Back workouts will encourage weaker muscles to grow, helping boost strength in other lifts you may not expect. A stronger bench press, anyone? Likewise, your shoulder joints will be more stable and considerably stronger.
The Best Back Exercises
Deadlift
The deadlift is one of the best compound exercises you can do to add serious amounts of strength and muscle mass to the back (as well as the hips and hamstrings). It has the ability to stress the back using moderate to heavy loads and can often be trained in higher volumes and loads, ultimately offering a one-of-a-kind training stimulus.
Although the back muscles do not contribute directly to the range of motion of the deadlift, their involvement is paramount for keeping the spine safe, and for holding the loads necessary for growth.
Pull-Up
Don’t assume the pull-up is less effective than the other moves on this list because it’s a bodyweight exercise. Pulling your body weight creates a level of instability that recruits your core muscles for stability. Also, if you’re on the heavier side, then you’re still pulling on a lot of weight. Lastly, it’s always nice when you need little equipment to get a good workout in.
Bent-Over Row
The bent-over row offers a lot of exercise variability. If you have access to kettlebells and dumbbells, you can row those or stick with the traditional barbell variation. By hinging at your hips to row the weight to your stomach, you can really engage your entire posterior chain, from the hamstrings to the traps.
Chest Supported Row
The chest support is, obviously, the key element of this row variation. It takes the momentum out of the equation and forces you to rely solely on your muscles to move the weight. This variation also takes the strain off of your lower back, since you don’t have to support yourself in a hinge position.
Single-Arm Row
The single-arm dumbbell row is a unilateral row variation that can increase upper back strength, hypertrophy, and correct muscular asymmetries. Additionally, it can help to increase arm and grip strength.
Nverted Row
The inverted row is a bodyweight movement that can build similar back, arm, and grip strength as the pull-up. However, the inverted row is generally easier to do since you’re not rowing your complete bodyweight. This is a great move for beginners to build up both their back strength and body control.
TRX Suspension Row
The TRX suspension row is another bodyweight movement that can build similar back, arm, and grip strength as the pull-up or inverted row. This is a great move for beginners to build up both their back strength and body control, while also allowing for a less restricted arm path.
Lat Pulldown
The pulldown has you pull a bar, attached to a cable pulley, to your chest. The cable’s constant tension increases your time under tension for more stimulation and growth. Also, this is a great move for those who can’t yet do a pull-up. Other than the fact that you’re sitting down, a pulldown is essentially the same movement as a pull-up, except you don’t have to start with your entire body weight.
Neutral Grip Pulldown
This pulldown variation has you pull a neutral grip (palms facing each other) attachment to your chest. This is another cable-based exercise, allowing you to take advantage of constant resistance. The neutral grip allows you to better bias muscles like the lats, as well as the biceps.
Seated Cable Row (for Lats)
This rowing variation has you pull a shoulder-width neutral grip cable attachment to your torso. While the cable allows you to take advantage of constant resistance, the hand position and arm path allow for your lats to create large amounts of tension.
