Boost Your Metabolism After Age 30 Podcast

Episode 61: Why A Strong Back Will Make You Look Like A Million Bucks

• Couture Fitness & Lifestyle Coaching

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Want the secret to achieving the coveted hourglass shape?  In today's continuation of Couture Coaching's "How to Build It" series we discuss how to build out your back to create an hourglass figure.  But a strong back is not just for show . . .listen up to learn. . .

  • why building a great-looking body is more about creating symmetry than just making the number on the scale go down; 
  • the functional benefits of having a strong back; and
  • the key exercises for building your back.   


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Speaker 1:

Hello everyone. You've got Joe and Allison today and we are going to be talking today, as part of our how to Build it series, about building out your back and creating the secret to creating that hourglass shape that a lot of women want. Okay, so before we get into that, let's talk about what's going on at Couture Cochin. Right now we are enrolling in our signature one-on-one program. This is our one-on-one coaching package, where you get a coach who will set your macros, who will give you a workout plan, all customized to you. You'll also have access to our coaching resources. We do two coaching calls a week. One of those is the live coaching call and all the support that you need to achieve your goals. We're enrolling for that right now. You can go right on over to our website. There will be a link in the show notes if you want to enroll in that.

Speaker 1:

Our next program will kick off on October 1st. That's happening right now. We also have our $79 Do it Yourself course. That's always available, also a link in the show notes. In that course we walk you through sort of how we train our coaches to help you set your own macros. It has some workout programs as well, but you just don't have the support of a coach. Also, if you're new to us and you haven't checked it out already, make sure you go. Grab our free mini course called the Real Reason you Can't Lose Weight, also linked in the show notes. I think that's everything that's going on at Couture Coaching Allison. Do you want to give us a preview of what we're going to be talking about today and the importance of building out your back?

Speaker 2:

Yes, we are talking about building out our back and really creating the shape that I think a lot of women want, that is, that hourglass figure shape. In order to create that shape, you really need some nice round glutes, a smaller waist and an upper body that kind of goes outward and helps contribute to that hourglass appearance. I would say this is somewhat of a vanity-centric topic somewhat, but developing these muscles also will help you functionally. It will help you in your day-to-day life. We definitely preach a healthy lifestyle which includes strength training. A lot of women come to us with physique goals too. We want to touch on these topics as well. Something interesting that I listened to this podcast a month or so ago. It was about the book called Deep Nutrition. I have not read that book. Have you heard of that book, joe? I haven't.

Speaker 2:

I haven't Okay, from what I know, and again, I have not read it, but I have read a summary of it and then I listened to this podcast about it.

Speaker 2:

It's all about how, really, what you put into your body really affects your genes and then your ancestor's genes. Really, the way your grandmother and your mom ate can really impact certain things about yourself. It was also talking about how some of these things that I think we tend to consider vanity things like having an hourglass shape, having this nice figure it's so much more than just oh, that's just a great figure. It actually is tied to health. There's actually a biological reason why we believe an hourglass figure looks good is because that is a healthy shape. That shape on a female anyway indicates being able to have children, living a long life. I thought that was super interesting. That is, biologically, why we tend to be attracted to people with that sort of shape is because it is an indication of health, which definitely makes sense. I thought that was very interesting to tie that into the topic that we're talking about today.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I've never maybe seen it articulated in literature or in a book or something. But I've always thought, when people say, oh, I want to look toned, when they kind of salivate over those fitness model pictures, it's because that is what we associate with health, like having muscle on your body, having looking a particular way does help, you know, it does signify good health. So that all makes sense to me. I've also heard that we are attracted like our eyes are just attracted to symmetry, and so if you think about it like an hourglass shape, there's some symmetry between the upper part of your body and the lower part of your body. So that makes sense too. Okay, so I would assume that, like having an hourglass figure is pretty much a genetic thing. But can anyone build an hourglass figure, or is it just something? You have one or you don't have one?

Speaker 2:

So there's definitely a genetic component to our bone structure and where we tend to carry more muscle, where we tend to carry more fat. But you definitely can build more of an hourglass shape if you don't naturally have one. So like you and I, genetically, Joe, we're probably opposites. You, if you were to gain weight, you would probably gain more on top. If I were to gain weight, I'm gonna gain it all in my lower half.

