Want A ‘Fatless’ Back? Find Out How!

For a flexible back, you do stretching exercises every day. But even then, you hate the love handles and other unsightly bulges peeking out from your tight t-shirt. Can you do something more?

If you are often smitten by all those models in backless dresses and wish for a back that doesn’t have an ounce of extra fat, help is at hand. The back is made of three sections – upper, middle and lower. Fat tends to accumulate over the lower and middle sections, and the love handles you so hate are a direct result of this. However, the good news is that it is possible to tone these muscles. You need to have a strict 30-minute stretching routine along with a few cardio exercises that target these fat deposits to have a smooth, fatless back.

3 Simple Exercises What Target The Back Muscles

These three exercises when done diligently will melt away those love handles, smooth out all the bulges you hate and give you a fatless back that you’ll be proud to show off.

Seated Lateral Pull Downs – These are done at a lifting machine to engage your lat muscles. Technically called Latissimus Dorsi, they are placed in the middle of your back like wings. Get yourself seated, and pull down the weighted bar from overhead to your collarbone and then bring it further down to your chest. Release slowly, engaging the muscles both while pulling down and going up. This is one rep, and you need to do 10 slowly building stamina for 20 or three sets of eight reps each. Don’t let the weight jerk your arm upwards while releasing as that can injure joints.

Prone cobra – This yoga pose, while stretching your back, also tones the muscles using only your body weight. The exercise will target the muscles below the neck, and the fat bulges under the bra line, otherwise called as Deltoid muscles. You require no equipment, and can include this in your stretching routine. Lie on your stomach and stretch back your arms over your head to create a ‘Y’. Keep the head bent down and lift your upper body off the floor from the waist up while keeping the hands in the same position. To increase intensity, you can also bend your elbows to make right angles while keeping your torso lifted off the ground. Hold for three seconds, and then return to the original position, bringing your arms down by your sides. Repeat five times.

Dumbbell Row – Use single arm dumbbell rows to tone the muscles in the middle of the back. The exercise also targets lower abdominal muscles and lower back muscles, known as obliques. Hold a dumbbell in the right arm and rest your knee on an elevated bench. Bend at the waist and ensure that your back stays straight while the arm holding the dumbbell hands straight down. Raise your elbow and bend it at a right angle, so that your upper arm is now parallel to the back that is bent at the waist. Bring the arm back down. This is one rep and you must do three sets of eight reps in each and then repeat with the left arm. Do not jerk your arm but control the movement to ensure you don’t sustain any injuries.

Other Factors That Play A Role

While these three exercises will help you get a fatless back, there are two factors that play a role here.

First, the weight you choose for both the Seated Lateral Pull Downs and Single Arm Dumbbell Row is important. If the weight is too little, you will not build more muscle to fight fat. If the weight is too much, you risk sustaining injury. So do these exercises in the presence of a trainer. If you work out at home, build the weight up starting with the smallest weight in your selection. You need to gradually increase the weight so that the muscles continue to develop at a consistent rate.Secondly, your diet is important. Don’t think that exercise alone can help you shed that stubborn flab. Your diet must be high in proteins and complex carbohydrate while being completely devoid of saturated fats and refined carbohydrates. Eat more fruits and vegetables to add healthy fibre to your diet and include a pre-workout as well as post-workout shake to your diet to help boost energy levels and prevent muscle breakdown.