≡ September 22, 2020 Category: For weight loss
When planning a weight loss program, girls and women first of all want to get rid of fat on the stomach, sides, hips, but they forget about that part of the body that is most difficult to hide or disguise with clothes. Unsightly folds on your back and “ears” on your lower back can remain noticeable even when you lose weight, so be sure to include effective exercises for losing weight in your back in your workout schedule - they will help improve the muscle tone of the problem area and give it relief .
Basic principles
Fat folds on the back and sides are not necessarily associated with excess weight. They can also appear in thin people due to hormonal imbalance (with a lack of thyroid hormone - thyroxine); metabolic disorders; "sedentary" work; features of the figure; heredity. Therefore, before losing back fat, people of thin and normal build should consult a doctor.
- Nutrition . To lose weight, give up sweets, flour, fatty and fried, smoked foods. Eat small meals four to five times a day and drink at least eight glasses of still water. You should not go on a strict diet, otherwise you will get tired quickly during training and will not be able to give your muscles the necessary load.
- Posture . A layer of fat on the back often appears in those who slouch when walking or spend the working day bent over at a desk: some muscle groups in this position are constantly tense, while others are relaxed and become flabby over time. Special exercises and/or an orthopedic corset can help correct your posture.
- Physical activity includes cardio or aerobic training for weight loss (walking, running, swimming, fitness) and strength exercises (push-ups, pull-ups, crunches) to strengthen muscles. Cardio training is carried out after a strength complex (30–40 minutes) or on rest days (an hour and a half), and strength training – 3–4 times a week.
Massage and wraps will help reduce the fat layer: they improve blood circulation in the tissues and make the skin more elastic. However, the procedures themselves are not able to burn subcutaneous fat on the back and will not add a slim figure.
Recommendations for losing weight in the arms and shoulders
If you want to quickly lose weight in your arms and shoulders, physical activity will not be enough. It is necessary to reconsider your diet and eating habits. Let's look at the principles of nutrition for fat burning:
- Refusal of harmful products. Fast food, white flour bread, confectionery, sweet carbonated drinks - all this gives a powerful surge in insulin and overloads the body with excess calories. The result of such a diet is fat deposits throughout the body and worsening health.
- Fractional diet. Strict diets give only temporary results. And upon completion, most often the weight returns in excess. In addition, strict dietary restrictions have a negative impact on health. Therefore, you don't need to starve yourself to lose weight in your shoulders. Eat small meals 5-6 times a day.
- Limiting carbohydrates. Many girls mistakenly believe that excess weight occurs due to fatty foods. In fact, body fat is the result of consuming large amounts of carbohydrates. Eat carbohydrate foods in the first half of the day, and in the evening, instead of side dishes, prepare vegetable salads.
- Reducing salt intake. Quite often, the cause of excess weight and sagging skin is not subcutaneous fat, but swelling. To get rid of edema, you need to completely review your diet and check with a doctor for the presence of other diseases. But first, you can reduce your salt intake, which will reduce swelling.
- Slight calorie deficit. Losing weight is only possible with a calorie deficit. Calculate your individual daily caloric intake and subtract 300 kcal from it. Stick to this value and you are guaranteed to start losing weight.
- Proper nutrition. Proteins: poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, lean red meat, low-fat cottage cheese, nuts. Fats: healthy vegetable oils. Carbohydrates: cereals (buckwheat, brown rice), oatmeal, whole grain bread, premium pasta. And, of course, don’t forget about fresh vegetables and herbs.
Strength training and stretching
Choose 3-5 strength movements for a daily complex (push-ups, pull-ups, with dumbbells and/or on a block machine) and include stretching exercises for burning back fat (hyperextension, “boat”, “cat”). The number of repetitions and approaches is selected individually, depending on age, well-being and level of physical fitness. Perform them at an average pace so as not to stretch the ligaments and damage the joints:
- start your session with a cardio warm-up - run in place, jump rope, do a few squats and other “school” exercises to warm up your core muscles;
- end the workout with hyperextension or stretching exercises;
- Do planks several times a day.
After a properly performed exercise, the muscles “hum” pleasantly, but do not hurt. Are you very tired at the end of your workout? This means that they are not yet ready for such a load. If you are not at all tired, exercise longer or increase the pace.
Rules for training arms and back
The problem can be effectively solved only if you train the muscles of the shoulder girdle and back purposefully. Many of the complexes that are offered in group training include appropriate exercises. But if the arms and shoulders are your problem area, then this is not enough. In this case, you will have to provide additional stress to the muscles by asking a trainer about it or by also practicing at home.
Regardless of where you train - in the gym or at home, there are certain rules that must be followed to ensure that the training is as effective as possible:
- Start small. With simple exercises, a little extra weight, 10-15 repetitions. Most often, the muscles that you begin to train practically do not work in everyday life. If you immediately apply a strong load, it is possible to sprain the ligaments and even rupture the muscle fibers.
