Wahine: So You Want a Toned Back

Recently, I was asked by a female who is into fitness how she could develop a toned back that doesn’t look like a guy’s back.

Of course I had to give her a disclaimer of how I may brutally honest and what I say may not be to her liking.  She gave me a weird look and said, “Alright.”

I told her,”You’re weak.  You need to get stronger.”

She laughed thinking it was a joke, but then realized I was dead serious.  Then she started with her reasonings and excuses.  They were the typical ones; afraid to lift heavy, don’t want to get bulky, don’t want to get man hands, and of course, I still want to look like a chick.

Again, I mentioned my honesty and asked, “How long have you been going to the gym and lifting weights?”

“Almost a year or so. I even had a personal trainer.”

“Have you seen any results?”

“Um…not really.  But I’ve been told all sorts of things.”

I looked at her, “Has anyone told you that you are weak?”  I wasn’t being an asshole, it was one of those tough love moments that was needed.

“No,” she said, probably wishing she never asked me.  But she was a champ and listened.

The problem with many people, not just women, who train with weights is that they think doing the motion will give them results.

It’s as if they think doing bicep curls with 3 lb dumbbells for mind-numbing amount of reps while watching the TV screen at the gym will give them “toned” arms.  That’s not going to do anything.  There must be a strong intention behind the movement.  There has to be an attitude.

Sometimes I tell my students, especially the women, “Attitude” as a reminder to apply yourself to the exercise and do it with a purpose.

So You Want a Toned Back?

I’ll give the women out there some praise when it comes to training.

• They have a higher tolerance for pain when it comes to training
• They recover faster in between sets
• They are able to sustain a higher volume of work

Enough talking, let’s get to the training and exercises.  For the training, you want to mix up the rep ranges and duration of tension.  In the strength exercises, the sets and reps can vary anywhere from 2-8 sets for 2-6 reps.  For the hypertrophy and endurance side, the sets can remain the same but the reps can go anywhere from 6-20+ reps.  These numbers aren’t set in stone but they are guidelines.

The Training Session

You can perform your normal warm-up routine but make sure you add in these two exercises.

PRONE Y-Ws

You don’t need to use any weight but the purpose of this exercise is to work on shoulder movement and scapula retraction which is essential for back training.  The lack of scapula retraction is what hold many people back from improving their back strength.

Do 3 sets of 15 reps holding the ‘W’ for 2 seconds, rest 30 seconds between sets.

THE FOUNDERS

Another addition to your warm-up would be this exercise.  You will be deadlifting in this training, and this drill will enforce proper hip hinging mechanic and again work on scapula retraction.

Perform 3 sets of 15 seconds arms back/15 seconds arms above head, rest 30 seconds between sets.

THE SESSION

After a complete warm-up, you should have a light sweat and your back muscles should be feeling alive.

There are many different training splits but if you are looking to bring up a weak body part, you have to hit it hard.  The training below can be considered a back day or a pull day, however you want to look at it.

Here is a 4 week progression of the training session below.

Final Thoughts

When you train, train with intention.  I could put in percentages, tempos, and more for the workout but you have to earn those.  Give this workout a try over the next 4 weeks to train your back.  A women with a strong back not only looks strong but is strong.