is necessary to raise the back of the head, to press against the chest with a chin. During the exercise, you should feel a stretching of the muscles from the neck all over your back. Hands and feet should remain in suspense. So you need to hold back a few seconds, then you can relax.
Exercises to strengthen the muscles of the back
Exercises for the back muscles are necessary for almost everyone, since the back is the basis for maintaining the entire body. But, at the same time, the back is the most vulnerable structure, which is quite easy to damage, so it is important for the back muscles to pay special attention.
Exercises are an important part of the complex to strengthen and maintain the spine in its normal state. As a rule, all the proposed sets of exercises are designed for those who do not experience pain in the spine. In case of pain or other pathological conditions, a doctor's consultation is necessary.
Exercises that help strengthen the dorsal muscles are divided into three types: power, stretching vertebra exercises, aerobic exercises. All exercises should be done slowly, and there should be no discomfort, otherwise injuries may occur. During stretching and strength exercises it is important to monitor breathing (exhale at maximum load, inhale with relaxation).
Strength exercises allow the dorsal muscles to be strengthened in a short time:
- twisting - lie down on the floor with your back down, hands along the trunk, legs bent (you need to press the pelvis to the surface so that the deflection in the spine has disappeared). Raise the head and shoulders for 10-15 seconds from the floor, then return to its original position.
- Superman is the most effective exercise that strengthens the dorsal muscles. Lie on the floor face down, hands freely put along the body. Raise the head and shoulders as high as possible and stay for 5-10 seconds in this position, then descend.
- lifts of hands and feet - lying on the floor face down alternately raise the opposite arm and leg up, lingering in this position for 3-5 seconds.
Exercises for the development of back muscles
The muscles of the back are important to maintain in good condition, because our health depends on this. Many in training pay a lot of attention to the press, hands, muscles of the legs, buttocks, but the back muscles often remain without proper training. But it is worth noting that training the abdominal muscles without a sufficiently pumped back can cause injury.
Exercises for the back muscles must be performed only with a flat back, each movement should be done well by working the muscles of the back, and not by the muscles of the hands or feet, during exercise it is necessary to feel the tension of the dorsal muscles.
Exercises that develop the dorsal muscles are divided into three types:
- development of the trapezius muscle
- development of the widest muscle
- development of spine muscles
Many exercises are universal, i. During training, all the dorsal muscles are involved in the work, and therefore develop. But part of the exercise is aimed at the development of a particular group of muscles, from which the division of exercises emerged.
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Exercises for the widest back muscles
The widest muscles are located in the upper back. This group of muscles is necessary for lowering, lifting, rotating the shoulder blades, humerus.
The main exercises for the development of this group of muscles are pulling, as well as traction of the upper block (in front of him, by the neck, a narrow grip).
Exercises for deep back muscles
Deep back muscles (or static muscles) create a kind of axis, around which other movements are made. Deep muscles are small and connect vertebrae together. A person is not able to independently control the tension or relaxation of this group of muscles, all movements of deep muscles are performed at the reflex level. This muscle group is deep, and therefore it is problematic to work on them.
Regular exercises for the muscles of the back with flexion or extension of the body usually develop the superficial muscles. To strengthen deep muscles, this set of exercises is suitable:
- kneel, lean on the floor with his hands and turn and bend his back alternately. In the beginning, the exercise is performed at a slow pace, then the change of positions should occur faster.
- kneel, lean on the floor. Alternately straighten the opposite arm and leg.
- lie on the stomach, hands to pull forward, legs slightly dilute in the sides. At the same time, tear off the arm and leg from opposite sides from the surface.
- lie on your stomach, legs together, hands folded on the back of the head. With a jerk, simultaneously tear off the head and legs from the surface (do not lift too high).
- lie on his back, legs bend, hands folded on the back of the head. With a jerk pull up the left knee to the right elbow, then do the exercise on the contrary (the left knee to the right elbow).
Exercises for straight back muscles
Straight back muscles control the spine, they represent the basis of the strength and performance of a person. When the straight muscles of the back are not developed, a stoop appears, even when the lats are well pumped. Straight dorsal muscles are responsible for the safety of the waist, which is the most vulnerable part of our body, contributing to straightening and keeping the spine straight.
If there is no access to special sports equipment, exercises for the back muscles can be performed independently at home, for example, by performing a complex of isometric exercises:
- lie down face down, put your hands behind your head, put it on your lower back, or pull it forward. Bend the lower back, shoulders and legs lifting up from the floor.