Speaker 2:

When I lose weight, the first place it comes from is top down. I always lose weight up in my upper body before my lower body really does anything, and I assume for you it's probably the opposite. However, we both we one thing and that's not something we can control. You can't say, oh, I need my fat to come off from my back. You can't do that. I can't say, oh, I have this perfect way where I can make the fat come off of my legs first. Not gonna happen. I have no control over where fat is going to come off my body first when I lose weight, but what I can control is where I build muscle. If I had never done any sort of strength training, I would say I'd probably have pretty much like a pear shaped body. I would probably be really small on top, without a lot of muscle and carry a lot of weight and probably a lot of fat in my lower body If I hadn't done any strength training.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that makes sense.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, you're right, I tend to carry more weight on the upper half of my body.

Speaker 1:

When I lose weight, it tends to come off of my legs first, Sometimes my hips, then we'll start working into my waist and then last is like, strangely enough, like my upper back, which is just where I tend to carry some weight. But definitely you can. What I'm gonna say is like you're not necessarily changing the structure of your bones or something, but you can create the illusion of a different shape by building out certain body parts. So that's, if you work with a good physique coach, they can look at your body and figure out kind of where you need to build out some body parts to create the illusion of a waist. Strangely enough for me, that's, I don't have like I know a lot of people complain of having like a pancake booty or a grandpa booty. I don't have that. But I have had physique coaches who have definitely had me build out my glutes more to kind of balance out my upper body and to create the illusion of a waist. So you're absolutely right.

Speaker 1:

You can definitely change things through strength training. So do you want to talk about why there's hope? Yeah, yeah, If you have a regular body training you don't love.

Speaker 2:

So, besides surgery, which would be a very unnatural way to change your shape, strength training is really the only natural way to do that. So if you just set out to lose weight, let's say you're you just start maybe eating less and running and you just wanna lose weight. Your shape is not really going to change, you're just gonna be maybe a smaller version of yourself. Or, if you gain weight, you're just gonna probably be a larger version of the shape you already were. However, if you want to actually change your shape, you need to do some strength training.

Speaker 2:

So if you want to get that hourglass figure, one of the best things you can do is to build out your back and, like you touched on, joe, if you're also maybe lacking in the glutes department and we did a whole podcast on how to build out your glutes that would be another way to help achieve that hourglass figure. But I would say starting with your lat, starting with your back, is going to make some big changes in towards, you know, going to more of that hourglass shape. So you really wanna focus on building out your lats, which are the muscles on the sides of your upper back, right near your armpits. That is going to give you the appearance of a slimmer waist in a more shapely body.

Speaker 1:

Okay, and then I guess, other than lats, are there other back muscles that we kind of want to pay attention to when we're lifting or that will hit when we're lifting for our back.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I would say definitely. There's probably several, but you know, mid and lower back certainly are important. Shoulders are also. We're not going to touch much on shoulders here, but shoulders are also important, I think, for creating that more curvy hourglass shape. But today we'll mostly focus on the lats and then the mid and lower back, Probably rhomboids a little bit too.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, those probably help with posture. Those are those muscles in between your shoulder blades, right, and then, in terms of shoulder, I assume we're talking about like rear deltoids, like the backs of your shoulders.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and even just shoulders in general, even though that's not really the topic of today. But you know, any exercises that hit your shoulders are going to help with the hourglass shape as well. But yeah, rear delts for sure, we'll touch on that today too.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so what are some of the exercises I should focus on to build out my lats and back muscles?

Speaker 2:

So really, you want to think about any sort of pulling motion. Probably any pulling motion is going to work your lats. So think about things like the assisted pull-up machine that you may have at your gym, a lat pulldown, which that is. You can either do this in a seated or a standing position and you're either you're pulling something like a bar or cable or maybe even just the handles of a band. You're going to start with them up above your head and you're pulling it down, like towards your chest and then slowly raising them back overhead again. That's going to definitely work your lats.

