Alternate Methods to Strengthen your Back

by Joe Lawrence | June 26th, 2019 | Strength Training, Upper Body

woman running (400x400)Back strength is vital to having less pain and a better future overall. It is vital to build a stronger back and there are many ways to do this safely and still keep it interesting. This article is going to cover a couple ways to accomplish this.

I do not think I have ever written an article on back exercises without beginning with my rant of how important it is to exercise these muscles. Many people focus on firming up and bulking up on the chest and abdominal muscles because they are show muscles. Having a muscular back is not all that exciting. However, it is vital to the long-term health of your skeletal system. A bad back is usually linked to a weak back.

To avoid this there are lots of things that can be done like pull ups, chin ups, planks, the back machines at the gym, etc. Sometimes, we simply get tired of the monotony of these and want to change things up a little bit. The good news is that there are some ways to do this. For example: running.

Running is not usually associated with building a stronger back. However, after a running a couple miles you can feel something in your back. Is it a normal pain or an awkward pain? The awkward pain usually indicates that you are slouching while running. The constant impact coupled with a slouch will give you some pain.

To strengthen your back while running push your hips forward. At first it feels weird, like when you force yourself to sit with proper posture because your mom is looking. Same feeling. When you run with proper posture you are engaging your fast-twitch muscles (the smaller, fibrous muscles) and they are getting stronger. They in turn assist your bigger muscles and strengthen the structure. Essentially you are tightening the screws on a shaky chair.

Another way to tighten these screws is to do some punching. Get into a wide stance with your legs spread further than shoulder-width apart. You should look like you are riding a horse and sitting on the saddle. This is actually called a horse back stance. From here, ensure your back is perfectly postured once again. Then throw punches in front of you at a punching bag or just into thin air…it does not matter. The important thing is to keep them going and to keep your back straight. Do this for a time period of five minutes, then take a break and repeat for a total of three sets.

Backs need loving. They get this when you strengthen the muscles. Not only do you need to work the major muscle groups of the back, but also the smaller ones as well. When you do, your structure will be much stronger and you will have better long-term back health.

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