Working your legs and chest is easy peasy without weights because your bodyweight can provide the resistance. To target your upper back muscles, it’s a little trickier without a pull up bar, weights like dumbells and kettlebells or suspension trainer.
However, if you have any type of exercise bands you can adapt and overcome this barrier and still target your upper back. I have even included a deceptively challenging bodyweight exercise for your upper back and rear of the shoulders that will burn like hell and have you saying “fuck! that looked easy” in no time!
- Mini-Band Single Arm Row
Cheap as chips (depending on where you buy your chips) and very versatile mini-bands or glute bands can be used for a Single Arm Row. This exercise will target your Lats, Rear Delts and Biceps. The single arm aspect will also mean you recruit your core stabilisers to ensure you don’t rotate as you perform the movement.
Without weights it can be tricky to estimate the reps and sets you need to be challenged. Aim to leave 2 reps in the tank during each set. Thicker bands can be used if you find yourself hitting 20+ reps. You can also slow the tempo of the lowering portion of the lift to 5 seconds and pause at the top of the movement for 2-5 seconds to really fire up your back.
2. Band Pull-Aparts
This exercise needs a larger strength or dyna band to perform given the range of motion needed. Keep tension on the band at all times and ensure you especially control the shortening portion of the movement keeping tension on the band at all times. Try to avoid a lot of lack in the band at the start position. A little tension here is recommended.
Pull the band across the chest and sqeeze the shoulder blades together without arching the back or lifting the chest. Ensure you brace your tummy, like bracing for a gentle punch, at all times. This exerise will target your Mid-Traps, Rhomboids and Rear Delts.
Aim for high reps on this exercise 15-25 over 2-3 sets will be perfect. Pairing this as a superset with a chest exercise like Press-Ups or Bench Press works really well.
3. ITW’s
This is the one that looks deceptively easy! No weight is required but this ights up your back and shoulder muscles like Rudolphs nose on Christmas Eve….or is it Christmas Day….guess it depends if it’s after midnight. Anyway……
Start lying on the floor and keep the feet down, squeeze your butt cheeks (to keep the hips down) and look down at the floor. This should all help to keep the lower back from arching and prevent any discomfort.
Raise the hands directly over the head in to the I position. From hear move the arms to the side, keeping them off the floor into a T position. Then bend the arms and bring the hands towards the shoulders making a W position before returning to the start point. This should take roughly 4-6 seconds per rep.
Depending on your shoulder mobility and upper back strength you can complete anywhere from 5-10 reps per set for 2-3 sets of this. Supersetting with a chest exercise works well here too.
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Stay safe and stay sane.
Mark
markcaulfieldcoaching.ie 
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