How To Lose Weight On Your Back: 8 Exercises

Struggling to lose that pesky back fat? It can be particularly difficult to reduce fat and tone up in this area. This can be especially tough if you desire a toned appearance in your back, but can’t seem to find effective strategies for you.

If you’re looking for ways on how to lose weight on your back, this article will give you more tips on eliminating those stubborn fat deposits and also how to strengthen it. So take note if you want to look beautiful back.

What Causes Back Fat?

Back fat builds up over time and is a common concern for both men and women. Men tend to accumulate fat in the lower back and waist area, which can create the appearance of “love handles” or a “spare tire.” Some women have more upper back fat, armpit fat, or lower back fat, and others have lower body fat.

Starting at the age of 30, it becomes more evident how difficult it is to move, particularly around the “love handles,” “muffin tops,” and under the bra strap. This is because of a condition known as somatopause.

Somatopause is a condition in which a person’s growth hormone levels decline as they age. When growth hormone levels are decreased, it becomes harder to build new muscle and maintain existing muscle. This means that the muscles in your back may gradually turn into back fat and upper body fat due to this natural transformation. In other words, reduced growth hormone levels can lead to a decline in muscle mass and an increase in body fat¹.

Aside from age, other factors that influence back fat can be:

Diet – The more calories you consume, the more likely it is that you will gain fat. Exercising can help burn calories, but ignoring the foods you eat will never result in weight loss.
Genetics – You are one-of-a-kind. You may be genetically predisposed to accumulating fat in certain areas of your body, including your back.

Aside from that, lifestyle factors may include:

Excess sugar or salt consumption
Excessive calorie consumption
A sedentary lifestyle
Bad posture

How To Lose Weight On Your Back?

According to research, you cannot focus on fat loss in your back, abs, legs, or anywhere else². Instead, you burn fat from all over your body, which means that you can’t simply target a specific area to lose fat.

When losing weight, the rate and pattern of weight loss may vary again depending on your genetics and body composition. That being said, incorporating the right practices can eventually help you lose weight on your back.

This can be done by reducing your overall body fat through a combination of healthy eating and regular exercise that can lead to weight loss in all areas of your body, including the back.

To keep yourself in a healthy eating practice and have weight loss, you’ll need to first create a caloric deficit. This implies you’ll have to expend more calories than you intake.

In addition to this, you can tone your back muscles by focusing your workout routine on the muscles in your upper and lower back.

Incorporating high-intensity interval training (HIIT) into your regimen, coupled with working out these specific muscles, will start to give you the results you want³.

How Many Calories Should You Burn?

A calorie deficit does not have to be significant to have an effect on your weight. A pound requires 3,500 calories. If you cut your calorie intake by 300 to 500 calories per day, you’ll start losing a pound or two every week.

The simplest strategy to generate a caloric deficit is to limit items that are high in calories but low in nutritional value. Taking away sugary drinks, processed and bleached grains, and meals containing a lot of artificial preservatives can be a good place to start.

Increasing your exercise habit is another approach to building a calorie deficit. In addition to lowering 300 to 500 or fewer calories per day from your diet, burning 300 to 500 calories at the gym will quadruple your weight reduction results³.

Get Rid Of Back Fat: Back Fat Exercises

Targeting the muscles in your back with exercise will strengthen your muscles, improve your posture, and reduce the appearance of back fat.

The types of exercise you will need to do are:

Strength Training
Resistance Exercise
Toning Exercises
Chest Exercise

These exercises below can be done at home or at the gym, and just a few pieces of workout equipment are required.

1. Lateral Raises with Dumbbells

This simple weight workout targets the shoulder muscles, improving the definition around the shoulders and back. Using weight exercise in your program can help improve your metabolism all day.

Face forward, hold a dumbbell in each hand. You can also perform this action while sitting. You don’t have to use a lot of weight, either; doing many reps with less weights may be better for toning your back.
Gently elevate the weights out to the sides, away from your body, until your arms are parallel with the floor. Don’t tense your shoulders or “shrug” when doing this.
Return your arms to your sides with control. Take a breath and repeat 10 to 12 times for one set.

2. Push-ups

Push-ups are a classic and effective exercise that primarily target the muscles in your chest, shoulders, and triceps, but also engage your core and other upper body muscles.

