Ordinary fat, largely inherited
Back fat is the fat under your skin that you can pinch. In twins, genes explained about 82 to 85% of the differences in trunk fat, and sex, age and the menopause shift where fat goes. It's normal at any size.
Training guide
How to lose back fat: why back exercises don't burn it, what does, and bra bulge
Back fat is ordinary fat under the skin, and where your body keeps it depends mostly on your genes, sex, age and hormones. It's normal at any size. Back exercises don't burn the fat on your back: in trials, training one part of the body took no more fat off it than off anywhere else.
To get rid of back fat, lose fat from your whole body, by eating a little less, moving more and sleeping well, and strength train to build the back muscles underneath. This guide explains why back fat sits where it does, what works and how long it takes, bra lines and back rolls, the back moves worth doing, and the lumps and humps that need a GP rather than a workout.
The short version
Back exercises don't burn it
Across 13 studies of 1,158 people, training one arm or leg took no more fat off it than off the other. Those trials were of limbs: no trial has tested the back, and nothing suggests it's different.
Lose fat from your whole body
Eat a little less, aiming to lose 0.5 to 1 kg a week as the NHS suggests; move more (each extra 30 minutes a week of aerobic exercise took off about half a kilo in trials); strength train on 2 days a week; and sleep 7 to 9 hours.
Build the back underneath
Rows, pulldowns and face pulls make your back stronger and change its shape, and strength training keeps your muscle while you lose fat. They don't burn the fat over the muscle they work.
Bra bulge is often about fit
In 104 women, 85% were wearing a bra that didn't fit, and the NHS advises a properly fitted bra. Soft folds where a band or waistband presses are normal at any size.
Some things need a GP, not a workout
See a GP for fat building up on your upper back and neck with a round, red face and thin arms and legs, a lump that grows, hurts or is hard, or an upper back that's newly rounded.
Why your back stores fat
What back fat is
Fat under the skin of the upper back, around the shoulder blades, along the bra line and above the hips. It's subcutaneous fat, the kind you can pinch. The fat deep inside your belly, around your organs, is a separate store, which our belly fat guide covers.
Genes
In Danish twins, genes explained about 82% (younger) and 85% (older) of the differences in trunk fat, and identical twins overfed by the same amount gained fat in the same places as each other.
Sex and hormones
Women carry more fat under the skin than men on average, and sex hormones shape where it goes. That's normal biology, not a sign you're doing something wrong.
Source 2
Age and the menopause
With age, fat tends to shift towards the trunk. At the start of the menopause transition, the rate of fat gain doubled while lean mass fell, until about 2 years after the last period, in a large US study.
It moves with your total body fat
Across 89 studies, no diet, exercise, medicine or surgery took fat from one place: fat under the skin and deep fat fell together.
Source 19
What the evidence says
Training one body part doesn't burn the fat over itStrong evidence
Across 13 studies of 1,158 people aged 14 to 71, training one arm or leg didn't take more fat off it than off the other limb, and the results were consistent. In 104 adults who trained one arm for 12 weeks, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans found the same fat change in both arms.
Belly exercises didn't shift belly fat eitherEmerging evidence
Six weeks of ab exercises on 5 days a week didn't change belly fat in 24 adults, and adding 12 weeks of ab training to a diet did no better than the diet alone in 40 women.
No trial has tested the backMixed evidence
The evidence comes from arms, legs and the belly. We found no trial of back exercises and back fat, so "back exercises don't burn back fat" is drawn from those trials, though nothing suggests the back is different.
Source 4
The small studies that disagreeMixed evidence
In 16 men, adding a long session of torso exercises to running took about 700 g more fat off the trunk over 10 weeks, with the same total fat loss. A circuit-training study in 14 adults thinned belly fat, and fat next to a working muscle released a little more fat during exercise in 10 men. None shows a slimmer back, and none is a practical plan.
Where fat comes off first variesEmerging evidence
In 61 women with obesity on a 6-month diet, fat under the skin fell at every place measured, by 7.6 to 18.0%, and proportionally more on the arms and thighs than around the waist and hips. The upper back wasn't measured. Where people gain and lose fat is partly inherited.
Aerobic exercise takes fat offStrong evidence
In 116 trials of 6,880 adults with overweight or obesity, each extra 30 minutes a week of supervised aerobic exercise took off about 0.52 kg and 0.37 points of body fat percentage, in trials lasting 8 weeks or more.
Source 7
Strength training helps tooStrong evidence
On its own, strength training trimmed body fat by about 1.5 points across 54 trials. In 119 adults over 8 months, aerobic training took off more weight and fat, while strength training added more muscle: doing both keeps your muscle while you lose fat.
