Upper Back Exercises for Men

The upper back muscles are an important part of our body and take most of the stress experienced by the body. Important muscle groups of upper back include the trapezius, latissimus and rhomboids. Working out all these muscles should help in strengthening the back.

Upper back workouts are a must in today's sedentary lifestyle, where we hardly move a muscle during our day's work. These workouts keep our body fit for sustaining all the pressure that our brain, neck and the delicate spinal cord has to bear throughout the day.

Strengthening the muscles surrounding the above mentioned body parts keeps them functioning efficiently. Let us have a look at some of the useful upper back strengthening exercises for men through following paragraphs.

To perform this exercise, one has to stand on the block of this equipment with legs slightly bent. The body should bend forward at the waist. The T-bar should be held with either a narrow/wide grip as per your preference. It is important that you feel comfortable with this grip.

The arm should be bent in order to lift the barbell upwards. The barbell should be raised up to a level that it touches the upper part of abdomen. The action should be followed by that of lowering the barbell; all the above moves complete a single repetition.

This upper back workout exercises all the muscles of this region except for the trapezius. It is therefore, one of the best upper back exercises and workouts for strengthening the muscles.

As the name of this workout suggests, one has to be in the seated position on the bench to perform this exercise. The feet must be placed on a vertical platform with knees slightly bent. The cable should be pulled while straightening the lower back.

The motion of pulling the cable row should pull back the shoulders. The chest is pushed forward and an arch is created; arms are bent at elbows. The arms are extended and shoulders move forwards while going back to the original position.

The sternum chin-ups, as the name suggests, are similar to the regular chin-up exercise. However, the activity of bringing the sternum up to the bar is the hardest part of this exercise. To perform these chin-ups, you can use the pronated or supinated grip, as per your choice; similarly the width of grip also can vary.

As the body is pulled upwards, you should try to arch the back. Leaning the head backwards also is necessary; when you reach the limit of pulling the body upwards, legs need to be at an angle of 45 degree with the floor surface.

Most importantly, the sternum should touch the bar. Then the body should be lowered back to its original position. This workout not only exercises lat muscles, but also the scapulae retractors.

This exercise is one of the variations of a pull-up workout. A wide grip should be used to perform this exercise. Action of pulling the body upwards is similar to that in a normal pull-up workout; however, it is necessary that the body is raised upwards so that pectoralis major muscles touch the bar.

The difference between normal pull-ups is not just that body is pulled high enough to the level of pecs touching the bars. Pushing your body away from the bar is one of the differences; this works out the pecs in a better manner. Controlling the descent of the body is also important. The pecs are also exercised a lot if the descent is controlled properly.

This is one of the best exercise to work out the middle and upper trapezius muscles. This exercise is performed in a standing position. Dumbbells should be held in both hands at the side of the body.

The exercise should be performed by raising both the shoulders simultaneously; you should try to raise the shoulders as high as possible. Care should be taken to see that hands do not bend at elbows. One should find it easy to perform such workouts with simple equipment.

These are the different exercises which stretch the upper back and help in strengthening the muscles. These workouts are equally important as arm, abdominal and leg exercises. The upper back exercises for men listed above should be performed on a regular basis to maintain the body in a sound state of health.