Back Exercises for Women to Improve Posture and Shape a Firm Back
The back, although located on the back side of the body, affects the entire body's posture. In today's era, due to prolonged desk work and the habit of looking down at mobile phones, our arms and shoulders are often in a forward-extended state for a long time, which will eventually lead to muscle tension in the chest and the elongation of back muscles, resulting in postural problems such as rounded shoulders.
To solve this bad posture problem, we need to, in addition to changing bad habits, to conduct regular back training. Regular back training not only improves bad posture but also helps to relieve waist and back pain and can help shape back muscle lines, resulting in a firm back. For friends with a low fat rate, the firm back muscles will make the upper limbs look thinner, allowing us to appear slimmer.
Of course, for friends with a high fat rate, regular back training will not help us lose back muscles. However, if back training is combined with regular aerobic exercise and combined with reasonable dietary control, it can help us improve fat loss efficiency and allow us to lose weight faster.
Therefore, no matter what our training goals are, whether it is to relieve fatigue, improve posture, or straighten posture, we should pay attention to the training of the back muscles. From the training action, there is no specific gender difference, but because of the difference in ability and training purpose, the specific training methods will be different. Generally, if the action can be completed in a standard way, for women, they will usually use small weight and multi-sets to train.
Therefore, below we share a set of back training actions suitable for women. If we can enter the gym, we can try it. However, before doing this, we need to have a certain understanding of the action's technique and precautions, instead of simply imitating the action. If we do it at home, we can use resistance bands to complete the achievable actions.
Action 1: Straight Arm Pulls
- Stand with your legs slightly apart, your back straight, your abdomen tightened, and bend your hips forward to lower your body, your arms extended upwards, your hands each grasping the handles on either side
- Maintain stable body, keep your arms extended (with a slight bend in your elbows), use back strength to pull towards the direction of your legs
- Pause briefly at the top, contract back muscles, then control the speed to return, letting back muscles fully stretch
Action 2: Pull-ups
- Adjust the resistance weight, kneel with your legs on the mat below, grasp the side handles with your arms extended, with a slight bend in your elbows
- Keep your back straight, tighten your core, and use back muscle strength to pull your body up
- Pause briefly at the top, contract back muscles, then slowly return to complete the extension of back muscles
Action 3: Cable Rows
- Adjust the distance facing the equipment, with a wide stance, stand with your legs, your back straight, your core tightened, and your hips back, bending your knees to lower your body into a half-squat position
- Extend your arms forward, grasping the ends of the handles with your hands, with a slight bend in your elbows
- Maintain stable body, use back muscles to pull the handles towards the direction of your abdomen, pause briefly at the top, contract back muscles
- Then slowly reverse the direction and return, letting back muscles fully stretch
Action 4: V-Handle Rows
- Sit facing the equipment, with your feet pressing down on the pedals, your back straight, your core tightened, your arms extended upwards, your hands grasping the handles with a slight bend in your elbows
- Maintain stable body, keep your back straight, use back muscles to pull the handles towards the direction of your chest
- Pause briefly at the top, contract back muscles, then control the speed to slowly return, letting back muscles fully stretch
Action 5: Seated Rows
Sit on the front of the equipment, with your feet pressing on the pedals, your back straight, your arms extended forward, grasping the handles with your hands
Use back muscles to pull the handles with a slight bend in your elbows, towards the direction of your body
Pause briefly at the top, contract back muscles
Then actively control the speed and reverse
- Action 6: Back Extensions
- Lie face down on the equipment, with your feet pressing on the pedals, your legs fixed, adjust the height of the pad below your hip bones
- Hold the barbell in front of you, with your back straight, your core tightened, and bend your hips downwards to lower your body, feeling the pull of your legs and hips
Then tighten your hips, keeping your upper body stable as you rise
To better feel the contraction of the back muscles during training, we first perform a full warm-up of the straight arm pulls, which is the reason for placing straight arm pulls in the first place. During training, we should feel the contraction and extension of the back muscles every time, instead of completing the training on the surface.
Each action for 12-20 reps, 3-5 sets each, remember to stretch back muscles after training to help target muscles recover.