Muscle burns only a little more at restStrong evidence
A kilo of muscle uses about 12.6 calories a day at rest in adults over 50, against about 4.4 for a kilo of fat. Muscle helps, but it doesn't melt fat off while you rest.
Source 26
What works, and how much
Eat a little less
The NHS suggests eating and drinking fewer calories than you use, aiming to lose 0.5 to 1 kg (1 to 2 lb) a week, and cutting down on alcohol. Our calories per day calculator gives a target if your BMI (body mass index) is 25 or more.
Source 6
Move more
Build towards at least 150 minutes a week of moderate activity, such as brisk walking, cycling or swimming. In the trials, more minutes took off more.
Strength train on 2 days a week
Work all your major muscles, as the NHS advises: a squat, a hinge, a push and a pull, as in our 20-minute strength workout. For your back, our bigger back guide suggests about 10 to 20 hard sets of rows and pulls a week over 2 sessions.
Keep your protein up
Our protein calculator suggests 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg of body weight a day while you lose weight. In 49 trials, more than about 1.6 g per kg added no extra muscle.
Don't crash diet
Across trials, a deficit of about 500 calories a day or more stopped muscle gains, and athletes who lost weight twice as fast kept less muscle. The NHS's 0.5 to 1 kg a week fits.
Sleep 7 to 9 hours
That's what adults need. In a small trial on the same diet, 5.5 hours in bed instead of 8.5 cut the fat lost by more than half.
Bra lines, back rolls and posture
Check the fit first
In 104 women, 85% were wearing a bra that didn't fit, and choosing a size alone, even after trying several, didn't fix it. A band that's too tight or the wrong size makes folds look bigger. The NHS advises a properly fitted bra, and our women's guide covers sports bras.
Folds are normal
Soft folds where a bra band, strap or waistband presses into the skin happen at many body sizes (our reading; we found no study of them). They change with the clothes you wear as much as with your weight.
Posture
Rounding your upper back changes how your back and clothes look, but no study shows posture changes fat. Our posture guides cover rounded shoulders; an upper back that's newly rounded or hunched needs a GP, the NHS says.
Source 16
Moves for the muscles under the fat
These build your back; they don't burn the fat over it. Band rows have their own dose on their move page; one-arm rows at 3 sets of 10 to 12 each side, pulldowns at 3 sets of 8 to 12 and face pulls at 3 sets of 12 to 20 are as our pull day and home workouts use them.
3D demoBand rowBeginner · A band + An anchor point
3D demoSupported single-arm dumbbell rowIntermediate · A dumbbell + A bench or box
3D demoLat pulldownBeginner · A cable machine
3D demoInverted rowIntermediate · Pull-up bar
3D demoFace pullIntermediate · A band
3D demoProne Y-T-W raisesBeginner · No equipment
3D demoBack extension on a 45-degree benchIntermediate · A bench or box
3D demoDumbbell Romanian deadliftIntermediate · A dumbbellMoves for the fat-loss half
Whole-body moves, as in our 20-minute strength workout (goblet squats, rows and Romanian deadlifts at 8 to 12 reps, twice through), plus your weekly walking, cycling or rowing. Indoor rowing and the cross-trainer have starting doses on their move pages.
3D demoTreadmill walkingBeginner · Cardio machine
3D demoStair climbingIntermediate · A step
3D demoStationary cyclingBeginner · Cardio machine
3D demoIndoor rowing (rowing machine)Beginner · Cardio machine
3D demoElliptical trainerBeginner · Cardio machine
3D demoDumbbell goblet squatIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoPush-upIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoFarmer's carryIntermediate · A dumbbell + A kettlebellYour week, step by step
Our editorial plan, built on NHS advice and the trials in this guide.
- Walk, cycle, row or swim on most days, building towards at least 150 minutes a week at a pace where you can talk but not sing.
- Do 2 full-body strength sessions a week, such as our 20-minute strength workout, with at least one row in each.
- Eat and drink a little less than you use, aiming to lose 0.5 to 1 kg a week at most, with some protein at every meal.
- Sleep 7 to 9 hours.
- If bra bands or waistbands dig in, check the fit.
- Every 2 to 4 weeks measure your waist, and every 4 weeks take a photo in the same light. Judge by months, not days.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Band row
How long it takes
At the whole-body pace
At 0.5 to 1 kg a week, back fat goes with the rest of you. In one diet study, fat left the arms and thighs proportionally faster than the waist and hips; the upper back wasn't measured.
