5 Exercises That You Should Avoid on Your Back Day

Back days hold great importance in everyone’s workout routine.

While it's wonderful to be able to show off those perfectly chiseled back muscles in a suit or t-shirt, exercises that focus on your back serve a more significant purpose that has no connection to strength improvements.

It is simpler to lift, bend, and twist while going about your daily business when you have a strong back because it keeps your shoulders from rounding forward.

Up to 80% of individuals will suffer from low-back pain at some point in their lives, therefore it's imperative to strengthen your back to help avoid pain and injury.

Check out these exercises for lower back pain that you can do at home.

Exercises to Avoid on Back Day

Some workouts are healthier for the back day than others, regardless of whether you've experienced back pain in the past or want to prevent it altogether. Learn about these workouts that are either dangerous or useless, so you can choose which ones to include and which to leave out when planning your next workout.

1) Burpees

You must not include burpees on your back day as you run the danger of back pain and damage if you perform burpees wrong.

They require no equipment and burn more calories per minute than any other bodyweight exercise, but it's important to consider the risks and benefits.

People who squat with a straight spine instead of bending over to reach the floor, then hyperextend their spines as they push their legs back into the plank position. The "softening" of the spine caused by forward flexion and hyperextension might exacerbate back issues.

Instead, try this: Before kicking your legs back, go slowly and squat. Just raise your hands at the end rather than jumping. Since you lack the impetus to jump, you'll discover that this slower, more methodical burpee variation may be more difficult.

2) Shoulder to hip crunches

We've all performed these at some point and have been persuaded to believe they will give us six-pack abs. Although this is incorrect (food and heredity have a major role in how the stomach develops), the structural damage they cause is what should most worry us.

Constant strain on the neck may cause cervical spine spinal flexion problems. Our society already suffers from postural problems brought on by forward-leaning necks and rounded shoulders. Repeatedly performing an activity like this only makes it worse.

Instead, include stabilizing exercises like the front bridge and its variations on your back day. Your long-term health and performance will be significantly better if you keep your spine neutral.

3) Dumbbell side bends

Due to the pressure, they place on the spine, these can be compared to conventional crunches. With this kind of lateral flexion, the spine's structure and tissue are put at risk. Nobody wants a disk in danger of rupturing, so you must avoid this exercise on back days.

Try the side bridge exercise on your back day. It is a stabilization exercise that works against lateral flexion, much like the front bridge.

4) Leg press

The knees and back are put under a great deal of strain since the body is in an uncomfortable, compressed position with its legs in the air.

Instead try: When it comes to lowering body strength, a Bulgarian split squat offers a similar advantage while putting less strain on the back and knees. To descend your hips towards the floor, squat down while placing your back foot on a box or bench. Push your weight back up with the front leg while keeping the rear knee off the ground.

5) Barbell squat

The best all-around exercise is the squat, therefore there's nothing wrong with that. The issue is that many people risk back damage by going into a squat rack improperly since they are so sedentary from sitting all day at work and elsewhere.

Instead try: A goblet squat is easier to perform than a standard barbell squat because it puts less strain on your back. You can sit back more easily because of the counterweight provided by the weight in front of your body, which encourages good posture. Before progressing to the barbell squat, perfect the goblet squat.

Check here what muscles do squats exercise work.

Conclusion

The majority of exercises are not intrinsically harmful in the back days. The problem is that some workouts carry a higher danger when done improperly than others. When deadlifting, a person may hinge from their lower back rather than their hips, and if they lift too much weight, they run the danger of suffering a back injury.

However, the deadlift is a great exercise that can strengthen the back for someone who has mastered spinal control and knows how to hinge from the hips appropriately.