When you want to strengthen your back but you don't have any equipment, it can be difficult to know what to do. You don't need weights to train your back. You can do other exercises that don't require any equipment.
Despite the fact that you don't have any equipment at home, you can still make gains in your back. Winning isn't everything, it's an opportunity to learn and grow as an athlete. Pay attention to your weak spots and use this time to improve your form and technique. Do you have trouble knowing when to engage your lats during your big three lifts? Some literal homework may help you with that.
Here are the five best exercises you can do for your back without any equipment, as well as some tips on how to train your back when you don't have access to a barbell.
No-Equipment Back Exercises
- Superman
- Reverse Snow Angel
- Cat-Cow
- Inch Worm
- Wall Walk
Superman
Remember that even though a pause squat may not look difficult, you will likely look like you're putting in a lot of effort at the bottom of the squat. Don’t confuse subtlety for lack of impact. Supermans will help you to train yourself not to hyperextend your low back while strengthening your upper back muscles through a range of motion you might be unfamiliar with.
Benefits of the Superman
- They engage your thoracic spine to build strength and enhance overhead mobility, especially when you focus on extending your range of motion.
- Train your body to intentionally activate your lats, which is a necessary skill for solid deadlifts, pull-ups, and even bench presses.
- Develop a stronger mind-muscle connection while moving in a potentially unfamiliar pattern.
How to Do the Superman
lie on stomach, with arms and legs fully extended. Tighten your butt muscles and raise your arms and legs at the same time. Try to do four to five sets of eight to 12 repetitions, with your arms and legs moving together.
Reverse Snow Angel
As a child, you would never have considered lying down in the snow and waving your arms around as work. You would have seen it as play. You will definitely be working hard, even though it may look and feel like you are just playing around – which isn't a bad thing. The bigger the results you will see if you move through these exercises slowly and deliberately.
Benefits of the Reverse Snow Angel
- These specifically engage your rhomboids, which are often overlooked — especially when moving heavy weight.
- Strengthen your lats and upper back while training your body to maintain core stability — a skill that helps you stay upright and tight during all heavy lifts.
- Reverse snow angels extend your range of motion while building strength at those end ranges, making for stronger and more stable overhead presses and snatches.
How to Do the Reverse Snow Angel
Lie on your stomach with your arms at your sides and your palms up. As you raise your arms, keep your toes flexed into the floor. Next, raise your arms up and out to the side, rotating your hands so that your thumbs turn inward. The dealer gets to choose which way your palms face. Bring your arms down until they touch your body, then pause and lift your arms back up. Perform four to five sets of eight to 10 repetitions of an exercise.
Cat-Cow
The cat-cow pose is often used as a way to warm up the spine, but it can also be used to help train your back muscles. If you want to keep your back strong during heavy squats and deadlifts, you should keep it in a neutral position. Want to avoid the dreaded “good morning” squat? Cat-cows are your new best friend.
Benefits of the Cat-Cow
- They teach your low, mid, and upper back to all move and work together as a single unit, which will improve your ability to brace your core for your heavy lifts.
- Cat-cows allow you to protract and retract your shoulder blades, ensuring a healthier relationship between weighted pushing and pulling movements.
- Engage the front and back of your core at the same time.
How to Do the Cat-Cow
Position yourself on all fours, with your knees directly beneath your hips and your hands shoulder-width apart, fingers pointing forward. Breathe in deeply, filling your stomach with air, and arch your back so that your stomach protrudes toward the floor. Pause for a beat. Exhale and arch your back until your shoulder blades are protracted apart. One arch and round counts as a single rep. Do two sets of 10 reps.
Inch Worm
Even though they might have a silly name, the benefits are very serious. The inch worm is a common dynamic warm-up exercise that involves hinging your hips, getting into a plank, and then reversing the movement. It is essentially a moving plank. Inch worms can be used to build strength and stability.
Benefits of the Inch Worm
- Develop upper back strength and stability through various ranges of motion by moving from a pike push-up to a regular push-up position.
- Engage your glutes and hamstrings while focusing on your upper back.
- Improve your core strength and stability by maintaining a rigid torso throughout a perpetually moving plank.
Wall Walk
If you have a wall that is clear and your feet are clean, you can give yourself a challenging back workout. This will improve your strength when it comes to pulling and pushing with barbells. You can build strength for handstand-pushups by using your upper body to control your weight above you.
Benefits of the Wall Walk
- Build full-body strength and coordination with an emphasis on seriously strengthening your upper back, shoulders, and core.
- Enhance upper body strength and mobility, especially in the top portion of the move.
- Train yourself toward developing the strength you need to perform a wall-assisted handstand.
How to Do the Wall Walk
Place your palms against the wall a few feet in front of you. To inch your way up the wall, start slow and be careful with your feet placement. Climb higher by moving your hands closer to the wall and lifting your feet. Try to maintain an upright position. In order to come down from the monkey bars, you can either do the inch worm in reverse, or simply hop down from them. You should stop your reps before you get to the point of failure and take breaks between sets.
