Neck and back

To prevent the overload on your back

Protect your backbone with the following exercises

Seesaw

Aim of the exercise
The correct body position is very important when practicing trekking. If the muscles of the back are in bad shape and if we force a heavy load on them, it could result in a painful intervertebral disk hernia that can become chronic.

Exercise
Lay flat on the stomach on a smooth and clean surface, and stretch the body until adopting an upward curved form. Then we a start a rocking movement with the head. We keep this position for as long as we can stand it and we repeat the movement three times. Keeping the tension of the body as log as possible is more important than the rocking movement.

Arm Flexing

Aim of the exercise
This exercise is especially important to counteract the backpack load over the upper back and shoulders. The backpack pulls down and back at the same time, acting as an antagonist to the muscles of the chest (m. pectoralis).

Exercise
This well-known workout can be done in two variants. We begin with the knees half-flexed. The exercise is done in three series with as much repetitions as possible. Better trained people do the exercise on their tiptoes.

Shoulder Lift

Aim of the exercise
This exercise aims to strengthen the muscles of the neck, which carry load during excursions and, if overloaded, can cause headaches and nausea.

Exercise
Standing up in the basic position, the shoulders are extended to the sides with a the back straight. We take a weight up to the abdomen level and we move it by lifting the shoulders (up and down movement). At the same time, we do a slow circular movement with the shoulders, stopping briefly at the highest point and the continuing with the movement. The extension of the movement is quite slight, but the effect, however, is amazing. The workout is done in three series of 20-30 repetitions each.

Rowing

Aim of the exercise
The upper back musculature has a particular tendency to weaken. Therefore, it should be included in as many workouts as possible. The rowing exercise works on the muscles of the shoulder blades zone (trapezius and rhomboid muscles), on which the backpack straps lean directly.

Exercise
We must start by standing up with the shoulders extended to the sides; then we bend the upright back forward while at the same time we lift a weight from the flexed knee up until the hip. The elbows must be close to the body. Instead of large weights, you can use hand weights or large plastic bottles full of water. During the exercise, we must pay attention to verify that at the end of the tension phase, the shoulder blades touch each other slightly. It is also important to tense the lower back muscles and to prevent at any price the bending of the back. Therefore, we must lean forward, with the back straight and the chest outward.