- lie on your stomach, pull your hands up, lay it behind your head or put it on your lower back. Bend the lower back, raise the shoulders up, press the legs to the floor (if necessary, you can fix your feet for furniture or perform the exercise with the help of a partner).
- lie on your stomach, put your hands at your own discretion, as indicated in the previous exercises. Bend the waist, lift the legs from the floor upwards, press the body to the floor (if necessary, the upper part of the trunk can be fixed by grasping the support).
- lie on your back, straighten your legs. To bend the lower back, during the exercise it is possible to connect the muscles of the neck, legs, but the muscles of the back should work as much as possible.
Exercises for the lateral muscles of the back
For the development of the lateral muscles of the back, you can perform several types of exercises. In general, additional equipment is needed for training - an expander, simulators, dumbbells, etc.
A special simulator with which you can securely fix your legs is the most effective for working out the lateral muscles of the back. To perform the exercise, you need to lie on your stomach, put your hands behind your head, fix your legs well. Using only the back muscles perform the body lifts. Over time, for greater efficiency, you can add load.
At home, exercises for the muscles of the back can be done with the help of an expander:
- stand up straight and stretch over your head with the arms of the expander.
- standing stretch the expander in front of you.
Exercises for the oblique muscles of the back
Exercises for the press also train the back muscles well. For the development of oblique muscles, twists are well suited:
- lie on your back, for the comfort of your feet you can fix for furniture. Raise the body with a turn to the hip, for a few seconds, fix the position of the body and return to the starting position, then perform the lift with a turn to the opposite thigh (repeat 10 times in each direction).
To strengthen the oblique muscles help lift the other way: lie on your stomach, put your hands along the body. Raise the head, shoulders, straining the muscles of the buttocks. The climb must be made as high as possible and stay at the top for a couple of seconds (perform 10 lifts).
For the strengthening of the spine exercises for the muscles of the back are well suited with a cross-up of arms and legs:
Lie on your stomach, place a cushion or pillow under your head, stomach, pelvis, arms stretch over your head. Carry out cross-arms and legs lifts (right foot - left hand and vice versa), with ascents it is necessary to fix the position for a couple of seconds (perform 10 lifts for each side).
Exercises for the lower back muscles
Exercises for the lower back help strengthen the lumbar region. During exercise, there should not be any discomfort in the lower back, when pain or other unpleasant sensations occur, it is necessary to finish the exercises for the muscles of the back.
Exercise one: get on your knees, lean your hands on the floor, perform synchronous cross-arms and legs lifts (make sure they form one straight line parallel to the floor) and hold in that position for 2-3 seconds, then gradually return to the starting position and repeat movements for the opposite arm and leg.
Exercise two: lie on your stomach, put your heels against the wall, pull your hands along the body. Raise the head and shoulders to the maximum possible height and fix the position for a couple of seconds, then gradually return to the starting position.
Push-ups well develop the lower back muscles. However, in this case push-ups have some nuances. First of all, the hands should be as close to the belt as possible. When pushing, it is necessary to lift the legs one at a time to the maximum possible height, while making sure that the raised leg remains straight.
Exercises for the longitudinal muscles of the back
Scoliosis is the most common deformity of the spine, especially among adolescents. Curvature develops usually as a result of weak longitudinal muscles of the back.
At the initial stages of curvature, the main treatment is curative physical training, the purpose of which is correction of the disorder.
To strengthen the longitudinal musculature, you need to do the following exercises for the muscles of the back:
- lie on your stomach, put your hands under your chin. Raise the head and shoulders, connect the shoulder blades (while the abdomen remains pressed to the floor surface) - hold the position for several seconds.
- lie on your stomach, hands under your head. Perform alternate lifting of the legs, while watching that the pelvis remains pressed to the floor.
- lie on your stomach, hands under your head. Raise both legs simultaneously and fix the position for 10 seconds.
Exercises for the rhomboid muscle of the back
Rhomboid muscles serve to work the blade. Exercises for the back muscles that train the rhomboid muscles make the back thicker and improve the relief. The rhomboid muscle works with various basic exercises for the upper back, so there is no special complex for rhomboid muscles.
One of the main exercises for the development of rhomboid muscles is push-ups with the help of bars. This exercise also helps to develop the muscles of the chest and triceps. To perform the exercise you need a simulator with parallel bars.
