Back Exercises?

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how much longer do you have until prom?

http://exercise.about.com/library/blbackexercises.htm

Oh yes - I do!! Below I've provided the four best all-over back exercises with instructions on how to perform each. You'll need a medium to heavy set of dumbbells and a theraband or tubing.

One and two arm rows are great for the back.
Simply bend over from the waist, back flat, knees bent and hip width apart. Hold a reasonably heavy weight in each hand (about 10-15 pounds) and while a) keeping your elbows close to your body, pull the weights up towards your underarms. Make sure you don't allow your shoulders to round down - keep them pulled back - and focus on 'pinching' the shoulder blades together as best as you can each time you pull the weight up. Lift and lower the weight slowly with control at all times. Don't let the weights drop as you lower them and always keep a slight bend in the elbow. In other words, don't let your elbows snap straight as you lower. Do this exercise 12 times (reps), rest for 20 seconds and repeat 2 more times (sets). The second way to do this exercise is to open your elbows up so they face opposite sides of the room. Lift and lower with the same precision as you did in exercise a). Your elbows will stay wide as you lift, but your hands will still come up to the underarms. Each of these exercises works different areas of the upper and middle back namely your Trapezius, Rhomboids, Teres Major, Teres Minor and your Latissiumus Dorsi.

Seated rows with a band.
Sit on the floor with your feet out in front of you, ankles touching. Bend your knees ever so slightly. Place a theraband or tubing in the arches of your feet. Sit up straight and adjust the band so that with straight arms there is none to very little tension in the band. Make sure you do not allow your back to arch or your shoulders to droop forward.
Now there's two ways to do this exercise and each one works a slightly different area of the upper back. The first one is to keep your elbows close to your body as you row the band to your middle abdominal area. The second is to keep your elbows wide, like you did in the exercise above. Again, row the band into the lower area of your middle abdominals.

Lat Overhead Raises
Using a band, stand with feet hip width apart, knees slightly bent. Grab one end of the band in each hand and remove the excess slack. Keeping your core strong, sink into your legs as you slowly lift the band up in front of your body and up over your head. By the time you get to your shoulders you'll notice the tension increases quite a bit - good! That's what you want. This works the side muscles that run down from under the underarm to the curve in your waist - called your Latissimus Dorsi, or your lats for short. If you don't have a theraband or tubing you can perform this exercise with dumbbells, but in my opinion it isn't as effective.

Superman
Superman not only works the upper and middle back muscles, but also the lower back muscles. To perform this exercise, lay on your stomach on the floor with your feet touching and your hands on either side of your face, arms at a 90 degree angle (like a capital L on it's side). Inhale deeply and then as you exhale lift your arms, legs, head and chest off the floor. Keep your gaze downward on the floor and NEVER turn your neck to the side. Hold this position for a count of five - but DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH! Breathe deeply and slowly. As you lower, exhale. Inhale deeply and repeat exhaling as you come up each time. Do this exercise 12 times (reps) for 3 sets.

Finally, just because of it's overall total body conditioning (it works virtually every muscle in the human body) I strongly suggest prone plank.

Plank
There are four ways to do prone plank.
1) The easiest option is to lay on your stomach with everything from your upper thighs to your toes touching the floor. You will support your upper body on bent elbows with your hands clasped in front of your face. Your elbows will sit directly below (or stacked) your shoulders. Your back will be flat and your head in line with your spine gazing slightly in front of your hands. Inhale and exhale deeply as you hold this position for as long as you can. Repeat 3 times.
2) The second option is to raise your body up onto your knees. You can still keep your feet on the floor or you can keep them lifted behind your buttocks. Follow the same instructions for your head placement, elbows and hands as above.
3) The third option is to lift your body onto your elbow and toes. These are the only two parts of your body that should be in contact with the floor. It is essential you do not allow your back to slope downward like a banana. Nor should you keep your buttocks high in the air. The idea of plank is to look like a sheet of wood on a flat surface.
4) The final plank involves being up on your hands and toes and is the most difficult to perform. Thus if you are not conditioned to do this one, start with the first modification and build you way up in strength. This plank places great stress and strain on your wrists so it might not be for you if you have weak wrists. If you have the upper body and core strength but have weak wrists opt to do the third modification instead.


All the best to you. And if you're unsure about any of the instructions I've provided, or need visual cues, google or youtube to see how the exercise is performed.

All the best to you!

K.I.S.

Military, or Arnold Press and chin-ups.