Back
Back
Your back is your personal tower of power. That stack of bony disks is the key to your strength and mobility. As important as the spine, though, are all the muscles wrapped around it—muscles that let us stoop and scoop, twist and turn, or stand tall when it''s time to be counted.
But the back is also one of life''s great trouble spots. Roughly 80 percent of American men suffer some type of back pain—that''s active guys and couch potatoes alike. Except in the most serious of cases, that pain comes from any of the half-dozen muscle groups that support the upper, middle and lower back.
"Most men would not have that kind of back pain if they had a specific back exercise program," says Doug Lentz, Pennsylvania state director of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and owner of the Chambersburg Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center in Pennsylvania. And he''s not just talking about weight training to keep back muscles strong. Your back muscles already carry a heavy load every moment of the day—your body weight. This means they''re pretty tight from a life of lifting. "So it''s just as important to do stretching and flexibility exercises to loosen the back muscles up and take some of the stress and tension out of them," says Lentz.
Back to the Future
It''s hard to say which of your back muscles is the most important. "They''re all necessary for certain functions and motions," says Lentz. The topmost muscles allow you to move your neck, and they work in concert with your shoulder muscles to help you lift. Mid-back muscles like the erector spinae allow you to bend over and stand back up. Lower-back muscles, like the quadratus, work together with the oblique abdominal muscles, helping to support your spine and giving you greater range of movement. If any one of these muscle areas is weaker than the others, it can lead to serious back pain and leave you open to a muscle pull or worse. "The stronger and more flexible your back is, the better you''ll feel," says Lentz. "You''ll stand straighter, you''ll breathe better and you''ll have more power with less pain." So here are some specific tips to work all of your dorsal muscles. Get your back into them.
Work the abs for your back. One of the best ways to strengthen your lower back is not necessarily to pump up the muscles behind you, but the ones in front and at your sides—specifically, your abs.
"When I see men with back problems and I evaluate their workout routine, often I see that their problem is they''re not getting enough of a lower-abdominal workout," says Paula Watson, P.T., a physical therapist for the Texas Back Institute in Dallas. As Watson explains, abs support the back whenever you lift, twist, bend or stand up straight.
So make sure you do plenty of abs work as part of your back workout. Basic crunches are good, but focus on exercises that also work the lower abs, obliques and the quadratus, like frog-leg crunches or oblique twists. (See Abs on page 76.)
Sit back. When your workout is done, be sure to take a load off that back.
"After back exercises it''s really important to do a cooldown, something that''s going to relax the back," says Watson. That cooldown can be as simple as lying flat on your back on an exercise mat for five minutes. "Just lie there in a comfortable position, practice some deep breathing and stretch your arms and legs out," says Watson. "It helps the back tremendously and keeps you from feeling sore afterwards."
Work on flex time. But before you do any back exercises—heck, before you do any exercises—be sure to spend ten minutes warming up and then ten minutes stretching, especially stretching your legs. "For instance, if your hamstrings are too tight, they can limit the range of motion in your back and make it especially hard to bend over," says Watson. The more you warm up and stretch, the more flexible and responsive your muscles will be.
Back Stretches
Lying flat on your back, lift one knee to your chest, then lift the other, keeping your lower back on the floor all the while. Your hands should be behind your knees, sandwiched between your upper and lower legs. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, then release. You may use your hands to support your legs; the idea is to stretch your back, not exercise your thighs. For an added stretch, try to touch your forehead to your knees.
Back Extensions
Here''s a great all-back exercise, especially for your erector muscles. Position yourself in a back extension machine with your ankles locked behind the padded bars and your groin area and upper thighs resting on the padded platform. Your hips should be over the edge of the platform, and your body held straight so it is at a roughly 20-degree angle to the floor. Fold your arms across your chest.
