Back training without equipment

introduction

In order to carry out an effective and intensive back training, fitness studio equipment is not absolutely necessary.
The back muscles can also be brought into shape using only your own body weight and gravity.
There is enough space at home in the apartment or house, or an outdoor meadow for outdoor training.

You can find out which back exercises you can easily do at home without equipment here:
Back training at home - these are the exercises

What are the different training goals?

When it comes to training goals, there are different priorities that can be set when training the back.
Back training without equipment can be done for preventive reasons.
This means that the muscles of the back should be strengthened with specific exercises.
Functional exercises aim to strengthen all of the muscles in the back.
In addition, mobility and coordination should be improved in order to prevent injuries and diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Strength endurance training can be done to improve overall strength endurance.
The goal is to maintain a certain force for as long as possible.

Furthermore, muscle building training can take place, in which the goal is as voluminous muscles as possible.
High weights are used here and the number of repetitions is low compared to the other two variants.

Another objective can be the sport-specific training of the back muscles.
Exercises are used that the athlete also performs in the regular sport.
Thus, the sequence of movements and strength development should be optimized.

Back training without equipment can therefore be of interest to amateur and amateur athletes, but also to competitive athletes.

What exercises are there without equipment?

The following are different exercises for back training without equipment.

Lumbar spine mobilization in the supine position

One exercise for deep muscle strands of the spine is "Lumbar spine mobilization in the supine position".
In the supine position, the legs are set up and the arms lie on the floor at the sides of the body.
The spine is in its physiological position.
Now you start to press the lumbar spine on the floor and pull the navel inwards.
The tension is maintained in this position and then the spine is returned to its normal position.
This is repeated about 15 times in three sets.

Superman

With the “Superman” you lie on your stomach and stretch your arms forward.
Arms and legs are on the floor, your eyes are directed towards the floor.
Now arms and legs are lifted off the floor at the same time.
The thighs and shoulder girdle can also be raised, depending on the strength level.
Beginners can only lift their arms or legs at first to reduce the load for the beginning.
The exercise can be further intensified by moving the arms and legs.

Here the entire muscles of the lower and upper back are strengthened.
This exercise is particularly recommended for the stability of the spine.

The bridge

"The Bridge" is an exercise that can be performed in many variations and levels of difficulty.
The starting position is the supine position with your feet up.
The arms and head are placed on the floor.
From this position the pelvis is lifted from the floor and raised as high as possible.
It is held there for a second before it is lowered back towards the ground.
The pelvis is not put down, but brought up again just before the floor for the next repetition.

In total, this can be completed up to 20 times in three sets.
A variant is that the arms are crossed on the chest instead of sideways on the floor for stability.
This makes the exercise more intense.
Furthermore, the exercise can also be performed on one leg.
The free leg can either be placed on the exercising leg or held freely in the air.

The quadruped

The "four-footed" stance is not an exercise in itself, but it can serve as a starting position for functional back exercises.
A slightly strengthening, but mainly mobilizing exercise is the "WS mobilization".
From the quadruped position, the navel is pushed towards the ground.
The spine is guided downwards and its position resembles that of a suspension bridge.
The movement is carried out slowly and kept briefly at the end point.
The movement is then reversed so that the spine is returned to its starting position.
Instead of stopping in the starting position, the movement is continued so that the spine curves upwards and resembles a cat's hump.
This change of the two positions "cat hump and suspension bridge" is completed up to 20 times.
This strengthens the muscles between the individual vertebral bodies and mobilizes the entire spine.

Diagonal stretching

Another exercise from the four-legged stand is the "diagonal stretching".
The spine is kept in its neutral position and the view is towards the floor.
Now the right arm and the left leg, as well as the left arm and the right leg are alternately stretched forwards and backwards, then brought together under the body so that the elbows and knees touch each other slightly.

Rotation in the spine

Likewise, a rotation in the thoracic spine can be performed from the quadruped stand.
The right arm is released from the floor and passed under the body as far to the left as possible.
Then the movement is reversed and the right arm is brought back under the body and now also moved as far to the right as possible.
Ideally, the hand roughly points towards the ceiling.
The head is always turned so that the gaze is permanently directed to the moving hand.
Since this exercise mainly involves working the upper back, the next exercise focuses more on the muscles in the lumbar vertebrae and the hips.

The hydrant

From the quadruped stand, the right and left leg are alternately lifted and stretched backwards.
Then the legs are brought back under the body in the starting position.
The entire fuselage maintains its stability, the view is again directed towards the ground.
A variant of this exercise is the "hydrant".
The bent leg is lifted to the side so that an external rotation takes place in the hip joint.
The movement should be carried out evenly and carried out to the limit of movement.
Here, too, the core muscles in particular ensure stability during the execution.

