Building a strong muscular back will help you achieve that V-tapper build. The good news is you can do this from the comfort of your home, given that you have a set of dumbbells. Let's have a look at the five best exercises you can do at home to chisel your back muscles.
Disclaimer
The content in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical or professional advice; please consult with a healthcare provider before starting any exercise program.
Anatomy of your back
Let's start by understanding what you are doing to be building. Your back is made up of the following superficial muscles. There are many, many deeper and smaller muscles which we will not talk about in this post.
Latissimus Dorsi
This is the biggest upper body muscle. It goes from your lower back and spine to your arm. You use it to pull your arm towards you.
Having defined lats is what gives you the Christmas tree shape on your lower back.
Trapezoid
This muscle goes from your neck and spine to your shoulder and shoulder blade. It pulls the shoulder blades together.
Rhomboid
This muscle goes from your spine to your shoulder blade. It stabilizes your shoulder and shoulder blade.
From a physique point of view, you won't see it as it lays underneath the traps.
Erector Spinae
These are the muscles that run up and down your spine. They serve to arch your back and protect your spine.
Rear delts
This muscle goes from your shoulder blade to the back of your upper arm. It pulls your arm away from your mid line.
Your back muscles will work one of two ways:
They pull the arms towards you. Every time you pull a dumbbell towards you, your back muscles are working.
Preventing your back from rounding forward. This is an often overlooked function, but when you want to round your back, some muscles have to relax. On the other hand, when you contract those muscles, they help keep your back rigid. During some moves, like a deadlift or squat, your back muscles (along with your core) are working hard to keep your torso from collapsing forward.
Exercise 1: bent over rows
This exercise will work all of these muscles mentioned in the previous part.
How to do it:
Hinge at your hips and let your arms hang straight down.
Pull the dumbbells toward your hips
Slowly let the dumbbells go back to their starting position.
Because you are in the hinged position, your whole back will work to support your spine in this position.
For that reason, the dumbbells bent over rows are, in my opinion, the most complete back exercises you can do from home.
Exercise 2: Single arm row
This exercise is extremely similar to the best over rows with the exception that your other arm is helping your core stabilize your spine. For this reason, it's a little bit easier to execute.
How to do it:
Get in this position shown
Think about pulling the dumbbell from your foot toward your hip
Exercise 3: Renegade row
A phenomenal movement to build complete upper body strength. Being in a plank position and having to stabilize yourself while performing the exercise will also strengthen your shoulder, pecs and core muscles.
How to do it:
Pull the dumbbells toward your hips
Maintain both hips facing the ground. Do not let your hips twist from side to side.
Exercise 4: Rear delt rows
This movement is very similar to the bent over rows. Instead of pulling the weights towards your hips, you pull them out towards the side of your body.
You must use lighter weights than the bent over rows because the rear delts are much smaller than the lats.
The bent over rows should target your lats which is more your mid back. This kind of row should make your upper body work more.
Exercise 5: Pull ups
Investing in a pull up bar, or having a place close to your house to do pull ups will help your tremendously to build a strong back.
This exercise is one of the best for strengthening and building your lats, rhomboids, traps, and rear delt (all the muscles that look nice).
How to do it
From a hanging position, pull yourself up towards the bar. For a rep to count, I like to touch my upper chest on the bar. That way I know I went through the whole range of motion
At the top of the movement, try to pull your upper arms towards your spine, this will help your lats work more.
Exercise 6: Deadlifts
Deadlifting is one of the best full body movements in my opinion.
Your leg muscles will work to move your body and your back muscles will work a lot to stabilize your torso. Your back muscles will be working isometrically during these types of movements so you won't feel them work like you do during a rowing motion.
How to do it
Start standing with the dumbbells in your hands. Your lower ribs should be stacked on top of your pelvis, meaning the two should be parallel.
Hinge at your hips. Reach your hips back as you slightly bend your legs.
The further you reach your hips back, the more stretch you may feel in your hamstrings.
Maintain your lower ribs parallel with your pelvis throughout the whole motion
On the way up, think about pushing the ground away from you.
Technique deep dive
All the exercises listed will more or less work all of your back muscles. Some exercises will work certain muscles more than others. How you pull the weights towards your body will have a huge impact on which muscles are working.
For example, the rear delt rows and bent over rows start from the same position. In one variation the arms go out wide (rear delt rows) and in the other, the arms stay close to your body (bent over rows).
In order to get a strong, defined back, try incorporating many rowing variations in your workout routine.
Your biceps and triceps also work to pull the arm close to your body. Although their primary functions are to flex and extend the forearm, they can also work quite well during rowing movements.
I'm just saying this for you to be aware of it. If you doing a back exercise, and start feeling your arms tiring more than your back, it's a sign to stop and reassess your technique.
We tend to overuse our biceps when we work our back. Instead of thinking about pulling the dumbbells towards you, think about pulling your elbows back.
This cue has helped me relax my biceps and feel my back muscles way more.
Take the time to find the exercises that work best for you, stay diligent with your diet and watch those muscles get stronger and more defined!
Happy training,
Clem
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