Fitness
Fun fact: Doing these can help combat lower back pain.
The muscles of the back tend to be forgotten about.
People love glute and ab andarm workouts, after all.
Some bands are a single piece of rubber while others are a loop or circle.
Exercising back musclesis important for functional reasons as well as for injury prevention, Lehnert explains.
This gives you a good workout, provides muscular strengthening, and is not too fatiguing, he says.
Here are trainer-recommended back exercises to help get you started.
Start by holding the handles or ends of your resistance band.
Step on the middle of the band with both feet.
Hinge your hips 45 degrees, keeping your arms extended and allowing your knees to bend slightly.
Keep your spine neutral as you pull your elbows up and back.
Squeeze your shoulder blades together and focus on your lats to drive the motion.
Pause at the top, then release back to the starting position.
Anchor your band at about face height and grasp it with both hands.
The movement should come from your back muscles.
Think about pulling your shoulder blades back.
Do not let your shoulders shrug too much with this exercise.
Return to the starting position with control and repeat.
These will help combat rounded shoulders andimprove your posture.
Grab a band with both hands.
Keep your elbows pinned to your sides.
Bend your elbows to about 90 degrees in front of you with your palms facing up.
Pull the band apart by rotating your shoulder without moving your elbows off your body.
Go as far as is comfortable, then return to start.
Pull Aparts
Heres another one that hits the rhomboids and traps.
Hold a band in front of you.
Your palms will face downward this time.
Pull the band apart as far as you could by squeezing your shoulder blades.
Slowly return to start and then straighten arms again.
Pullovers
This exercise is designed to work the latissimus dorsi, Lehnert says.
Grasp the band with one or both hands.
Keep your arms straight as you pull the band down to your hips.
Try not to crunch or move your body while performing this exercise.
Seated Rows
Alayna Curry, an AFAA-certified fitness instructor, loves this exercise for targeting the lats and rhomboids.
Sit down with legs stretched out in front of you.
Loop the resistance band around your feet.
Pull the band towards you, keeping your elbows close to your sides.
Once you hit the point of furthest resistance, release your arms slowly back to the starting point.
Hold onto a resistance band with both hands.
Bring your arms straight up overhead.
Your elbow will go out wide.
Release your arm slowly back to the top and repeat.
You could also pull both arms down at the same time, keeping tension in the band.
They are a replacement for weights, but they should still be taxing, he says.
If pulling the band feels too easy, try folding it in half to create more resistance.
The rising prevalence of chronic low back pain.Archives of internal medicine,169(3), 251258.https://doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2008.543.