Pull-up is the most common exercise. The exercise is carried out by a variety of grips - straight, reverse, different widths, etc., resulting in increased load on a certain group of muscles.
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Exercises for the trapezius muscle of the back
Trapezius muscle of the back is called because of its shape. The muscles are located on the back and cover the neck above and below the shoulders. This group of muscles helps to control the shoulders, help to support the spine. When the trapezius muscle is inflated, the risk of injury to the neck or spine is significantly reduced.
Exercises for the back muscles can be performed without additional equipment - (dumbbells, simulators). One of the main exercises that strengthens the trapezius muscles is the rotation of the hands: stand up straight, hands to the sides, to get a straight line with the shoulders and rotate clockwise, eventually increasing the speed of rotation, after 15-20 rotations, do the exercise in the opposite direction. To increase the load, you can use the load (dumbbells, filled bottles of water, etc.).
The most effective exercise for strengthening trapezius muscles is an exercise with dumbbells, reminiscent of shrugging shoulders. In the absence of dumbbells, you can take bottles filled with sand or water. To perform the exercise stand up straight, take dumbbells (bottles) in hands, lower them down (palms inward) and perform shoulder-lifting, trying to do it as high as possible.
You can also do hand-to-hand. Exercises can be done both with dumbbells (bottles), and without load, since the exercise is quite complicated.
Tilt the body forward by 900, with the knees slightly bent, hands to pull straight ahead, then spread them to the sides to the maximum possible height (elbows slightly bent, the back straight), then return to the starting position.
Exercises for the big round muscle of the back
The large round muscle is connected with the latissimus muscle of the back. It is thanks to this muscle that the back acquires a wide form. The most effective exercises for the development of this group of muscles are pulling and pulling. Exercises for the muscles of the back, in which a large round muscle is involved, often affect the biceps, but, according to professionals, the movement of the biceps must be limited so that the effectiveness of training is higher.
The pull of the dumbbells develops a large round and broadest muscle. When performing the exercise, it is important to ensure that the back remains flat, since this gives the maximum load on the muscles. The weight of the dumbbells should not be too large, since in this case the amplitude decreases, and the risk of injury increases.
Traction of a grip on top is performed standing, one hand to rest on the knee, the second (with a dumbbell) is located on the same vertical line with the shoulder. To raise the dumbbell up to the level of the chest (shoulder back, chest - forward), then slowly lower the dumbbell (a feeling of slight stretching should appear in the back).
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Exercises to relax your back muscles
The main cause of many problems with the back are muscle spasms, which may not pass for quite a long time. In addition, a hard working day, an uncomfortable position during work, etc. Lead to the fact that in the evening the back begins to hurt. In this case, it is necessary to perform exercises for the muscles of the back, which will help relax tight muscles and reduce pain.
Exercise "Cat" is the most effective for relaxing tense and tired muscles of the back. To perform the exercise, you need to kneel and put your hands on the floor, tilt your head down and round the waist well arched arch, then slowly raise your head up and squeeze your lower back.
Also, the following exercise is well stretched and relaxes the muscles: sit on the floor, bend one leg in the knee, then you need to reach for the straight leg, at the same time to ensure that the loin is not rounded, and the knee does not bend. When doing the exercise, you should try to reach the toes.
Also, an exercise that best works together with a partner has a good relaxing effect. It is necessary to sit opposite to the partner (legs straightened, the back is even), it's good to hold hands and alternately pull each other back and forth, it is important not to bend your knees and round your back.
After performing exercises to relax the muscles of the back, you need to avoid some overstrain for a while, muscles should relax well and relax.
Exercises for stretching the muscles of the back
As already mentioned, exercises for the muscles of the back are necessary, at least for the prevention of diseases of the musculoskeletal system. For stretching the back, you can perform a simple set of exercises at least three times a week to get the desired effect:
- sit on the floor, stretch out your legs. Do inclines forward, trying to touch the ankles (make sure that your knees do not bend).
- sit on the floor, one leg bend, the other remains straight. Make the slopes forward, trying to reach the fingers of the straightened leg (make sure that the knee does not bend), then change the legs and perform the exercise again.
- sit on the floor, cross your legs. Hands raise up, then bend them so that they touch the shoulder.
- Eliminate the elbow of the hand with the other hand, then change hands.
- sit on the floor, cross your legs. Turn the body with the arms crossed on the back of the head in different directions.
- sit on the floor, cross your legs, get your hands behind your back and close. Tilt the body forward, while the hands closed behind try to lift as high as possible.
