Back Fat, Why Do You Get It? And What To Do About It
15th Aug 23
It doesn’t matter what your body type is; we are all susceptible to the dreaded back fat. Never fear; there are ways to reduce it; read on to discover how to reduce those rolls.
Want to move fast? Jump to the right section below.
Causes
It’s not as simple as just pinpointing one factor that can cause increased back fat. There are a number of reasons why you may have accumulated back fat. These include genetics, lack of exercise, diet, poor posture as well as high levels of stress.
Atrophy of the back muscles resulting in back fat is mainly due to poor nutrition and minimal exercises that concentrate on the back muscles. Both also relate to an increase in body fat as a whole.
What To Do About It
Unfortunately, as we all know, we can’t spot reduce fat in specific areas of the body. We’re in luck, though, as there are ways in which to slow down muscle atrophy. It’s not all calorie burning; you will need dedication and a focused workout plan to achieve positive results and reduce the appearance of back fat.
Exercise
To see results, you will need to do varied workouts involving resistance training which engages the back muscles; these could include the use of dumbbells, your body weight and different workout machines. Not only this, you will need to ramp up the cardio with the overall goal of burning body fat, whether that’s increasing the intensity or duration of your cardio workout.
The back is not just one muscle; it’s made up of five main muscles; the latissimus dorsi, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres major, and teres minor, which all need targeted exercises to strengthen and grow.
For workouts, we can break the back down into the upper, middle and lower back to ensure we are engaging all the back muscles whilst working out. Below are some examples for each section to work on.
Upper Back:
- Bent-over row
- Reverse fly
- Pull-ups
- Shrugs
Middle Back:
- Landmine row
- Dumbbell row
- Inverted row
- Cable row
- Hyper Extensions
- Good mornings
- Rack pulls
- Seated back extension
- Superman
Nutrition
As with any workout plan with a specific aim, exercise and nutrition go hand in hand. To achieve weight/fat loss, a calorie deficit is required. That’s not to say you can’t have a treat day, however, try and keep to healthy meals that are high in protein, healthy fats and carbohydrates. Remember, everything in moderation is ok; there’s no need to cut out all your favourite treats completely.
Stress
Just as important as working out is to rest and de-stress. Stress can play a huge part in how your body burns fat. Remember to take weekly rest days, as not only are these important for your physical development they are just as important for your mental well-being.
Before beginning any exercise or nutrition program, consult your physician, doctor or other professional. This is especially important for individuals over the age of 35 or persons with pre-existing health problems. Exercise.co.uk assumes no responsibility for personal injury or property damage sustained using our advice.
If you experience dizziness, nausea, chest pain, or any other abnormal symptoms, stop the workout at once and consult a physician or doctor immediately.
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