Have you worked your back lately?

While I love the feeling of pushing something heavy in front of me just as much as the next lifter, I know the back of my body is just as important. From the hunched over desk-bound worker to the super-fit bench presser, we can all benefit from strengthening our back muscles. For example, if you bench press (working the chest muscles/front of your body), then it would benefit you to do a back row (working the back muscles/back of your body). Similarly, if you push something over your head as in a shoulder press (working the shoulders) then your body would benefit from pulling something down such as a lat pulldown (working the mid-low back).

Some great exercises to work your back:

Cable Back Row:

Cable Row 2DAHLC-1512

Lat Pull-Down (Read more here about properly doing a Lat Pull-Down):

Lat Pull 1-WM

Lat Pull 2-WM

Now that you’ve focused on your back…don’t forget your front! Some great counter moves to the back muscles mentioned include:

Chest press:

Chest Press 1-WMChest Press 2-WM

Shoulder (Military) Press:

ShoulderPress1-WM

ShoulderPress2-WM

In general when making your own strength training workout, making sure to work opposing muscle groups, your front and your back, will give you a well-rounded workout and a well-balanced body. Have fun!

-Coach Desiree