Speaker 2:

Things like one arm dumbbell rows I like those a lot as well and then things that are going to work the mid and lower back which will also help are things such as deadlifts. Those are definitely some of my favorite exercises in general because they work. They're just hard and they really work your whole body, but they really help to work that mid and lower back. Seated rows, where you're seated and you've kind of got your arms stretched out in front of you and then you're pulling them like towards your belly button with a band or a cable and then back out in front of you. That sort of a pulling motion will work your lower and mid back to arm barbell or dumbbell rows. These are some of my favorites. There's probably more that I'm not thinking of right now. You can chime in, joe, if you have any others that you like, but all of those exercises are going to hit your back muscles and really help you build out that shape.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I would say the big exercises you want to hit definitely lat pull downs of some variety. You know those are definitely going to hit your lats, the pull ups or some sort of assisted pull up rows. I totally agree with dead lifts. Dead lifts are just a lift that you should have in your workout regimen for many, many reasons. It really works your entire posterior chain. Those are the big ones. Then you can get into smaller muscle groups. I think things like face pulls or rope pulls using a cable machine, that sort of thing, are also going to work your back. You've definitely hit the big lifts that you need to be doing. How many days a week should I be doing these lifts? How often should I do these lifts and what volume do I need to be doing?

Speaker 2:

And then it depends on how advanced you are with your strength training. So if you are new, even just working your back, this whole area once, once a week will probably allow you to progress. At first I would say, if you're new, maybe pick you know three to four of these exercises and again, I don't mean just do these exercises but along with you know working your other body parts, make sure you've got like three or four exercises that touch on your back. Maybe do three to four sets of 10 to 15 reps of those. I think that would be fine for a beginner. Once you've been lifting for a few months you will probably plateau just hitting your back once a week at some point. So I think hitting this area twice a week would probably be ideal.

Speaker 2:

I personally do back twice a week. I don't hit every muscle group twice a week but back is one of them that I do like to work. I feel like I just can't get enough muscle on my back. I think it's just one area that I want to just continue building. It's one of my favorite areas to work.

Speaker 2:

I just like having the feeling of a strong back. I feel like it just helps me just to do things in my daily life, like climbing up a ladder on the playground with the kids or picking up a box or something. So I think it's very important I would prioritize back for sure, as one of the body parts you hit more than maybe some of the other ones and strengthening your back muscles. I think this is something that's maybe overlooked, but if you have a desk job, you're probably sitting hunched over eight hours a day or more, which makes your chest muscles really tight and your back muscles lengthen and weaken, and so strengthening these muscles can help you with your posture and really help you avoid some problems that come along with that classic hunched over desk job injuries that can come along with that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'm just going to echo all the functional benefits that you just mentioned that come along with having a strong back. So as coaches, I think that one of the most common injuries we see and it usually starts or this usually happens someone's gung-ho, it's going to get in shape and low and behold, they hurt their back or pull something in their back or step off a curve wrong and do something to their back. And I think that is related to just weak back muscles. If you have a desk job, you probably have some weakness in your back just from sitting all day, and sitting all day like in a hunched forward position and, honestly, a weak back can show up in other injured body parts.

Speaker 1:

So I know that I personally struggled with tennis elbow. Like I had just gotten into lifting and, oh, six or eight months into it I just had this terrible case of tennis elbow. That was really related to weakness in my upper back. So they always say when you have an injury, like in a joint, so like your elbow is a joint, you could either go down or go up a joint and that's where you probably have some weakness. So you know, my elbow was just taking the brunt of a lot of my lifting because my upper back was weak. It just wasn't strong enough to take the load I was trying to put on my shoulders and so my elbow bore the brunt of that. But I've also, you know, through the years had lots of shoulder injuries, impingements, rotator cuff issues.

Speaker 1:

And I think women in particular, like we don't see our backs when we look in the mirror so it is we often are fine to neglect them, like we don't see them, like we see other body parts. But really a strong back is going to make you look better overall, because you're going to be have better posture, you're going to stand up straight and, but probably more important, it's going to help protect all those shoulder, elbow joints, hip joints, etc. If your back is taking, you know, the load that it should. So one of our coaches, coach Hillary, really talks about your back also being part of your core strength and I think that's a good way to think of it also is that it's it's, you know, really functionally speaking, a very, very important group of muscles. So, yes, a muscly back, a well-defined back and hourglass shape looks great.