Side and front raises

Exercises that are good for the upper back and shoulder are called “side and front raises”.
The starting position is hip-width.
The arms lie on the sides of the body, the head is in an upright position.
With the "lateral raise" the arms are now raised to the side and brought up to shoulder level.
They can be held there for up to three seconds.
Then the arms are lowered in a controlled manner, more slowly than when lifting.
It is important that the arms are raised in the plane of the shoulder axis.
When viewed from above, they should point exactly to the left and right.

With the "front lift", the extended arms are not raised to the side, but frontally, i.e. in front of the body.
In both versions, the head remains upright and the entire upper body is stabilized so that no compensatory movements take place.

Kickbacks

Another exercise are the "kickbacks".
The starting position is similar to the quadruped stand.
However, the knees are raised in the air.
This makes this exercise very intense.
Beginners can practice this exercise with knees on first.
From the starting position mentioned, first right, then left leg is stretched backwards / upwards.
On the way back, the knee is brought under the chest.
After about 15 repetitions, the leg is switched until both legs have completed three rounds.

Back stretching

When "back stretching", the entire extensor muscles of the spine are trained and strengthened.
The starting position is shoulder width, the knees are slightly bent and the pelvis is tilted slightly backwards.
The buttocks go back and the arms are brought up next to the head.
Then the upper body is lowered forward while keeping the spine straight.
The upper body is only leaned forward so that the spine is always in extension.

Now the upper body is brought back up to the starting position.
When lowering the upper body, you exhale, when you lift it, you inhale again evenly.
This exercise can also be completed up to twenty times in three sets.

Forearm and side support

The "forearm support" and the "side support" are exercises that are more likely to be associated with the straight and lateral abdominal muscles.
However, the back muscles are also trained during these exercises.

With the forearm support, you are in a bridge position, similar to a push-up, with your face facing the floor.
Rather, the support surface, which is on the feet and forearms when the forearm is supported, is different.
This support position is held as long as possible so that a nice line can be seen from heel to shoulder.
Variants to increase the intensity can now be introduced for both exercises.

With the forearm support, the feet can be briefly lifted off the floor and then put back on again.
This can also be done with the arms.
Very advanced athletes can lift arms and legs in opposite directions in a diagonal.

With the side support, the support surface is made up of the outside of the lower foot and the lower forearm.
The elbow should be directly under the shoulder and the head should be stabilized as an extension of the spine.
Here, too, the task is to hold the position as long as possible.
To increase the difficulty, the upper arm can now be stretched out above.
It is also possible to lift the upper leg in a stretched position.

As the most difficult variant, the upper arm and upper leg can be raised in a stretched position.
Now the elbows and knees of the upper extremities are brought to the middle so that they touch.
So the exercise can also be done with repetitions.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of training without equipment?

The advantages of training without equipment are many.
On the one hand, doing without equipment and weights significantly reduces the risk of injury.
Without weights, the strain on muscles and joints is so low that few injuries occur with this form of training.
In addition, the exercises are well suited for everyone, which is ideal for beginners to gain their first training experience.

In addition, no money has to be spent on back training without equipment, as you do not have to buy any aids and the exercises are easy and practical to perform at home.
Another advantage is that back training can be integrated into everyday life as desired.
You are completely independent when planning your training.

However, training without any aids can also have disadvantages.
Athletes in particular who use certain forms of training and have certain goals will not be able to do without equipment and weights.
This mainly affects muscle building training.
With this form of training, very high weights are required for training so that the muscles are stimulated to grow.
If the back training is done without weights, there will be hardly any muscle growth.

Even for competitive sports, training without equipment and aids is only partially suitable.
In certain sports, training must take place with equipment and weights, otherwise optimal preparation for the competition cannot be guaranteed.

Here you can find effective exercises for building muscle: You should know these muscle building exercises

Who is back training without equipment suitable for?

Basically, back training without equipment is suitable for everyone.
There are no acquisition costs and you don't have to register in a gym or the like.
If there are no health problems, back training can be carried out without risk.
If you have health problems or previous illnesses, you should consult a doctor before starting any training.

Apart from that, back training without equipment is safe to use for all age groups.
If beginners are not sure how to perform the exercise, instructions in the media or by a trained trainer will help.

If you want to train your back with the help of equipment, we recommend our website: Back training with equipment