The order is yours
Where you lose fat first is partly inherited, and around the menopause trunk fat tends to rise, so the same plan may move more slowly then.
No one can promise a look
Nobody can tell you how your back will look, or when. What you can control is the habit: activity most days, strength work twice a week, enough sleep and a small calorie cut.
Workouts to follow
There's no workout that burns back fat. The whole-body sessions and your weekly walking do the fat-loss work; the back workout at home builds the muscle underneath.
Weights then cardio: a steadier-glucose workout
Strength moves first, then 20 to 30 minutes of steady cardio, with glucose checks built in. In one small type 1 diabetes trial, weights first kept glucose steadier.
45 minBeginner11 movesA dumbbell, A bench or box
20-minute full-body strength workout
A 20-minute full-body dumbbell workout: two supersets of squats, rows, Romanian deadlifts and push-ups. Twice a week covers the minimum dose.
20 minBeginner8 movesA dumbbell, A bench or box
Circuit training workout: 8 stations, dumbbells or bodyweight
A full-body circuit of 8 stations: dumbbell squats, push-ups, rows, lunges, deadlifts and cardio moves, 40 seconds each, for 2 or 3 rounds.
35 minBeginner14 movesA dumbbell, A bench or box
Easy cardio workout
A steady 30 to 45 minute cardio session at talk-but-not-sing pace: walk, cycle, row or cross-train, counting toward weekly activity guidelines.
40 minBeginner3 movesCardio machine, A wall
Low-impact cardio workout (no jumping)
A 25-minute standing cardio circuit with no jumping: marching, step jacks, sit-to-stands, punches, step-ups and wall push-ups, with a seated option for most moves.
25 minBeginner9 movesA bench or box, A step
Back workout at home: dumbbells, a band and an optional bar
A back workout at home with dumbbells and a band: pull-ups or band-assisted pulls, two rows, face pulls, reverse flys, shrugs and Romanian deadlifts.
40 minIntermediate14 movesA band, Pull-up barPlans
The weight-loss plan is the main one; the walking plan builds to 150 minutes a week from very little.
5 days a week
Workout plan for weight loss
A 12-week workout plan for weight loss: three strength days, two cardio days and daily steps, building to 200 minutes a week, with honest results.
3 training days45 minBeginner6 days a weekWalking plan for beginners: 8 weeks to 150 minutes a week
A free 8-week walking plan for beginners: build to 150 minutes of brisk walking a week, with intervals, hills and two short strength sessions.
6 training days40 minBeginner3 days a weekBody recomposition workout plan: lose fat and build muscle at the same time
A 12-week body recomposition plan to lose fat and build muscle: three strength days, cardio and steps, a small calorie cut, protein and honest timelines.
3 training days50 minBeginner3 days a weekWorkout plan for women
A weekly workout plan for women: three strength days, cardio and pelvic floor training, with the evidence on periods, pregnancy and menopause.
3 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekWorkout plan for women over 50
A weekly plan for women over 50: strength, bone-loading and balance on 3 days plus walking, built on UK osteoporosis consensus advice.
3 training days45 minBeginnerIf you're in one of these groups
Around the menopause
Fat gain speeds up and shifts towards the trunk around the menopause, while muscle falls. Strength training and aerobic activity still work; our menopause guide has the detail.
Pregnant
Staying active is good for you: the NHS advises 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, including muscle strengthening. This isn't the time to diet for back fat (our view); ask your midwife before starting anything new.
Source 32
Over 50 or 60
Strength training still builds muscle after 50: about 1.1 kg of lean mass on average across 49 studies. The NHS adds balance and flexibility work for older adults.
Women and men
Women tend to carry more fat under the skin, and men more around the waist, but the plan is the same. Strength training won't make your back bulky: women and men grow at similar relative rates, and muscle comes slowly.
Warning signs: when to see a doctor
Stop and get medical help
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise.
Call 999 (911 in the US)
For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, or spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back; or back pain with chest pain, with numbness, tingling or weakness in both legs, with loss of feeling around your genitals or bottom, or with changes in your bladder or bowels. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
See a GP
See a GP if:
- fat is building up on your neck, upper back, chest and tummy while your arms and legs look thin, with a red, round face, easy bruising, stretch marks or weak muscles: it could be Cushing's syndrome, especially if you take steroid medicine (don't stop steroids without talking to your doctor)
- you find a lump anywhere on your body, or a lump is painful, red or hot, hard and fixed, growing, or still there after 2 weeks: many soft lumps on the back are lipomas, which are harmless, but a GP should check
- your upper back is newly rounded or hunched: it could be kyphosis
A hump at the base of your neck
A soft pad of fat over the base of the neck, a rounded upper back and a lipoma can look alike. Our neck hump guide explains how to tell them apart.