Speaker 1:

But this is what we're talking about in the movement we're talking about is definitely not for show and, like I said, something I think women in particularly definitely neglect because we don't see it in the mirror every day. We're usually like women are obsessed with having abs or their legs looking a particular way. But really, you know you don't want to neglect your back. So that's what I would say about that. And if you've had injuries, like you know I, I would say my back muscles are my most lagging body part because I have I've been not very smart sometimes and I have had a lot of injuries to my shoulders and so it is a bit of a lagging body part in terms of weakness and strength and definition, because when you're injured you just can't lift as much or you have to make compensations and that sort of thing. So, just just if you're getting started with lifting, definitely don't, definitely incorporate, you know, at least two to three times a week, those pulling exercises that are going to give you overall back strength. You, you won't regret it, that's for sure.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, definitely. Okay, well, let's end with something fun. So, joe, this summer you took a very big trip. Do you want to tell us about that and and how it went, and maybe how I don't know if you were able to incorporate any, any fitness or anything into that trip.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So, um, we, my family, we went to Italy, for I was there for ten days. My husband and my son were there a little bit longer. They actually Were in France for a little bit before that, but I have a nephew that is stationed in Naples, italy, and he will be gone after this summer, so we decided this was the summer to make Italy happen.

Speaker 1:

So, okay, did I make? Did I incorporate any fitness? No, as with If you've ever visited Europe, you spent a lot of time walking. So I really didn't worry too much about really Macros, what I was eating, because we were walking around like 25,000 steps a day. Yeah, it's a lot. And I remember we went to Europe, went to Paris and Spain in 2019 and Is that right? 2019?

Speaker 1:

It was before the pandemic and I was definitely working out and and you know, but I just I would say like I wasn't as strong as I am now and I definitely noticed it in my stamina and Ability to just walk 25,000 steps a day. I mean, you know, that's that's a lot and my feet hurt. I would say that my feet hurt, but I never struggled with like an achy back or you know things that just walking that much, or eat Me's or or any other back pain like I really do feel, like you know and we didn't talk about this in this podcast, but we do, we we assign our clients step goals and really promote, you know, a healthy, active lifestyle through getting in a lot of steps each day. And so really, you know, I do usually get around 10,000 steps a day. I'm 25,000 steps is only twice that much, so it really wasn't a big deal, it didn't.

Speaker 1:

You know, it was hot there that that was difficult, but I had all the stamina I wanted for Seeing everything that we wanted to in Rome and and Naples and all the other places we were. So, you know, there wasn't Access to a gym. Really we were eating out most of the time, so I didn't have a lot of control over my food, but I'm definitely grateful that I could just walk that much every day and it wasn't a big deal. I didn't have to worry about, you know, my back hurting or anything like that. So steps also, I think, are a way that you can strengthen your back, that's at least I've noticed that I have a lot more strength and I think that with Making a much more concerted effort to lift for my back, you know, do the dead lifts all, all of those Lifts that really help straight strengthen your body overall. Just makes like a trip like that much better, because you know you're not spending your time Feeling terrible because you were yeah, awesome, I'm sure it was amazing.

Speaker 2:

That's on my bucket list. I just don't know when it's gonna happen. Yeah, maybe try.

Speaker 1:

we were there during a heat wave, so try to maybe July, maybe avoid July, I think definitely August, because they're all on vacation during August. So oh yeah, yeah, I heard that about Europe, yeah, I would recommend maybe June or September and you can avoid the heat wave and it'll be very enjoyable to walk that many steps.

Speaker 2:

Mm-hmm, yeah, yeah, that's all we've got for today.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, short and sweet episode, but definitely wanted to share with you what you need to do to get a nice, strong Back and that our glass figure that a lot of women want. So okay, thanks everyone. Have a great day. Bye-bye, doo.