Other No-Equipment Workout for Your Upper Body Strength
One-armed push-up variation (both sides)
One-armed push-ups are known for being a show-off move and can be ambitious to start with.
- Start on your knees, with hands placed on the mat directly in line with shoulders. Raise and cross your feet, keeping knees on the mat.
- Lift one hand and put it behind your back. Your other hand should still be planted on the mat, with arm slightly bent.
- Lower yourself steadily, bringing your face to almost touch the mat. Then push back up.
- Try to be explosive as you reach the top of the movement.
- Do 5–10 reps with each arm.
Knees close to your wrists makes the exercise easier.
To do the harder version of the exercise, start in full push-up position with your toes on the floor and your legs straight. The motions are the same as the easier version. Place your legs wider than the mat for support and your arm more centrally on the mat.
The following 15 variations on the push-up are just the beginning. There are a total of 82 different push-ups to try.
Push-up
Because you can’t beat the classics. The only two options available are a standard push-up from a high plank position, or an easier one on your knees.
We're not going to give you a step-by-step guide on how to do the perfect push-up. This guide shows you how to do a push-up for maximum benefit.
Kneeling archer push-up
The kneeling archer is a great exercise for toning your legs and butt.
- Get into kneeling push-up position, with hands on either side of the mat.
- Lean into left arm, pushing down into the mat and keeping right arm straight. Be sure to look along your right arm for stability.
- Push back into a kneeling push-up position, then lean into right arm, looking along the left arm. Leaning into both sides counts as 1 rep.
Push-ups are not the only exercise that can help build muscle strength. There are many other exercises that can help achieve the same goal.
Diamond press-up
This is a more challenging push-up than what you're used to, but isn't that the goal? This push-up variation will target your mid chest and triceps more than the standard push-up.
It’s tough.
- Form a diamond shape with your thumbs and fingers on the mat (as demonstrated in the video).
- Get into kneeling push-up position.
- Lower yourself down toward the diamond shape of your hands.
- Push back up.
This is the easier version of the pose with your knees closer to your wrists.
Instead of starting in a low push-up position with your knees on the ground, begin the exercise in a high push-up position with your toes touching the ground and your legs straight. Your feet should be lined up with your body.
Remember to keep your back straight!
Dragon walk
We are confident that dragons fly, however, they have notably weak arms, so…
- Stand at the back of the mat, bending forward so your fingertips touch the mat, while keeping legs straight.
- Walk hands forward until you’re in a push-up position.
- Walk feet forward to meet hands, making sure to keep your butt in the air.
- Stand up straight and turn around for the next rep.
If your hamstrings aren't very flexible, keep your knees bent when you take the first step. Then, instead of walking your feet forward, put your hands on the ground in front of you and walk your hands back to where you started.
Bodyweight triceps extension
To do this move, start in a high plank position with your feet hip-width apart, then lower your body down into a low plank position, keeping your elbows close to your sides. Return to the high plank position and repeat.
- Start in a high plank position, keeping back straight and palms down on the mat.
- Steadily bring left elbow to the mat, then right elbow, forming a low plank.
- Return to a high plank in the same order (left elbow first, then right).
- Repeat, but start by dropping your right elbow this time.
Do the same thing, but on your knees instead of your toes.
, keeping your core engaged as you do so. Simultaneously drop and raise both elbows while maintaining engagement of core muscles.
Plank side walk
Become a crab with hencher arms. While this may not be the most fun workout, it will help improve your strength in your abs and shoulders.
- Start in a high plank position with feet firmly together and toes pressed against the floor.
- Move both left arm and left leg sideways (about a body’s width) at the same time, keeping both straight and being sure to lift them from the floor. Keep your butt at a regular height.
- Bring right arm and leg back to meet left arm and leg in their new position, finishing in high plank.
- Repeat this for the length of the mat. Voila! You have 1 rep.
- When you’re done, drop your knees for support.
Half push-up hold (20 seconds)
This is called the point of maximal effort. The point of maximal effort is the most difficult part of a push-up, when you are exerting the most energy. Yes, you will need to hold yourself in that position for 20 seconds and it will feel like it lasts forever.
Enjoy.
- Start in a high plank position, keeping feet close together.
- Drop into a push-up, but stop halfway, at the point of maximum engagement.
- Hold it right there for 20 seconds, keeping your butt as level as possible.
Knee push-ups are easier than toe push-ups because they require less balance.
Takeaway
If you always find excuses not to work out because you say you don't have enough time, think again. This workout is only 20 minutes, and it is pure effort. That’s not even a full episode of “Friends.”
Hitchhiking and flag-waving can be tiring for your arms, so focus on your core tomorrow instead.