Help to lose weight
The NHS suggests seeing a GP if your BMI is in the overweight or obese range and your waist is more than half your height, and a GP can refer you for support.
Source 6
When eating or exercise becomes harmful
The NHS lists spending a lot of time worrying about your weight and body shape, eating very little food, exercising too much, and having very strict routines around food among the signs of an eating disorder, and says to see a GP as soon as you can. Worrying a lot about one area of your body can be body dysmorphic disorder. Beat's helpline in England is 0808 801 0677, and our eating disorders guide has the other numbers.
Myths
"Rows and push-ups burn back fat"Strong evidence
Training a body part didn't take the fat off it across 13 studies, and in 104 adults the fat change was the same in the trained and untrained arm. No trial has tested the back, but nothing suggests it's different. Back exercises build the muscle underneath.
"You can spot-reduce fat with the right exercise"Strong evidence
A couple of small studies found a little extra local fat loss, and fat next to a working muscle releases a little more fat during exercise, but the meta-analysis found no effect, and none of it adds up to a practical plan.
"Wraps, saunas or special foods melt back fat"Strong evidence
Across 89 studies, no method took fat from one place. Sweating loses water, not fat (our reading), and we found no trial of wraps for back fat.
Source 19
"Building muscle burns the fat off while you rest"Strong evidence
A kilo of muscle uses only about 13 calories a day at rest, so gaining 1 to 2 kg burns about 13 to 26 more calories a day (our sum). It helps a little, not a lot.
Source 26
"Lifting will make your back bulky"Strong evidence
Women and men grow muscle at similar relative rates, and men gain more in absolute terms in the upper body. Muscle comes slowly, and you control the dose.
Source 35
"Bra bulge means you need to lose weight"Emerging evidence
It's often fit: 85% of 104 women in one study were wearing a bra that didn't fit.
Source 12
Read next
- How to lose belly fat
- How to lose love handles
- How to lose arm fat
- How to get a bigger back
- How to tone up
- How to lose chest fat
- Exercise for weight loss
- Workout plan for weight loss
- Exercise for the menopause
- Strength training for women
- Neck hump
- Kyphosis
- Rounded shoulders
- Calories per day calculator
- Protein calculator
- Waist-to-height ratio calculator
- Exercise and eating disorders
- All training guides
Questions people ask
How do I lose back fat?
Lose fat from your whole body: eat a little less, move more, strength train on 2 days a week and sleep 7 to 9 hours. The NHS suggests aiming to lose 0.5 to 1 kg a week. Back exercises build the muscle underneath, but they don't burn the fat over it.
What exercises burn back fat?
None burns fat from your back in particular: across 13 studies, training one part of the body didn't take more fat off it. Aerobic exercise burns fat from your whole body, with each extra 30 minutes a week taking off about half a kilo in trials, and rows and pulldowns build the back underneath.
How do I get rid of bra fat or bra bulge?
Check your bra fits first: in one study, 85% of women were wearing a bra that didn't, and a band that's too tight makes folds look bigger. Beyond that, bra-line fat goes with the rest of your body fat, at your body's own pace.
How long does it take to lose back fat?
It comes off with your overall fat, at about 0.5 to 1 kg a week at most, and the order your body loses it in differs from person to person. Expect months, and compare photos rather than chasing a date.
Why do I have back fat when I'm slim?
Where your body keeps fat is largely inherited, so some people carry more on the back at any weight, and soft folds where a bra band or waistband presses are normal too. If fat is building up on your upper back with a round, red face and thin arms and legs, see a GP.
Why is my back fat only on one side?
Fat usually sits evenly, so a soft lump on one side may be a lipoma, a common harmless fatty lump. See a GP about any lump, especially one that's growing, painful, hard or fixed.
How do I lose lower back fat and love handles?
The same way: whole-body fat loss, with aerobic exercise and strength training. Our love handles guide covers them, including why side bends don't burn them, and our belly fat guide covers the waist size that matters for your health.
Is a fatty hump at the base of my neck back fat?
It may be a fat pad, a rounded upper back or a lipoma, and they have different causes. Our neck hump guide explains how to tell them apart. See a GP if it comes with a round, red face, stretch marks or easy bruising, or if your back is newly rounded.
Why have I got more back fat since the menopause?
Fat gain speeds up around the menopause while muscle falls, and fat shifts towards the trunk with age. Strength training and aerobic activity still work, and our menopause guide has the detail.
