This resistance band back workout improves posture in 10 minutes flat

Welcome to Trainer of the Month Club, our brand-new fitness series, where we tap the coolest, most in-the-know fitness leaders to create a month-long fitness challenge. On Mondays, we have our “sweat drops” where you’ll get access to the week’s workout that you can follow along at home. This week, Bec Donlan’s working your back muscles with a fiery 10-minute resistance band workout.

Regardless of how good I am about working out on the reg, the absolute one body part that gets ignored is my back. I’ll work my arms ’til they’re about ready to fall off and my core until it quakes, but when it comes to my back muscles, it’s outta sight, outta mind.

This is not to my benefit, though. Even though I can’t personally see my back, it’s responsible for, well, keeping me vertical. And your back muscles are majorly in charge of your posture. So it’s a bright idea to not neglect those muscles back (ahem) there. In this week’s Trainer of the Month Club workout, Bec Donlan shares a short but effective (and sweaty… trust me) routine that involves a resistance band and your back, and you’ll also work your arms while you’re at it.

“We’re going to be working the posterior chain, which is so important for your posture, standing up straight, and just feeling good,” says Donlan. All it takes is a little less than 10 minutes, and you’ll be standing up taller in no time.

Try Bec Donlan’s 10-minute resistance band back workout for yourself

Do each move for 15 seconds each, then cycle through for a total of two sets.

1. Banded lat pulses: Stand up nice and straight with the band around your hands. Keep your core tight, squeeze your shoulder blades together, and relax your shoulders—you don’t want to work your traps, you want to work the backs of your arms instead. Your arms are straight in front of you, one foot is slightly in front of the other, and do tiny pulses out with your arms. This is really good to activate your lats before you start doing the rest of your arm or back work.

2. Bent over row: Put the band around both feet with your feet facing forward. Make two fists and keep your back nice and straight. Stick your butt out—it’s like you’re in a deadlift position. Hinge your butt out as much as you can and keep your back flat. Breathe out as you squeeze your arms up while keeping your elbows together.

3. Single-arm lat pull-downs: With one arm locked out above your head, pull the band down with the other arm as the opposite is kept up straight. Alternate with each pull down. Squeeze the shoulder blades down and breathe out as you pull, keeping your elbows wide.

4. Single arm rows: This is a bow and arrow-type position, so at a 45-degree angle, lock out both hands and make a fist with the band around your hands. Keep your wrists super straight. Breathe out as you bring your hand all the way to your shoulder. Switch sides.

5. Bend and snap—left: Put the band around your left foot and stand up nice and straight. Think of it as a single-leg deadlift or channel Elle Woods in Legally Blonde: Squeeze your shoulder blades together, hinge your butt out as much as you can, and keep your back super flat. Your left hand reaches down toward your calf, then pull back up straight. If you feel it in your lower back, stick your butt out even further.

6. Bend and snap—right: Put the band around your right foot, and bend over with your right hand, then come up to the top and squeeze. Make sure your posture is really good when you snap up, and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Cycle through for one more round. If you want to make it harder, add a third round or do each move for 20 to 30 seconds instead of 15.

Get that heart rate up even more with this at-home HIIT workout courtesy of Meg Takacs, last month’s Trainer of the Month. And here’s a 10-minute resistance band arm workout to do while you’re at it.