Place your hands at your sides, slightly outside your shoulders, and your feet hip-width apart on the floor.
Lift your hips, thighs, and chest off the floor, allowing your toes and palms to support your weight. This is where you begin.
Exhale as you straighten your arms and push your body up to your starting position. Maintain a straight plank posture with your head, hips, and ankles.
Inhale as you descend after a brief pause at the top.
Repeat 10 times.

3. Dumbbell Swing

This is a dynamic exercise that targets your entire body, with a focus on your hips, glutes, and lower back. It’s a great exercise for building strength, power, and improving your overall fitness.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and one hand in front of the other, holding the dumbbell.
Bend your knees slightly, push your hips back, and swing the weight in between your legs while keeping your back straight.
Contract your glutes and drive your hips forward, swinging the weight up to chest level.
Contract your glutes, quads, and core when the weight is at its heaviest.
Let the weight return between your legs.

4. Reverse Hip Raise with Exercise Ball

This low-impact workout is gentle on the hips and an easy method to begin training your back.

Begin by lying on your stomach on the exercise ball, your eyes fixed on the ground. Your palms should be flat on the floor, and your knees can be bent.
While you press your legs together and up, squeeze your glute muscles and balance on the ball. Throughout this movement, the ball should be steady.
Hold for a few seconds before lowering your legs. Repeat multiple rounds, extending the duration you hold the hip rise if possible.

5. Side Jackknife

This exercise targets your obliques, which are part of your abdomen, and will tone your “love handles” and lower back area.

Lay on your right side with your legs extended and your feet stacked on top of each other.
Make a fist with your left hand and place it behind your head. Your right hand can rest anywhere you like.
Squeeze your obliques while drawing your left leg up toward your left arm, which should stay stable on your head. Bring your bent left arm to your left knee.
Repeat many times before alternating sides.

6. Rowing

A sitting cable row works the back muscles, particularly the latissimus dorsi. Sitting on a bench with light dumbbells or a resistance band can also be used to simulate the motion of a row machine.

Begin by sitting with your back straight and both hands clutching the resistance band, dumbbells, or row machine handle on either side.
As you lean back, draw your arms in, bending your elbows and pulling with your entire weight.
Return to your starting position and repeat. Instead of repetitions, consider swiftly repeating this exercise for several minutes to raise your heart rate.

7. Band Seated Rows

This exercise is comparable to what you would do at the gym, but you can perform it from the comfort of your own home and have the same results.

Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you.
Wrap a band around your feet and hold the two ends.
Maintain your back straight and avoid rounding it.
Strengthen your core and begin dragging the band toward your waistline.
Push your elbows back and concentrate on pressing your upper back muscles together.
Hold the contraction for 1-2 seconds.
Repeat slowly.

8. Planks

Do this fat-burning home workout to strengthen your core muscles and stabilize your back.

Put two dumbbells on the floor and perform a push-up with your hands about shoulder-width apart on the weights. Your entire body should be stiff and straight, forming a straight line from head to toe. The difficulty increases as you fight to keep the weights from rolling out from under you.
Maintain the position for 30 seconds.
Lift one arm at a time to shoulder height and hold for a few seconds to further target the back area.

Healthy Diet To Get Rid Of Back Fat

A balanced diet high in fiber and low in salt will help you lose excess fat and “water weight” that your body may be accumulating in your back³.

Selecting high energy and nutrient-dense foods is essential to achieve long-term fat loss that is sustainable and maintained. Some of the most weight-loss-friendly foods are¹:

avocados
hard-boiled eggs
leafy greens
broccoli and cauliflower
sweet potatoes
salmon and tuna
lean chicken breast
lean protein sources
brown rice
healthy fats

These macronutrient food groups can help you build muscle or lose body fat, including back fat.

Lifestyle Changes For Weight Loss

Changes in your lifestyle can help your weight loss efforts be more effective. These are some modifications to your daily routine to consider³:

Begin by walking more. Walking to school to drop off your child or to buy your coffee instead of driving to the coffee shop burns calories.
Get enough sleep. Lack of sleep can disrupt your hormone levels, which can make it harder to lose weight. Aim for at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
Exercise your posture. This will not only reduce the look of back fat, but it will also help strengthen your back and offer you a mini-workout right where you’re sitting.

Takeaways

It is a misconception that you can target weight reduction in areas of your body, even on your back. However, by completing back workouts, as well as eating a healthy diet and lowering calories, you can tone up that area of your body.

It’s important to remember that losing back fat takes time and effort, so it’s essential to be patient and consistent with your lifestyle changes. With dedication and perseverance, you can achieve your goals and improve and strengthen your back in due time.