6 Best Back Strengthening Exercises For Backpackers

Let's face it: While traveling is fun, hauling a backpack for extended time is not. Carrying a heavy pack or keeping the knees from collapsing under the weight can take a toll on even the fittest persons. That's why you should make sure that you do some strengthening exercises for your back to help protect against injury.

With that said, what better time than now to begin your fitness journey that includes the best back strengthening exercises? Read on to learn more about the six best strength training exercises for backpackers, from deadlifts to inverted rows and everything in between!

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Best Back Strengthening Exercises for Backpackers

1. Inverted Row

The inverted row is a simple but effective exercise to strengthen your back muscles for your next backpacking adventure. It engages your lower back and uses your arms as hooks, enabling you to pull yourself up. It even serves as a linear progression for pull-ups as the motion is pretty much a simplified version of that exercise.

Here's how you should do it:

• Set up a barbell in a squat rack with the weight plates on the floor and the bar resting at about hip height.
• Grab the bar with an overhand grip and place your feet on the floor, approximately shoulder-width apart (no wider than shoulder width). Your body should form a straight line from your head to your ankles when you are hanging from the bar.
• Pull your chest up to the bar by contracting all of your muscles in order to create tension throughout your back, arms, shoulders, and legs; this will help to stabilize yourself while performing this exercise so that you do not lose balance while doing it.

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2. Deadlifts

Deadlifts are a great exercise for strengthening the lower back and building overall strength.

Here's how you should do it:

• Start by picking up a heavy weight off of the ground by bending your knees, keeping your back straight, and bringing it to waist height.
• Once you’ve lifted with both hands, stand upright while holding on to the barbell or dumbbells.
• Lower it down again in an unbroken motion until it reaches knee level before repeating another rep.

Be careful when performing this exercise because if done incorrectly it can cause injury to your lower back region, which can then be aggravated if you carry weight on your backpack all day long!

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3. Supermans

The superman exercise is a great way to work your back, abs, and glutes. To do it, lie face down on the floor with your legs straight out behind you and arms extended straight in front of you. With your head off the ground and eyes looking forward, raise both legs off the ground at the same time as high as you can before lowering them again. This is one rep. Repeat for 10–12 reps per set before resting for 60 seconds.

The superman exercise works by strengthening both upper and lower back muscles along with the abdominal muscles. It also strengthens gluteal muscles that are at work when walking up hills or carrying heavy loads over long distances.

Here's how you should do it:

• Your shoulders are away from each other in line with your hips, which will help prevent injury by keeping body alignment correct;
• Your knees are bent without going over toes;
• Feet should be slightly apart so they don't touch but not too far apart either or else they may slip on the floor causing injury.

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4. Pull-Ups

Pull-ups are one of the best exercises for strengthening your back, as well as your biceps and forearms. They can be done with a bar or even with resistance bands.

Here's how you should do it:

• To do a pull-up, grab hold of the bar with your hands facing away from you. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart and slightly more than shoulder-width apart if you have large palms (your fingers should almost touch when they're fully extended).
• Pull yourself up so that your chin goes over the bar. As soon as it does, lower yourself back down slowly until your arms are fully extended again before repeating the motion again on each rep.

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5. Barbell Row

The barbell row is a great exercise for strengthening the muscles in your back. Here's how you should do it:

• Squat down and grab a barbell with an overhand grip (palms facing you).
• Your feet should be about shoulder-width apart, knees bent at 90 degrees, and back straight but not arched.
• Pull the bar up to your chest by squeezing your shoulder blades together as you pull the weight toward you until it touches your body.
• Pause here briefly before lowering under control to complete one rep. Repeat until failure or 10–12 reps if using a heavier weight with fewer sets; if doing higher reps, go for 15–20 reps per set instead of failure to strengthen endurance rather than power.

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6. Lat Pull-downs

Lat pull-downs are a useful exercise for tightening and strengthening your back, lats, and biceps. It’s very simple and can be done in many forms: using lat pull-down machines at the gym, using resistance bands, or even using a cable machine at home. Plus, if you don’t have access to weights (or are traveling), you can do it without any equipment.

Here's how you should do it:

• Start by gripping the bar with an overhand grip as wide as possible while standing directly behind it.
• Slowly bend your elbows until they reach shoulders level.
• Then slowly let them extend until they reach full extension.
• Bring the bar to your chest and try not to let the weight control you. Perform slow and controlled reps.

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Conclusion

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Takeaway

We hope that you’ve enjoyed learning about some of the best back exercises for backpackers. Remember to always listen to your body and never push yourself too far beyond your limits. Your trip will turn out enjoyable if your body is up to taking the strain. So, be nice to your back by preparing with the above exercises.

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