DUMBBELL REAR DELTOIDS

Position yourself on a raised bench set at forty five degrees. Lye face down with your body against the pad and knees up on the seat. Your arms should be in line with wrists and shoulders and the weight gripped with palms facing inwards.

Begin with the arms hanging down and slowly raise the weight sup so that they finish level with the shoulders. At the midway point squeeze the rear deltoids (the muscles at the back of the shoulders) before slowly lowering the weights back to the starting position. Your head should remain facing forward throughout the whole of the motion. Tip: Surprising light weights should be used here. Heavy weights will cause you to cheat on the exercise and bring other muscle groups into play. The key here is to really isolate the rear deltoids.

BIG BACK WORKOUT

Increase your weights as you decrease the reps!

Added exercise

The ultimate exercise for the back is the wide grip pull up, where you are in effect lifting your own body weight. Locate a chinning bar or a similar piece of apparatus. Grab the bar with your palms facing away from you and your hands about six to eight inches wider than your shoulders on each side. This width is good for optimum isolation of the back muscles, a narrower grip will work the biceps more. Bend you knees and cross your ankles and pull yourself up until your chin is level with the bar. At the top squeeze your lat muscles for a second before slowly lowering yourself back down. Try to avoid locking your arms out at the bottom and ensure a steady flowing rhythm. The above workout will blast the back muscles and stimulate real growth and increase strength. Note though, that back exercises are perhaps some of the toughest when it comes to maintaining proper form; ensure all the motions are smooth, continuous ones and that your back muscles and not your biceps are doing the work. Fitness for Life!
Weight training should only be attempted after being cleared by a qualified healthcare practitioner.
Shot at Josh's gym, The Third Space. For membership call: 020 7439 7332 www.thethirdspace.com www.joshuarafter.com

For me a gym trained back is the sexiest
part of a man, mainly because so often this is the one body part that is neglected. They pump out the chest, go hell for leather for bulging biceps and do sit ups in their hundreds hoping for the illusive six pack but the back gets little or no attention. This in turn creates a body which is out of balance (skinny legs and over trained upper body is another case) and generally leads to a rounded shoulder stance. As with all exercises make sure you warm up the area of the body that you are about to set to work on. For the back try opting for the row machine or better still the cross trainer instead of the usual treadmill, bike or Stairmaster. Both the row machine and cross trainer will target the back muscles, with the cross trainer having the added advantage of handles creating a movement for the upper body muscles to become nice and loose.

CLOSE GRIP PULL DOWN

Grab the handle bar with palms facing inwards, ensuring your upper thighs (quads) are firmly placed under the leg pad. Sit with your body slightly angled backwards, back arched, your belly button sucked in and your core strong throughout the range of motion. Initiate the movement using the shoulders first but then pulling down using the back muscles ensuring your elbows are kept in at your sides. Bring the bar down to just under your chin, the midway position. At this point squeeze the back muscles for a count of two before SLOWLY returning the bar to the starting position. Tip: With all back movements use the idea of an imaginary pea between your shoulders and on performing a rep imagine you are squeezing the pea. This will help with the contractions and control the movement of the muscles.

T-Bar Row
Grip the horizontal handles with knuckles facing upwards and sitting with the chest against the pad. Ensure wrist, elbows and shoulders are in line with straight horizontal arms. Initiate the movement with your shoulders bringing the bar back to the upper part of your chest. It is important to the keep the elbows high

and at the midway point to squeeze the pea in between the middle of shoulder blades. Resist the weight back slowly tot he starting point until you feel a gentle stretch in your back. Tip: On this exercise keep you head up and shoulders down as this aids in relaxing through the neck. It is best to go for lighter weights so enabling a slow more controlled movement with you feeling the burn in the muscles being worked.

Seated row
Grip the vertical handles with palms facing in and sit with your chest up against the pad. The pad should be adjusted so you grip the handles with arms at full stretch.
Initiate the movement with your shoulders pulling the bar towards you until your elbows are behind you. At this midway point squeeze the imaginary pea for a count of two and slowly resist the weight back until you feel a gentle stretch at the original starting position.
Tip: Ensure you elbows are tucked in and not out to the side throughout the whole range of movement. The lifting and returning of the weight should be slow and controlled at all times.

Lower back Raises ( roman Chair)
It is vital to work and strengthen the lower back not only to build definition but more importantly to support your body throughout all of your weight training workouts. A strong core, lower back and abs, will ensure safer and injury free workouts.
Place your legs under the rear pads with your pelvis resting on the forward pad. With your arms crossed across your chest bend the body forward, lowering the upper body just short of ninety degrees to the midway point. Slowly raise back up to the starting position using your lower back and squeezing it at the top. To make this exercise more challenging you can hug a weight plate or medicine ball to your chest. Tip: For a less taxing gentler exercise back raises (hyperexlensions) can be performed on the floor. Lie on your stomach and position your hands behind you head. Slowly lift up your chest off the floor and squeeze the lower back muscles before returning to the start position. Avoid, however, placing your upper body fully back on the mat.