15 best back exercises
- Resistance band pull-apart. Why it’s on the list: A great exercise to kick off your back workout, the resistance band pull-apart is simple but effective.
- Lat pulldown.
- Back extension.
- Suspended row.
- Wood chop.
- Good morning.
- Quadruped single-arm dumbbell row.
- Wide dumbbell bent-over row.
Can I do 5 exercises for back?
That means it’s time to start treating your back workouts with some respect, make these five back exercises part of your next workout.
The five best back exercises
- Bent-over Barbell Row.
- Pull-Ups.
- Deadlifts.
- Renegade Row.
- Dumbbell Shrugs.
What 3 back exercises should I do?
The Best Back Workout for Mass
- Barbell Deadlift: 3 sets of 4-to-6 reps.
- Barbell Row: 3 sets of 4-to-6 reps.
- Weighted Pull-up: 3 sets of 8-to-10 reps.
- Dumbbell Pullover: 3 sets of 10-to-12 reps.
How do you structure a good back workout?
Advanced Back Workout #1 (Weeks 1-3):
- Wide Grip Pullups to Front: 4 sets of 10-12 repetitions (Rest: 1 minute)
- Close Grip Reverse Chin-ups: 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions (Rest: 1 minute)
- Low Pulley Rows: 4 sets of 10-12 repetitions (Rest: 1 minute)
- Dumbbell Shrugs: 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions (Rest: 1 minute)
What is the most effective back exercise? – Related Questions
How many back exercises should I do per workout?
To keep workouts from getting too long, or too overly fatiguing, you could do 1-2 exercises per major muscle group (quads, hamstrings, chest, back, shoulders) per workout (2-10 different exercises per muscle group per program).
What should be included in back day?
For athletes, we recommend performing back-centric workouts that also include some pressing work or lower-body pulling exercises.
- Barbell Row.
- Dumbbell Rows.
- Inverted Rows.
- Face Pulls.
- Rear Delt Raises.
Which muscle groups should be worked together?
There are many ways to structure a strength training program, but many people find it helpful to pair certain muscle groups together.
Example for advanced lifters
- Day 1: chest, shoulders, triceps, forearms.
- Day 2: calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, glutes.
- Day 3: biceps, back, abdominals, traps, lats.
How do you structure a chest and back workout?
THE CHEST AND BACK WORKOUT #1
- Barbell Chest Press 4 x 8 rest 90 sec.
- Cable Pulldowns 4 x max rest 90 sec.
- Barbell Incline Press 4 x 10 rest 60 sec.
- Barbell Bent Over Row 4 x 10 rest 60 sec.
- Push Ups 3 x 10 rest 45 sec.
- V-Bar Cable Row 3 x 10 rest 45 sec.
- Hip Thrust 3 x max rest 60 sec.
How many sets should I do for back each week?
You should be aiming for 10-20 sets per muscle group per week split into two sessions. This will keep you fresh, avoiding potential over-training and should give you better gains. Aim for each workout to consist of 15-25 sets total but with less than 10 sets for a specific muscle group on one day.
How many sets are enough for back?
The rep ranges for muscle building is 6-12 reps per set and you should be lifting with a weight that you struggle to complete the last couple reps on each set with good form.
Recommended Sets Per Week for Each Muscle Group.
| Muscle Group | Sets |
|---|
| Abs | 6-10 |
| Back | 12-16 |
| Shoulders | 9-12 |
| Triceps | 8-10 |
How many reps should I do for back?
Allowing your body at least 1 day to recover between each full-body workout is key, so three sessions per week is a good baseline to start with. Within these workouts, you’ll choose one exercise for each muscle group — back, chest, shoulders, legs, core — and, as a beginner, aim for 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.
How many reps is too many?
Anything greater than 20 reps in a set is probably far too many. Performing this many reps in a set will have diminishing returns. If you can easily do more than 20 reps, then the weight you are using is probably too light or too easy to elicit any significant growth.
How do I know if I’m doing enough reps?
You should be winded, but still be able to talk a bit. Ideally, the final few reps should be a real effort. The goal should be to push yourself until you are about 2 reps short of failure, or a rate of perceived exertion of 8 out of 10. When you finish an effective workout, you should feel tired but not exhausted.
Is 3 sets of 10 reps enough?
Three sets are not enough to build muscle. Increasing the number of sets of each exercise, even while only performing 10 reps, can build muscle because you will be pushing your muscles to fatigue because they are under tension longer. Don’t stop at 3 sets but complete 4 or 6 or 8.
What is killing your muscle gains?
Doing the same workout every day or every week for the same muscles – when your workouts become routine, your muscles are not getting challenged (aka muscle memory), and you’re not going to progress the way you should. Modify your workouts, whether reps, exercises, or the order of the exercises.
Why am I lifting but not getting bigger?
You aren’t lifting heavy enough.
In the resistance training context, hypertrophy occurs when skeletal muscle tissue enlarges, because the resistance stimulus increases the size of the muscle’s component cells. Achieving hypertrophy puts you in a muscle-building state, but you won’t get there by lifting light weights.