Bend over at the waist, with your upper torso lowered to a point a few inches above perpendicular to the floor. Your arms should still be crossed over your chest and the rest of your body should stay in the starting position. Raise to the starting position, repeat. Do as many as you comfortably can, working up to no more than three sets of 20 reps. If you need more of a challenge, do the back extension holding a weight in your arms.
Good-Morning Exercises
To work your lower back, stand with your legs shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell with very light weights across your shoulders and behind your neck. Hold your hands wider than shoulder-width apart but within the weights, with your palms facing out. Keep your upper body upright, shoulders back, chest out, and your lower back straight with a slight forward lean.
Keeping your back level, slowly bend over at the waist until your body is roughly at a 90-degree angle and parallel to the floor or as far as you can go while still maintaining proper form. Keep your head up and back straight. Keep your legs straight and knees unlocked.
Only do as many of these as you can while maintaining proper form. If your back starts to round or if you feel any pain, stop. You may wish to start with an unweighted barbell. Work up to no more than three sets of 8 to 12 reps.
Rumanian Dead Lifts
This is a modified version of the old stiff-legged dead lift, which Lentz says was too hard on the lower back. If your hamstrings are tight, start with an unweighted barbell or broomstick until you are flexible enough to do this with proper form. Then, work with a lightly weighted barbell.
Stand upright with the barbell in front of you, your legs shoulder-width apart. Keeping your shoulders back and chest out, push your butt back and bend your knees as you reach for the barbell. Grasp it with both hands, palms facing in, shoulder-width apart.
Moving only from the hips, and keeping your butt pushed back to maintain your balance, pull the barbell up the front of your legs to your thighs. Slowly lower the barbell as far as you can while maintaining proper form. How to tell if your form is good? Stand sideways next to a mirror and observe yourself doing the exercise. If your shoulders or back begin to round at any point as you lower the bar, stop and return to the upright position. Unless you are quite flexible, you probably will not be returning the barbell to the floor between reps. Only do as many of these lifts as you can while maintaining proper form. If you can''t sustain a straight back, stop. Work up to no more than three sets of 8 to 12 reps.
| Ultimate Peak No one wants you to do backbreaking work for a stronger spine. But if you have been doing a regular routine of back exercises, you might want to move to a higher level by adding these to your workout.   T-Rows Straddle a T-bar rowing machine with your feet firmly on the ground. Using a narrow grip, hold the T-bar slightly off the ground so your back is relatively straight and not hunched. Bend your legs slightly and keep your upper body as straight as possible, but bent over at the waist. Lift the T-bar up toward your body as you would in a normal bent-over row. Bring the weight up as high as you can, or until it touches your lower chest. There will be a little more up-and-down movement of your upper body, but don''t sway or rock to gain momentum. Your elbows should be pointing up and slightly out as you lift.  Back Extensions with Weights This is the same exercise as the standard back extension, only this time hold a weight plate to your chest by crossing your arms over it. Start with light weight, then add more as your muscles get stronger. Work up to three sets of 8 to 12 reps. |
| FACT:The backbone we pride ourselves on having and showing in times of adversity is a figment of our imagination. In fact, what we think of as the backbone is really a series of small bones—33 to be exact. |
Bent-Over Rows
To work your upper back, stand bent over at your waist, back straight, hands gripping a barbell palms down in a wide grip. Your feet are shoulder-width apart. Keep your legs straight and your knees unlocked.
Keeping your back straight, pull the barbell in toward your body so the bar is touching your lower chest. Your elbows should be pointing up toward the ceiling.
One-Arm Dumbbell Rows
Stand partly over a bench, with your body weight resting on your bent left leg and left hand, both of which should be on the center of the padded portion of the bench. With your right foot firmly on the floor, hold a dumbbell in your right hand. Keep your back straight; your eyes should be facing the ground. Extend your right arm down toward the ground, elbow unlocked.
Pull the weight up and in toward your torso. Raise it as high as you can, bringing it in to your lower-chest muscles. Your right elbow should be pointing up toward the ceiling as you lift.
