Having a strong, toned back means so much more than looking slick in a halter dress (not that that’s not awesome, too): Strengthening these muscles is key to good posture—or in most people’s cases, reversing the sitting slouch brought on by too much desk time—and even staving off back pain. And improved posture has an unexpected aesthetic bonus: Your chest appears perkier when you stand up straight. It’s for all these reasons that as a trainer I generally prescribe twice as many pulling exercises as pushing ones.
But what if you don’t have all the toys of the gym—bars, cables, pulldown machines, or even dumbbells—at your disposal to facilitate said pulling? Try these smart moves, courtesy of trainer BJ Gaddour, author of Men’s Health’s Your Body is Your Barbell, instead. For each one, Gaddour recommends doing three to five sets of either 40 to 60 seconds of work, or three to five sets of 10 to 15 reps.
No-Bar Rows
You’ll need to use your home’s architecture for some of these moves. Rows option number one entails a pillar or pole and a towel. Thread the towel around the poll, and grip the ends of the towel in your hands. Walk your feet forward to lean back with arms extended; the further the lean, the greater the challenge. Brace through your core and pull your body up toward the pillar. You're basically doing the same thing as an inverse row done on a bar—just with a towel.
Hands-Free “Rows”
Creative rowing option number two requires a corner—and no hands. Stand with your back to the corner about a foot and a half away, elbows wide and resting on the walls, body tight and leaning slightly back. Press into your elbows and squeeze your shoulder blades together tightly to push your chest forward. Hold for a second, then slowly reverse the move. It’s not quite as intense as a true row, but the more you concentrate your effort, the more you’ll feel it work.
Faux Pull Ups
For this one, you’re not actually lifting your body weight up (hence the “faux”), but instead using the floor for resistance. Place yourself facedown on the floor, arms overhead in a “Y” shape. Press palms firmly down and “pull” your body forward, head up between arms, in a pullup pattern. Then press back to the start position. Bonus: You won’t need to mop later.
Deadlift Alternatives
Fire up your lower back and glutes without adding weight by using the hinging action of a deadlift and altering gravity with hip thrusts. Lie on your back, with legs bent and knees aligned over ankles, hands by your sides or under your lower back. Press your hips up toward the sky, clenching the glutes at the top (like you do with the standing-up portion of a deadlift). Lower down with control (like you do when you’re hinging your hips back for a deadlift) and repeat. Keeping your shoulders on the floor (rather than elevated on a bench) gets your upper back in on the action, too.
Not enough of a burn?
Try the single-leg version. Setup is the same, but before you thrust, bring one leg into your chest, knee at a right angle. Extend through the glute of the leg that’s still on the ground to press your hips up.
