Back trainer
- Buy back trainer
- How is the back built?
- What can I do to strengthen my back sustainably?
- How to choose the best back trainer for back and abs?
- Back trainers - What equipment can I use at home?
- What should I look out for when training with a back trainer?
- How do I train with a back trainer device?
- What exercises are there for the back trainer?
- Which exercises can I use to additionally strengthen the back and shoulder muscles?
Buy a back trainer
Back pain is one of the most common complaints of our time. Statistics show that over 80% of people suffer from back pain at least once in their lives. The cause is very often too little exercise, also thanks to Corona and home office, but in particular simply too little targeted training for the entire body core. With one of our back trainers for the home, you can start your regular back training and strengthen your back muscles in the long term and sustainably.
How is the back structured?
Our spine is made up of a number of different vertebrae, all flexibly connected to each other:
- Seven cervical vertebrae
- Twelve thoracic vertebrae
- Five lumbar vertebrae
- Five fused vertebrae at the sacrum
- Four to five vertebrae at the coccyx
Between our vertebrae are the so-called intervertebral discs. They serve as dampers and consist of 80 % water. The muscles of the back mainly fulfil 2 functions:
- Stabilising and protecting the spine
- Generation of movement
If you want to buy a back trainer, it should be usable for different exercises in order to successfully achieve both goals, i.e. stabilising the spine and generating movement.
What can I do to strengthen my back in the long term?
The best way to have a strong back is to stay active, sit up straight, lift properly and exercise your back regularly. By exercising regularly with a back trainer, you can effectively strengthen your core and back muscles to correct muscular imbalances.
Why you should train regularly with a back trainer:
- Strengthens your back, shoulder and gluteal muscles
- Stabilises the spine
- Relieves pressure on the intervertebral discs
- Improves your strength, flexibility and mobility
- Tightens your waist
- Shapes your body
Save yourself a trip to the gym and train effectively with a back trainer at home. Prevent possible back pain with a back trainer and an individual and sustainable fitness training at home.
How to choose the best back trainer for back and abdominal muscles?
Very often, the back is mistakenly perceived as a single muscle. In fact, your back is made up of many muscles that stabilise the spine and allow for a variety of movements. Furthermore, for a stable and pain-free core you need a balance of back, abdominal and gluteal muscles. Therefore, back training usually requires more than one exercise.
When buying a back trainer, make sure that several exercises for the entire torso area are possible with the device. It is best to combine different movement directions of your exercises, e.g. with the
or with various isolation exercises for the abdominal muscles with the . Depending on the model, even isolated arm training is possible.Further criteria for an optimal training are the possibility to increase the load and a safe training. Therefore, your back trainer should either offer variable resistances or allow different exercise variations to adapt the training intensity to your increasing fitness level.
Back exercisers - What equipment can I use at home?
Our back muscles are involved in almost every movement. However, since they are hardly used in modern everyday life, the muscles are usually underdeveloped. The remedy is regular training in your own home gym. Our back trainers are ideal for this and help you to strengthen your back muscles. Choosing the right back training equipment is a question of individual goals and the space available in your training room.
Small and moderate space
A particularly space-saving and compact back trainer is the
. The hyperextension device mainly trains the back extensor and can be adjusted to any size with the help of the 12 different height settings. Thanks to the folding mechanism, it is easy to store and fits into any training room.If you are looking for a similarly compact back trainer and also want to train your abs more, the
is the right choice for you and offers an even greater variety of exercises.Equipment for the larger home gym
If, on the other hand, you have a little more space available for training and, in addition to spinal health, you also want to build up the upper back muscles, you can use the
. With this you combine different exercise variations for a strong upper back, which also give you a handsome and desirable V-shape.With strong walls for a strong back
However, training your back and abdominal muscles does not have to take place in a predefined axis of movement. Free training with your own body weight is particularly challenging, but activates even more stabilising and deep-lying muscle fibres. Thus, especially advanced athletes appreciate the health effects of bodyweight training as well as the effective muscle-building stimuli of exercises like pull-ups. For ambitious athletes, the pull-up bar set with push-up grips included is therefore the best choice for a fully comprehensive back training and muscle building.
What should I pay attention to when training with a back trainer?
To ensure that your back training is both effective and safe, you should follow a few tips. This will protect your spine and strengthen your core in a targeted manner. First of all, you should adjust the machine according to your height and adopt a comfortable sitting or lying position. Maintaining a straight spine is important for almost all exercises. This position protects your intervertebral discs and ensures muscle activity in the lower back extensors and glutes.
When exercising the back, always perform the exercises slowly and in a controlled manner and avoid jerky movements. Choose a training weight or exercise variation that allows you to perform at least 10 clean repetitions and then increase slowly. Stop the training set as soon as your technique becomes sloppy, otherwise the risk of injury increases! Specific exercises on the back trainer can alleviate or eliminate many complaints. However, do not exercise when you have acute pain in your back or when you are in pain.
