The back is a very important part of the body, and must be exercised. Therefore these back strengthening exercises should go some way to help you have a strong back. The back is fairly complicated, but here there will be 4 exercises explained that that help to strengthen all parts of the back that should help you to get a strong back, which can be beneficial in many parts of life; be it from other weight training and/or exercises, or even just with posture issues, which in turn will minimize the risk of back pain.
Lateral Pull downs
To work your latissimus dorsi, or more commonly known as lats, the best exercise is the lateral pull downs. This is exactly the same action as a chin up, except your legs are secured, enabling you to do lighter or even perhaps heavier weights than your body weights. Sit in the lateral pull down exercise machine. Place your hands in the widest possible grip, palms facing away from your body. From this position pull the weight down in front of your body to around in line with your chin. From here raise back up until your arms are straight out. It is important not to lock your elbows, instead keep them ‘soft’. Repeat this exercise for 3 sets. If you are trying to build your lats, do 6-8 reps; to tone 10-12 reps on a lower weight. Ensure your body is relatively upright, so you should not be leaning back to help pull the weights down, also maintain control of the weights by completing each repetition slowly.
Chainsaw!
This does not use a real chainsaw, but simulates the action of starting a chainsaw which works the middle muscles in the upper back. Kneel with one leg on a flat bench with the other leg, bent slightly, foot on the floor. From here grip a dumbbell with palms facing the side of your body. Raise the weight towards your chest slowly, and return down to the ground. Similar to lateral pull downs, 6-8 reps on a heavier weight for building, 10-12 for toning. Ensure you maintain a straight back throughout this exercise.
Hyper-extend your lower back
As is suggested in the title, this exercise is for the lower back. For this exercise you should lay flat on the floor or on an exercise mat, with your face towards the floor, so your abdominal area is flat on the floor. From here you should raise your legs off the ground as well as your upper body as far as you can manage. This should just leave the area around your belly button on the ground. Once you have raised your body as far as possible hold for a couple of seconds before slowly returning to laying flat on the ground. Repeat this exercise 10 times to complete 1 set; you should complete 3 sets to fully work the lower back.
Plank
The final part of the back to work is the core. This will bring together many parts of the back, and help keep a secure back. The best exercise for this is the plank. Start in a press up position, but have arms shoulder width apart with elbows on the ground. From here try to keep a straight line from your neck to your ankles to fully work the back. Once here, hold for 30 seconds, squeezing your abdominal muscles in. Repeat this 3 times. For added difficulty, raise one arm and the opposite leg in the air, swapping half way through the 30 seconds to the other arm and leg. This adds a great deal of difficulty and many people find problems with balance when doing this. However, with a greater level of difficulty come greater results if performed correctly.
Combining these exercises will give a great back, both toned, and strong. You can do variations on these exercises, but it is important to work all four parts to get a strong back. Lateral pull downs are the least important perhaps for someone who is not trying to get muscular, as this will widen the back. However, the others are all vital!