Natural bodybuilders fitness for back

BACK

You need to hit your back at different angles - SIDE, MIDDLE and LOWER.

Exercising the sides of your back will give your body the classic V-SHAPE (as long as you don’t have a big belly hanging out!)

CHINS - hit the sides of your back giving you width

Have your palms facing away from you. If they face towards you too much emphasis is placed on your biceps.

Hang from the bar and then concentrating on your back lift yourself up so that your chin is above the bar. Hold this position for an instant and squeeze your back muscles. Slowly lower yourself back down to the hanging position. Then repeat the movement. It takes a long time to perfect chins and some people never do, that’s why it’s important to get the technique right from the beginning. Remember this exercise is for back - SO USE YOUR BACK!

With each exercise put your hands in different positions on the bar ie) start off with them as far apart as possible and then bring them closer together. Each position will hit your back in a slightly different way.

Chins is also a good warm up exercise. It will help you stretch your muscles. When doing chins as a warm up spend longer stretching at the bottom of the movement, and only do one set of 15 repetitions.

LAT PULL-DOWNS (also hits the sides of your back giving you width)

You need the correct machine in the gym to do this. The idea is to pull the weight down behind your neck and contract the back muscles. Then let the weight back up again until you feel a stretch in your back. When you feel this stretch tense the sides of your back muscles and pull the weight down again. Once again the principle ‘stretch and squeeze’ really applies to this exercise.

BENT OVER ROWS(hits the middle of your back and gives you thickness)

With your palms facing away from you grab a barbell. Bend over the weight with your head down and pull the weight up to your waist. Squeeze your back muscles and then slowly lower to the starting position where you should feel a stretch in the back. Tense your back muscle and pull the weight back up again. This is an excellent mass building exercise and will give you a big, thick, beefy back.

PULLEY ROWS (hits the middle and lower back)

You need the correct apparatus in the gym to do this exercise. In a seated position grab the pulley so you can feel a stretch in your lats (back) Then pull the weight with the emphasis of using your back muscles and not your arms. Pull the weight all the way to your waist and squeeze your back muscles. Slowly return the weight to the starting position where you should feel a stretch. If you don’t feel a stretch you are too near the machine. Then repeat the movement.

DEADLIFTS (hits the lower back and gives the entire back thickness)

This exercise is for your lower back. Like the squat this will also add a lot of mass to your whole body and make you stronger so it’s a good exercise to do for a beginner. However it can also be quite dangerous and a lot of care must be taken to get the technique just right.

Stand in front of a barbell and hold the weight with your palms facing towards you. Then bend your knees and as you straighten your legs lift the weight. The idea about lifting this exercise is the same for lifting any heavy load - lift with your legs. Lift the weight until you straighten up and then slowly lower the weight again and repeat the movement. It is extremely vital that you get your technique right from early on. If you damage your lower back by improper lifting it could leave you with permanent back problems.

TRAPS

The traps are the muscles between your shoulders and neck.

Lift a barbell behind your back and lift your shoulders up so you can feel the muscle touching your neck. Squeeze your traps at the top of the movement and then lower the barbell so you can feel a stretch. Repeat the exercise.