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Upper Back Workouts

Most women focus on toning their glutes and their stomachs, but a toned upper back is incredibly sexy on a woman. Just imagine all the open-back dresses and tank tops you can rock. A strong upper back can also help you achieve proper posture and eliminate back pain.

Perfect Female Upper Back: Exercise Motivation and Inspiration

Back Toning Exercises

While a toned upper back on a woman is beautiful, the physical benefits of a strong back is much more rewarding than aesthetics. Working a desk job does a number on your body.

You probably have tight hamstrings, a sore lower back, and hunched shoulders from staring at a computer screen all day. Toning your back and shoulder muscles is the best way to achieve proper posture.

Secondly, as you age your upper body strength starts to deteriorate making you more prone to injury. Women start to naturally lose muscle as early as your 20s. To help combat muscle loss, lift weights!

Best Workouts for Women: Good Routines, Great Results

Upper Back Exercises for Women

If you want to tone your upper back, it’s time to hit the weight room at the gym. If weights aren’t your thing, yoga is always one of the great upper back workouts that can stretch your tight muscles and tone them afterwards.

How to Get the Perfect Upper Back

How to Get a Strong Uppper Back

How to get a strong upper back? It requires two focuses. The first focus is your diet. You should aim to eat a well-rounded healthy diet full of fresh fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and lean protein. A healthy diet combined with regular exercise will reduce your body fat percentage so your strong, toned muscles will be visible to you and everyone else.

The second focus will be specific upper back toning exercises. The upper back muscles that you should work in your upper back workouts include the trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and rhomboidous major.

Exercises to Get a Beautiful, Toned Upper Back

Wide-Grip Lat Pull-down

Wide-Grip Lat Pull-down Upper Back Workouts

The wide-grip lat pull-down is one of the most effective upper back exercises for women and primarily targets the latissimus dorsi muscle. You’ll need to use a pull-down cable machine at the gym for this exercise. To do this exercise, sit down on the pull-down machine with a wide bar attachment. Adjust the knee pad to hold you in place. Place your hands on the bar with your palms facing forward and your hands wider than shoulder-width. With both arms extended above you, lean back about 30 degrees and pull the bar down until it gently touches your chest. While you are doing this exercise, concentrate on squeezing your shoulder blades together.

Trainer Tip: Never bring the bar behind your head. Not only does it cause stress to your cervical spine (neck), but it can pinch your rotator cuff muscles and could lead to injury.

One-Arm Dumbbell Row

One-Arm Dumbbell Row Back Toning Exercises

Upper back workouts should include pulling movements such as the row. The one-arm dumbbell rows are great back toning exercise to work your trapezius, lats, biceps, and shoulders. Place your right knee on top of a flat bench and bend your torso forward at the hips so your upper body is parallel to the floor. Place your right hand on the bench for support and grab the dumbbell with your left hand. Keep your core tight and your back straight. Pull the dumbbell up to the side of your chest while keeping your arm as close to your side as possible. Slowly lower the weight back to the starting position.

Dumbbell Shrug

Image source: Giphy

Dumbbell shrugs are a simple dumbbell upper back exercises for women that target the trapezius muscle. If you have a set of dumbbells, you can do this exercise anywhere. Stand with dumbbells in each hand extended at your side with palms facing your body. Lift the dumbbells by elevating or shrugging your shoulders as high as possible. Hold this position for a second before lowering to the starting position.

A strong, toned upper back looks great in just about anything. Plus, your posture will improve and you’ll reduce your risk of injury and muscle loss. A strong back is a healthy back!

How to Get a Strong Upper Back

Image Source: Instagram @leamichelle

1. Lea Michelle
Glee stars love working up a sweat in a Pilates class.

Image Source: Instagram @kerrywashington

2. Kerry Washington

Kerry making Prada look good.

Image Source: Instagram @jlo

3.Jennifer Lopez

Not only does J.Lo have an amazing butt, but her back is pretty great too.

Image Source: Instagram @jenniferlawrencepx

4.Jennifer Lawrence

J Law loves to start her morning with a short run to wake her muscles up and probably includes a few back toning exercises too.

Image Source: Instagram @gwenjorgensen

5. Gwen Jorgensen

Olympic gold medalist and professional triathlete needs a strong back to swim, bike, and run her way to victory.

Image Source: Instagram @reesewitherspoon

6. Reese Witherspoon

Reese does cardio six days a week and focuses on walking while doing strength exercises, like shoulder presses — one of our favorite upper back exercises for women.