Resistance band exercises target and strengthen muscles like the abs, obliques, and glutes. This, in turn, helps in stabilizing the pelvic and lower back region. If you are working long hours sitting in front of a computer or lead a sedentary lifestyle and/or experience back pain – do resistance band exercises. Here are the 12 best at-home resistance band exercises to improve your posture with pictures. Scroll down!
12 Best Resistance Band Exercises For The Back
Before performing these resistance band exercises, start with a thorough warm-up. A well-prepared warm-up helps increase blood flow to the muscles, improve flexibility, and reduce the risk of injuries. Start with dynamic stretches, such as arm circles, leg swings, and torso twists, to gradually increase your heart rate and loosen tight muscles. You can also incorporate light movements that target your back and shoulders, such as shoulder shrugs and cat-cow poses. Now, let’s take a look at the exercises that can help reduce your back pain.
1. Single Arm Press
Single arm press with resistance bands works on the lats and shoulders. This upper body exercise helps reduce neck pain, shoulder, and back pain and relieves muscle tension. Here’s how to do it: Steps
2. Lat Pulldowns
Resistance band lat pulldowns work on the lats to improve spinal stability and promote good posture . Here’s how to do it: Steps
3. One Arm Lateral Raise
One arm lateral raises work on the lats and shoulders. They help reduce muscle tension, improve shoulder and upper back posture, and improve muscle strength. Here’s how to do it: Steps
4. Lat Pullovers
Lat pullovers with a resistance band are a great workout for the lat muscles and the whole back. They help reduce shoulder muscle tension and pain. Here’s how to do it: Steps
5. Shoulder Press
This exercise works on the upper back pain, shoulders, and triceps. It helps tone the shoulder and neck area, strengthen the muscles, and improve shoulder posture. Here’s how to do it: Steps
6. Upright Row
Upright rows with resistance band work on the upper and middle back as well as the shoulders. It helps strengthen the shoulder and upper back. Here’s how to do it: Steps
7. Rear Deltoid Squeeze
This exercise works on the back of the shoulders and helps open up a rounded or hunched back. Here’s how to do it: Steps
8. Bent Over Rows
Resistance band bent over rows target the middle back or lats, as well as the biceps. Here’s how to do it: Steps
9. Seated Row
Resistance band seated row works on the upper back (trapezius), middle back (latissimus dorsi), and between the shoulder blades (rhomboids). This exercise helps strengthen the muscles and reduces the rounding of the shoulders. Here’s how to do it: Steps Note: Always perform a quick warm-up and stretching routine before doing any of these exercises. This will promote injury prevention and help you perform better.
10. Chest Flys
Chest flys are great for targeting the chest muscles as well as work on the back muscles. It helps improve shoulder and upper back posture, opens up the chest and collar bone area, and helps reduce shoulder and neck pain. Here’s how to do it: Steps
11. Alternate Hip Flexion
To improve your posture and reduce back pain, strengthening the glute muscles is also important. Here’s how to do resistance band alternate hip flexion: Steps
12. Banded Pull-Ups
Banded pull-ups are a variation of pull-up exercises that use resistance bands to help in the movement while engaging the back muscles effectively. Here is how you can perform this exercise: Lydia, a blogger, shared her experience with using resistance bands for workouts. She performs a number of exercises using the band after a cardio session. She writes, “I’ve been using the bands for several weeks now and I still think they are great. After my walk or cardio workout at the gym, I pick several of the exercises below and do three 15 rep sets of them (i).”
A common notion is that resistance band exercises can help burn back fat. We asked the experts, and here’s what they had to say.
Expert Answers: Can Resistance Band Exercises Burn Back Fat?
Pete Colagiuri (a sports physiotherapist) says, “Resistance bands won’t help shift back fat specifically, but it can help with body fat generally. The body is not selective about where it stores or uses its energy reserves. So you can’t “target” fat in a specific location. The good news is that strength training will reduce overall body fat percentage, which can help shift back fat as part of an overall fat reduction strategy.” If you do decide to add these exercises to your fitness routine, keep these tips by the experts in mind.
Expert Tips
Colagiuri advises, “It’s worth including resistance band exercises in a regular strength program but pause them during any acute back pain flare-ups.” He further adds, “Commence any program with only 1-2 sets of each exercise and pay particular attention to mastering the technique. Take the following day off to see if there’s any residual muscle soreness and gradually increase the sets of each exercise over the next week or so. It’s better to start slow and train consistently than to push hard and need extended recovery time after each session.” What are the pros and cons of resistance bands? Even though resistance band workouts are easy to do, versatile, and apply low levels of stress to the joints, it is challenging to quantify and measure your growth and reflect on your progress with these exercises. However, these may not be the best choice for muscle building. Should you use resistance bands every day? No. You should have rest days to ensure you give your muscles appropriate time to recover. You can train with resistance bands up to 5-6 days a week. Can resistance bands replace the gym? Yes. Exercise bands can help you get the most out of your home workouts and provide almost as many benefits as going to the gym. Are resistance bands good for people over 50? Yes. Resistance bands help strengthen your bones and muscles and improve flexibility. They are easy to get started on and are easier on the joints for people over 50.
Illustration: Back Pain? Do These 11 Resistance Band Exercises
Learn how to ease back pain using resistance bands! Look through the video to discover simple exercises to help reduce discomfort and improve mobility.