- Gradually increase the load. The body very quickly gets used to a certain level of load and the muscles stop growing. Therefore, when you feel that the exercises are too easy, be sure to increase the weight, number or speed of repetitions.
- Exercise regularly. The minimum number of intensive classes is 3 times a week. On average, a high level of metabolic processes persists for 24 hours after training, and then begins to slowly decline. To maintain it, you need to train every other day.
- Vary your exercises. Various exercises for losing weight on arms and shoulders pump up different muscle groups. To evenly distribute the load, you need to select their complexes correctly.
- Give your muscles a rest. After an intense workout, lactic acid forms in the muscles, which causes pain and tingling sensations. It is necessary to give the body time to neutralize it and remove waste products, and for the muscles to recover.
- Eat right. The most effective way to develop a fit, athletic figure is a low-fat diet with sufficient protein. It promotes the rapid consumption of your own fat deposits and provides building material for muscle growth.
- Don't strive for quick results. The effectiveness of regular training can be objectively assessed no earlier than a month after its start. Moreover, the indicator should not be weight, but body volume in problem areas. Fat is much lighter than muscle tissue, and with the right approach, it may be that your body weight will decrease slightly, but your volume will decrease by almost one size.
It is especially important not to overload the back muscles at first. Inexperienced athletes cannot determine the permissible load correctly.
They often feel like they can do more exercises or lift more weight. This is true, but afterwards severe back pain occurs and there is a risk of spinal disc displacement. Therefore, compliance with the rules described above first of all guarantees the safety of the training process.
Exercises with dumbbells
Basic exercises with dumbbells work the “wings” (latissimus dorsi) and help remove fat from the shoulder blades, while deadlifts strengthen the erector spinae. To ensure that the shoulders remain rounded, but the back becomes elastic and toned, women should not exercise with dumbbells heavier than one and a half to two kilograms, since heavy weight causes the muscles to grow.
Exercises are performed smoothly and slowly, without jerking, 10–15 times in two to four approaches; Make efforts while inhaling, returning to the starting position while exhaling. Keep in mind that by spreading your elbows wide, you shift the load to the rear deltoids, that is, you pump your shoulders more than your back. Therefore, keep your elbows close to your torso while rowing.
- Lifting dumbbells while standing or sitting. Raise your arms with weights, bend them and move them back, bringing your shoulder blades together so that the dumbbells are behind your head. The exercise is easier to perform while sitting on a machine, or at home - on a chair with a straight back to maintain posture.
- Weight retention. Stand in the starting position, with your arms with the apparatus hanging freely along your body. Raise them to the sides until they are horizontal with the floor and hold for 5-7 seconds.
- Deadlift on straight or bent legs. Take dumbbells (hold them straight in front of you or slightly turned to the sides) and bend towards the floor: legs straight, when tilting, the pelvis goes back, when returning to the starting position - forward. In the second option, bend over, simultaneously bending your legs, but without bending at the lower back.
- Rows to the chest or waist while standing. Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart: this is the starting position for all standing exercises except deadlifts, which are performed from a narrower stance. Take dumbbells in your hands and lean forward slightly. Bend your elbows and press the exercises down/up so that they slide toward your stomach or chest along the front of your thigh. The lower the inclination, the greater the load on the “wings” and lower back; with a half inclination, the upper back is loaded.
- Row to the waist (supported). Rest your knee and hand on the stand, your other leg rests on the floor. Take the weight in the opposite hand and pull it towards your belt, moving your elbow up and slightly back - your back is straight, a physiological deflection remains in your lower back. Pause for a second at the top point and lower the dumbbell, but do not place it on the floor.
Start with light weight dumbbells and gradually increase the weight of the weights. In the gym, you can replace or supplement exercises with dumbbells with exercises on block exercise machines.
Exercises for losing weight on the back and sides
The back is not the only problem area for many; in addition, unsightly folds and sagging skin on the sides may appear. If you perform special exercises that involve both the back and side muscles, you can strengthen these parts of the body, tighten them and prevent the risk of developing diseases of the spine and lower back.
It is important that all exercises designed to tighten these parts of the body are smooth and as simple as possible, otherwise you can easily damage the spine and tear or stretch the back muscles.
We offer three simple exercises for losing weight on your back and sides:
- Sitting on the floor, straighten your legs. Resting your hands on the floor, you should raise your body and lock in this position for a few seconds. Raise the body 20 times;
- Lying on your stomach with your head bowed, you should raise your body and legs at the same time. The exercise is also performed 20 times;
- Lying on your stomach, clasp your hands behind your head, look straight, your body slowly and smoothly rises up to its maximum height and holds it for several seconds.
