As part of your body's core, your back muscles work in conjunction with the muscles in your pelvis, hips and abdomen to stabilize and balance your body. Your core muscles also give you the strength to perform daily activities and achieve athletic goals. The latissimus dorsi muscles, or the lats, begin along the lower spinal column and hipbone and travel around your body, tapering to a tendon attached to the front of your upper arm bone. The lats give your back a V-shape when they are developed, and can make your waist appear smaller.
Dumbbell Rows
Step 1
Place your left knee and calf on a weight bench in a kneeling position. Place your left hand on the bench under your left shoulder.
Step 2
Grasp a dumbbell with your right hand, with your palm facing in. Begin with a weight that you can lift easily eight times and with some difficulty for two additional repetitions.
Step 3
Steady your body on the bench, inhale and pull the dumbbell up as high as possible. Keep your elbow pointing back. Don't let your arm and elbow stray outward from your torso -- keep your arm aligned with your body.
Step 4
Lower the dumbbell to the floor slowly and with control. Exhale as you lower the dumbbell.
Double-Arm Reverse Row
Step 1
Stand with your feet 6 inches wider than shoulder width with a dumbbell in each hand. Hold the dumbbells with your palms facing out.
Step 2
Bend over from the waist until your torso is parallel with the floor. Extend your arms down and let them touch your thighs and knees.
Step 3
Raise the dumbbells up and to the side of your body, about waist height or slightly lower. Inhale as you raise the dumbbells. Concentrate on using your back muscles to pull the dumbbells up, and on keeping your torso parallel to the floor to avoid injury to your back.
Step 4
Keep your back muscles flexed as you slowly lower the dumbbells. Exhale as you lower the dumbbells.
Romanian Dead Lift
Step 1
Stand with your feet together, with a dumbbell in your left hand. Pull in your stomach and let your shoulders fall down and back. Keep this posture while you do the exercise.
Step 2
Inhale, lift your left leg slightly and bend forward from the waist. Keep your back straight and your head aligned with your spine. Lift your left arm slightly while your leg is going back, keeping the dumbbell parallel with the floor.
Step 3
Bend forward, with your knee only slightly bent so that your torso is almost horizontal. Keep your back straight and your stomach pulled in throughout.
Step 4
Exhale as you slowly rise back up. Continue keeping your back straight and your stomach pulled in.
Things You'll Need
- Free weights
- Weight bench
References
- MayoClinic.com; Core Exercises: Seven Reasons to Strengthen Your Core Muscles; Mayo Clinic Staff; Oct. 3, 2009
- "Weight Training Made Easy"; Joyce Vedral; 1997
- "Strength Training Anatomy"; Frederic Delavier; 2001
- "Strong Women Stay Young"; Miriam Nelson; 2000
- American Council on Exercise: Single-arm, Single-leg Romanian Dead Lift
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Latissimus Dorsi
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