The back is one of the most important areas of our entire body. It is so often ignored in many ways, and this leads to the back issues we see as we progress in years. Simply adding a little focus towards the back will certainly pay dividends in the future.

“It is not a bad back, it is a weak back,” are the words trumpeted from my father. He theorized that the millions of sufferers of back pain and back problems were due to those who ignore. Those who slouch, those who sink in their chairs putting their backs at awkward angles, and those who do not work with their back in general are who he was referring to. Sure there are those with pain due to nerves or stemming from an accident; however, I tend to agree with this theory and have seen it come to fruition in my life. I can see the correlation with every time my back starts to act up with how little I have been paying attention it. Like a toddler.

To strengthen the back there is not a lot that needs added to your normal routines. For most people, there is not a need to spend a whole workout on just the back. I do occasionally, but if you already do dead lifts, planks, and run routinely, you just need to add a couple more exercises that can be worked in during any routine.

Dead lifts work the deltoids, planks the lower back, and fast twitch fibers and running helps to stabilize the core while the body is in motion. That is why only a few more exercises are required to get there.

The first is a lat pull down. These work the same muscles as pull ups or chin ups do but you can control the weight more. Most people can not do three sets of ten pull ups on their own so lat pull downs are essential. It is important to do these because most objects you lift in your daily life use the same muscles worked here and you want to do them more justice than just a few pull ups once a week.

The next exercise is back extensions. Most gyms have an apparatus that allows you to lock in your legs and hang at the stomach. From there you straighten your torso as if you are doing a reverse sit up. This works those lower back muscles that give the majority of people pain each day.

By adding just these two exercises to one or two of your workouts each week will not only strengthen your back, but save you lots of back issues in the future.