This mini-workout, consisting of exercises for losing weight on the back and sides, will take no more than 15 minutes. To these exercises you can add cardio training or other exercises to lose weight on your back. The main thing to remember is that the entire workout should last at least 40 minutes.
Pull-ups and push-ups
Pull-ups are useful for improving posture and are a great way to broaden your back, so they are commonly included in men's workout routines. Women are advised to perform simplified versions, in which the elbows are pulled back in the same way by the force of the spinal muscles, bringing the body closer to the bar.
Pull-ups with a straight (outside) wide grip work best on the back. It’s easier to pull yourself up by grasping the bar with a reverse or narrow grip, but then the arm muscles work more, not the back muscles:
- if you can’t pull your body up to the bar, hang on it and, without bending your arms, squeeze your shoulder blades together. This simple movement strengthens the shoulders and targets the wings, but doesn't engage the biceps or abs;
- It’s hard for girls to do pull-ups, and in the women’s pull-up program, pull-ups are often replaced with a “negative” option: in the starting position, the body is already at the highest point (a stand is used for this), and the back works when lowering from it to the hanging position on the bar;
- For beginners, a good option to pump up your back is to exercise on a machine with a counterweight (gravitron), gradually learning to do without help.
Push-ups are included in the basic chest program, but they also work your back and help tighten your sides and lower back. In addition to the classic version, circular push-ups in a wide stance affect the back muscles: first, the body lowers to one hand, then goes in a circle to the second and returns to the starting position.
Home complex for beginners
You need to start strengthening your back step by step, and if the last time you were in the gym was during a school physical education lesson, don’t rush to pick up dumbbells. Perform this complex at home instead of or along with morning exercises to accustom your muscles to the load. Rest for a few minutes between sets.
- Reduction and extension of the shoulder blades (10–12 times) can be performed both standing and sitting; the exercise is useful for strengthening the upper back. Raise your arms above your head, clasp your fingers. Moving your elbows back, squeeze and spread your shoulder blades. Take your time, but don’t slow down either, do it as you feel comfortable.
- Seated backbend (2 sets/15–20 reps). Sit on a hard surface, put your hands behind your head, bend over, straining your back, and count to at least three before returning to the IP. Over time, increase the time to 10 seconds.
- Lying stretch (each exercise 3 sets/12-15 reps). Lie on your back, arms out to the sides. Strain your neck, raise your head and shoulders - your legs are straightened, your toes are pulled towards you. Hold the tension for at least five seconds, then relax and repeat. Now place a rolled blanket under your back and place your hands behind your head. Bend over, straining your back, count to five and lower. Rest between exercises without getting up from the floor.
- Crunches (2-3 sets/20 reps). Lie on the floor, place your straight arms on the floor, tighten your abdominal muscles, pull the knee of your right leg towards your stomach, bend your lower back, change legs.
When working out at the gym, during your workout, take a few breaks and throw a 3-5 kg medicine ball - a medicine ball. Raise the ball above your head with both hands and throw it as far as you can.
If you are interested not only in “how to lose weight in your back,” but also in how to get rid of “ears” hanging from your lower back, include an exercise with a hoop in your workout. For beginners, it is better to use an aluminum or plastic hula hoop without weights. Spin it for 20 minutes after the main lesson.
Yoga for back flexibility and strength
Hatha yoga asanas improve stretching and strengthen the muscle corset; they are done at the end of the workout, when the body is sufficiently “warmed up”. Their peculiarity is that at the highest point of tension you need to fix the pose (beginners just need to count to five).
One of the most famous asanas for the back is Marjariasana, or cat pose. It stretches the latissimus muscle, stretches and straightens the spine, and removes tension and spasms in the lower back. Do it ten times in two sets.
Paripurna Navasana (“Boat”) strengthens the deltoid muscle, which is important for correct posture. Study its basic version from photos and videos and perform it at least three times. The “boat” can be performed not only on the floor, but also on a fitball; with weights; in an “inverted” position – on the back.
Video instructions on how to perform exercises to lose weight on your back
In order to better understand the technique of performing the exercises, you can watch a video instruction, where an experienced trainer tells and shows how to do the exercises correctly, breathe, and what each exercise gives. Also in the video lesson you can familiarize yourself with other exercises that were not mentioned before.
To clearly understand how to work with exercise machines for losing weight on your back, we recommend watching a video where the instructor talks about a special set of exercises for losing weight on your back in the gym and teaches the correct technique:
If your goal is to lose excess weight, then read the following article, which will tell you about exercises for losing weight at home.
Exercises for losing weight on the back are always included in the main workout, but in order to achieve results, it is important to increase the number of approaches and weight (if these are exercises on a machine). Only regularity and determination will help you achieve not only a slender back, but also beautiful posture, which always improves your mood and self-esteem.