Can I lose back fat without exercise?
Eating less takes fat off too, but exercise helps you keep your muscle while you lose fat, and strength training on its own trimmed body fat in trials. Doing both works best.
Can I lose back fat in a week?
Not much: fat leaves your whole body at about 0.5 to 1 kg a week at most. Folds can look different from day to day with clothes and posture, so judge by months.
Will strength training make my back bulky?
No: muscle grows slowly and you control the dose, and women gain less upper-body muscle than men in absolute terms. Rows and pulldowns make your back stronger and more defined as the fat comes off.
Sources
- Malis 2005 · How much total and regional body fat is inherited, in young and older Danish twins (twin study, Obes Res)
- Karastergiou 2012 · Sex differences in body fat: the biology of pear shape (review, Biol Sex Differ)
- Greendale 2019 · Body composition and weight through the menopause transition (SWAN cohort study, JCI Insight)
- Ramírez-Campillo 2022 · Spot reduction of fat by training one body part: 13 studies, 1,158 people (systematic review and meta-analysis, Hum Mov)
- Kostek 2007 · Fat over a trained arm against the untrained arm in 104 adults, measured by MRI (trial, MSSE)
- NHS · Overweight and obesity in adults
- Jayedi 2024 · Aerobic exercise and weight loss in adults: 116 trials (dose-response meta-analysis, JAMA Netw Open)
- NHS · Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64
- NHS · Insomnia
- Wewege 2022 · Resistance training and body fat, fat mass and visceral fat in healthy adults: 58 studies (meta-analysis, Sports Med)
- Willis 2012 · Aerobic, resistance or combined training and body and fat mass in 119 adults (STRRIDE AT/RT randomised trial, J Appl Physiol)
- McGhee 2010 · How well bras fit, in 104 women (cross-sectional study, J Sci Med Sport)
- NHS · Breast pain (past its review date: reviewed May 2023, review due May 2026)
- NHS · Cushing's syndrome
- NHS · Lipoma (past its review date: reviewed July 2023, review due July 2026)
- NHS · Kyphosis
- Bouchard 1990 · Overfeeding 12 pairs of identical twins for 100 days: weight gain and where the fat went (trial, NEJM)
- Kuk 2009 · How total and regional fat change with age (review, Ageing Res Rev)
- Merlotti 2017 · Fat under the skin and visceral fat lost with diet and exercise, medicines and surgery: 89 studies (meta-analysis, Int J Obes)
- Vispute 2011 · Six weeks of abdominal exercise and belly fat in 24 adults (RCT, JSCR)
- Kordi 2015 · Diet with or without 12 weeks of abdominal resistance training in 40 women with overweight or obesity (RCT, J Manipulative Physiol Ther)
- Brobakken 2023 · Adding torso exercise to running for 10 weeks, in 16 men (RCT, Physiol Rep)
- Paoli 2021 · A circuit training protocol and regional fat thickness in 14 adults (small trial, IJERPH)
- Stallknecht 2007 · Fat release next to working and resting thigh muscles, in 10 men (lab study, Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab)
- Wang 2002 · Where fat under the skin is lost on a 6-month diet, in 61 women with obesity (study, Obes Res)
- Wang 2010 · Resting energy use of the body's organs and tissues across adulthood (modelling study, Am J Clin Nutr)
- Morton 2018 · Protein supplements and gains in muscle and strength: 49 trials, 1,863 people (meta-analysis, BJSM)
- Jäger 2017 · Protein and exercise (International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand, JISSN)
- Murphy 2022 · An energy deficit, lean mass and strength gains from training (meta-analysis, Scand J Med Sci Sports)
- Garthe 2011 · Slow against fast weight loss in 24 elite athletes (RCT, Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab)
- Nedeltcheva 2010 · 5.5 against 8.5 hours in bed during 14 days of dieting, in 10 adults (randomised crossover trial, Ann Intern Med)
- NHS · Exercise in pregnancy
- NHS · Physical activity guidelines for older adults
- Peterson 2011 · Strength training and lean mass in adults over 50: 49 studies (meta-analysis, Med Sci Sports Exerc)
- Refalo 2025 · Sex differences in absolute and relative muscle growth with resistance training (Bayesian meta-analysis, PeerJ)
- NHS · Chest pain (past its review date: reviewed August 2023, review due August 2026)
- NHS · Back pain
- NHS · Lumps
- NHS · Eating disorders: overview
- NHS · Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) (past its review date: reviewed October 2023, review due October 2026)
- Beat · Support now: helplines
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.