How do I train with the back trainer device?
To train with our Tricon back trainers or the Ab&Back back trainer, adjust the pad so that the pelvis rests on the pad. The legs are fixed by a second pad over the ankle. In the start position the legs and upper body form a line, the buttocks and abdomen are tense. Then move your upper body down with a straight back, hold the position briefly and return the upper body to the starting position.
When exercising with the back trainer, make sure the movements are smooth and slow. To train the deep back muscles, you can deliberately curve your back just before the upward movement and roll it up vertebra by vertebra as you straighten up. Short training sequences are particularly effective. 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening are enough to strengthen the back. It is important that all relevant muscle groups are trained, including the deeper back muscles.
You can also find training examples in this Fitness Knowledge article: Effective and targeted back training.
What exercises are there for a back trainer?
Because your back is made up of many different muscles, you can prioritise different areas of your back with different exercises. Accordingly, when buying a back trainer, you should also pay attention to how you want to train your back as a priority.
Back trainer with hip extension
With our Tricon back trainer or the Ab&Back back trainer you mainly train your back extensor and your gluteal muscles and thus stabilise your entire spine. Move your upper body downwards with a straight back, hold the position briefly and return the upper body. Alternatively, you can roll your back down and up to work the upper back extensor and deep muscles.
Exercising the abdominal muscles
To train your abdominal muscles as well as your back, you can also use versatile equipment such as the Tricon or the Ab&Back back trainer. For example, with the Tricon you can also place your feet in front of each other and align your body sideways to the machine. By tilting your spine sideways upwards and downwards, you train your lateral abdominal muscles. Devices such as the Ab&Back back trainer also have a pad for the feet so that you can also use the back trainer for crunches and train the straight abdominal muscles. If you want to train your entire core, these types of machines are therefore the best choice for you.
Pulling exercises
With traction exercises you primarily train your upper back and additionally your arms. If, in addition to a healthy and pain-free back, you also want to build visible muscle mass, the following exercises are ideal for you:
- Lat pulldown
- Pull-ups
- Row
Pull-ups are a particularly natural and effective back exercise. Choose either an overhand or underhand grip and pull your chin up over the bar. Perform the downward movement slowly and in a controlled manner and repeat the movement. This is the best way to train your broad back muscle and your arms. When buying the pull-up bar, make sure that you have a stable mounting option at home. With the PULL-UP 2.0 set you can also do push-ups, dips or leg raises for your abdominal muscles and is therefore particularly suitable for advanced athletes who want to train with their own body weight.
Back trainers such as the lat station Multi-Lat-Tower offer you an even wider range of exercises via horizontal pulling exercises such as rowing. Depending on the version, these target the muscles between the shoulder blades and your neck even more strongly and are relevant for health and muscle-building training.
If you want to train each muscle of your back in isolation and stimulate growth, back trainers with cable pulls are ideal for you. For an effective workout, you should also have enough weight plates available.
Arm exercises
Some back trainers can also be used to train your arms in isolation. If you have extra
, the Ab&Back Trainer allows you to use the pad as an incline bench for bicep curls. With the Tricon, on the other hand, you can do tricep dips without any additional equipment. With cable back trainers like the Multi-Lat-Tower you can train your biceps and triceps in isolation with other exercises like cable curls or pushdowns.What additional exercises can I do to strengthen the back and shoulder muscles?
To get you started with your workout right away, we have 2 back exercises for you that you can easily do at home. These exercises are ideal as a supplement or warm-up for your back training.
Exercise 1: Bird Dog
Get into a quadruped stance. Stretch your right leg and left arm in opposite directions and bring them together in front of your chest. Repeat this movement for 10-20 times and then switch sides. Do 1-3 repetitions per side.
Exercise 2: Forearm Support
Get into prone position and support yourself with your elbows. Then try to lift your buttocks, torso and legs so that they form a straight line. Remain like this for at least 15 seconds and repeat the exercise about 3-5 times. Advanced users can increase the duration of the exercise or add the
to train the core balance even more intensively. You can also find more information on training in our fitness knowledge article: Back Training: Muscle Building & Exercises.Where can I test back trainers?
If you still need help with your decision, you can test the different back trainers on site in our HAMMER stores. Our fitness experts are also happy to help you on the phone with topics such as back trainers and musculature.
HAMMER expert telephone: +49 731 974 88-518 (Mo - Sa 9 am - 7 pm). We'll also be happy to call you back.
Alexander Seifried
Personal Trainer, B. Sc. Nutrition Management and Dietetics, M. Sc. Clinical Sports Therapy and Sports Physiology