Welcome to Start TODAY. Sign up for our Start TODAY newsletter to receive daily inspiration sent to your inbox — and join us on Instagram!
Your back may not be the first area that comes to mind when strength training to tone your muscles. But it quickly becomes top of mind when pain creeps up.
Unfortunately, both lower back pain and injuries that are the result of weak back muscles are common — especially as we age.
Wondering if your back muscles could use some work? You might notice yourself slouching throughout the day, whether it’s in the car, sitting at a desk or hunched over your phone. This poor posture is actually a symptom of back weakness. The good news is that there’s a lot you can do to improve your back strength!
Why are back-strengthening exercises important?
While research shows that older adults generally experience a decrease in benign or mild back pain, the risk of severe back pain increases over the age of 65. It may be no big deal today — but you probably want to keep it that way. So, it’s really important to not ignore the creep of pesky back pain.
Strengthening your back through exercise is one of the best tools in combating and preventing back pain and weakness. Not only that, but it has aesthetic benefits, as well.
Having a strong back makes you look and feel better. Why? Posture. Back strength contributes greatly to having good posture and — wait for it — studies show that people judge people who have good posture to be more attractive than people who don’t. So, even if you only workout for aesthetic reasons, you might want to consider upping your back game.
If that doesn’t convince you, research also shows that sitting up straight — which you can only do if your back is strong — is also associated with higher self-esteem, better moods and increased stress resilience. That’s a lot of bang for a few back exercises.
How to add back exercises to your workout plan
Many people organize our workouts into upper body, lower body and
Read the full article here
