Maintaining a healthy back is extremely important to your overall health. Back injuries limit your ability to do many daily activities, from simple housework or driving, to more intense exercise. Many exercises, such as core workouts or yoga, help strengthen the back. So do many weight-training exercises. If you have a few hand weights and a space to work out, you can do exercises that will help keep your back strong and improve your overall fitness.
Step 1
Warm up your muscles by doing a few minutes of cardiovascular exercise. Take a short walk or jog, or pedal on a stationary bicycle for five to 10 minutes. You don't want to life weights with "cold" muscles -- warming up helps prevent pulled muscles and other injuries.
Step 2
Choose a free weight size that's right for you. To avoid straining your back, don't try to lift weights that are heavier than you can handle. Start with more repetitions of smaller weights and work your way up to heavier dumbbells. If you're new to strength training, you may even want to begin with no weights at all while you learn the exercises, and then add a 1-pound weight in each hand.
Step 3
Perform back-strengthening exercises that use free weights. An article at America's Walking, a PBS.com affiliate, recommends chest presses, bench rows, biceps curls and overhead presses. The American Council on Exercise has a number of back exercises using free weights in its database, including squats, dead lifts, lateral raises and dumbbell shrugs.
Step 4
Maintain good posture while you work out. Consider having a spotter around to assist you in case an injury occurs. If you feel pain or a "popping" sensation in your body while lifting weights, stop immediately and seek medical attention.
Step 5
Stretch out your muscles to cool down, maximize the benefits of your workout and prevent injury.
Tips and Warnings
- Only do weight training every other day at the most -- muscles need a day to recover in between workouts.
Things You'll Need
- Hand weights
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