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5 BEST RESISTANCE BAND EXERCISES FOR BACK

Don't have access to a gym? Resistance bands are surprisingly effective and offer many benefits over traditional weight training. Amp up your at-home workouts with these five resistance band exercises to blast your back.

Rules for Resistance Band Back Workouts:

  1. Be sure to take your time and get the resistance out of the band by holding the peak contraction for a one-second count.
  2. The further the band stretches, the more resistance you can create. You don’t always need a thicker band; you can create more resistance by increasing the range of motion.
  3. Always pull from the elbow. Use hands only as ‘hooks’ and focus on the elbow as the point of intent.
  1. Do your best not to shrug your shoulders when doing any back movement. Lifting the shoulders upward will take tension off of the lats, which isn’t optimal for full back development. Keep your shoulders in a retracted position (or down) to keep the lat muscles engaged. The contraction should feel very different to you when a movement is done with shoulders up vs. down.
  2. Control your negatives. The nice thing about the bands is they offer resistance throughout the range of motion with no dead spots. Use that to your advantage by controlling your negatives and not just letting the band snap back.

Close-grip Pulldown
Sets: 4
Reps: 15-20
This movement is going to get your back primed for all the different exercises you’re going to do. We want to really stretch everything out and warm up correctly here. Let’s start with four sets for 15-20 reps.

Seated Cable Row
Sets: 4
Reps: 12
Make sure you’re seated far enough away from the pole you have the band attached to so you can get a good amount of resistance. The key here is to make sure you can bring your wrists to your ribs and hold for one-two second count. Remember to be sure you don’t lift your shoulders on this. Try to get another four sets here for 12 reps.

Bent-over Row
Sets: 4
Reps: 8-10
This exercise is the meat and potatoes of the workout. Try to use a heavier band here so you can make this your ‘heavy’ exercise but also remember, the most important thing is that you bring the bar all the way to your navel and hold for a one-second count. Do four sets here but bring your reps down to eight to 10 solid reps.

Standing Pulldown
Sets: 3
Reps: 15
This movement is going to be a great way to increase your overall pump in your back. Try not to be too explosive with these. You’re better off using a lighter band and slowing down the rep speed. Do three sets here for 15 reps.

Lying Pullover
Sets: 3
Reps: 12
This exercise is my favorite way to finish off my back work. It allows for a good stretch in the lat and really just polishes off everything we’re trying to do. Make sure you pay attention in the video to the range of motion and the point of intent. It’s very easy to turn this into a chest movement if you’re not focused. Do three sets here for a slower and controlled 12 reps.

 

 

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