Back Exercises

As a Tai Chi guy, people often ask me what exercises I know of that can help with back muscles. So here are my recommended exercises for strengthening the back, listed here in the order I would start trying these in if I were you:

0. First and foremost, do not do things known to strain your back. If getting arm-bar slammed bugs your back, don't get arm-bar slammed. Stop pushing 10 grocery carts at a time.

1. At least 15 minutes of standing meditation. Focus your mind on your breathing and intentionally relax the most tense parts of your back:

2. Stretches:  Tight legs leads to a tight back. You should stretch after standing meditation anyways. If you don't have any serious stretching you are already into, I strongly recommend you take up doing a deep squat stretch (in addition to other common stretches,) the easy kind of deep squat with your back straight, your feet out 45 degrees and your heels on the ground, like the first stretch in this video:

3. If you do pushups right, they basically work your whole body. Besides strengthening the back pushups help a lot of muscular support systems for your back such as your core, shoulders, neck and upper legs. A good minimum goal for everyone is one set of at least 20 pushups: 

4. Cardio: a leisurely stroll through the park is not cardio, but power walking, jogging and running is. Playing around in the swimming pool is not cardio, but doing laps in the pool is. Simply put you need to be doing 30 minutes of cardio, five times a week if you want your body, including your back, to feel like it is at optimal health.