Exercises for the back muscles with dumbbells
Dumbbells are the most used kind of additional sports devices. Exercises for the muscles of the back with additional sports attachments improve muscle tone, besides it helps to get rid of extra pounds.
- lie down on the bench, put your feet down, take dumbbells and lift up. Raising your elbows to the sides, drop your hands down. When carrying out the exercise, it is necessary to follow then that the elbows remain horizontally floor.
- standing, tilt the body forward, take the dumbbell with one hand and lower it down, with the other hand you can take up the support (chair). Drawing back the elbow, perform lifting dumbbells to the chest.
- stand up, hands in the sides. Dumbbells raise to the level of the chest, bending the elbows (do not lower your elbows, keep your hands parallel to the floor).
For training, take dumbbells weighing 3 - 5 kg and repeat 8 to 10 times in 2 - 3 approaches.
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Basic exercises for the muscles of the back
Basic exercises for the muscles of the back serve for the collection of muscle mass. This action occurs as a result of shock effects on the muscles, so professionals advise starting training with the basic exercises
Pulling on the crossbar (with a wide grip) develops the widest muscles of the back. This exercise allows you to make the back wider. In addition, pull-up develops a large group of muscles.
The following exercises are the developing base for back muscles:
- pulling on a bar or crossbar. A simple exercise involves a large group of muscles. At the first stages of training pull-up will help to strengthen the muscles not only of the back, but also of the hands, as well as to improve the relief of the musculature.
- rod rod (stanovaya, in the slope) helps to build muscle. During the exercise, many muscles are involved, which allows you to visually increase your back.
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Complex exercises for the muscles of the back
Exercises for the muscles of the back are performed 15 to 20 times in 2 to 3 approaches:
- stand up straight (if you want you can take dumbbells or bottles of water in hand). The body is tilted forward, simultaneously pulling your hands forward and return to the starting position.
- kneel, put your hands on your shoulders. Pull up the right hand at the same time to withdraw the left leg back, return to the starting position, repeat the other way.
- lie down face, hands along the body. Raise the head and shoulders, connecting the shoulder blades and return to the starting position.
- stand upright, slightly bend your hands and take them aside (take dumbbells or bottles), pull the elbows to the body, trying to bring the shoulder blades together.
- stand up straight, hands in the sides. Bring your hands behind your back, connecting brushes, the muscles of your back should be as tight as possible, then return to the starting position.
- lie on his back, knees bend, put your feet as close to the buttocks, hands to set aside. With the emphasis on the hands to bend the thorax (the head and the bottom of the trunk remain on the floor).
- stand in front of a chair and lean on his back, spread his legs a little. Leaning on his hands, slowly make a bend back and return to the starting position.
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The best exercises for the muscles of the back
Exercises for the muscles of the back are different. Talking about what kind of exercise will be best for the back is impossible, because it all depends on the purpose of training. With certain diseases of the spine accompanied by pain, exercises that improve the mobility of the vertebrae, strengthen the muscles, restore the posture are necessary.
The most optimal exercises for the beginning is stretching of the vertebrae (especially if the exercises take place at home). The best stretching exercise is the usual hovering on the crossbar. During the exercise, the spine relaxes, the vertebrae stretch. After this, you should pull up, which involves the maximum group of muscles of the back, arms, neck.
If the purpose of training is to increase muscle mass, then in this case exercises that develop the dorsal muscles are recommended. The best exercises that help improve the relief of the muscles are the same pull-ups (due to the fact that this exercise uses different muscle groups), pulling blocks or barbells, exercises with dumbbells.
For pumping dorsal muscles, tightening with a wide grip is suitable, which allows to strengthen and develop the latissimus muscles of the back.
The deadlift is the basic exercise for the growth of muscle mass. When lifting the bar, almost all the muscles of the back, gluteus muscles, thighs are involved.
The upper back is well developed by training with dumbbells, which help to increase the trapezoid.
Exercises for the muscles of the back are aimed primarily at strengthening, since it is the spine that is placed on the maximum load. The back is the most vulnerable part of our body. According to experts, each person at some point is facing problems related to the spine. Pain in the back, as doctors say, is a payback for uprightness. Therefore, in order to reduce the load and strengthen the muscles, a few times a week to perform several exercises for the dorsal muscles. The developed musculature will not only make the figure more attractive, but also help to avoid the development of serious diseases of the spine.