Here is my list of back exercises which allows you to train the muscles of the back for both thickness and width.
Introduction to your back muscles
The back muscles cover a very large area of the torso. The main muscles of the back include the latissimus dorsi (lats) and the teres major. Other important and neglected muscles include the rhomboids and trapezius, which runs from the base of your neck and down to about the midpoint of your inner middle back. These muscles help support the trunk, allow its movement and assist shoulder movement. The back is another muscle that is often neglected in favour for the more showy muscles of the chest and arms, however viewed from the rear, a wide back can be very impressive and more importantly a strong back can help stabilise an unbalanced physique.
My back exercise list:
Barbell Rows
Type: Compound
Function: This exercise is a great back builder, hitting the middle back, upper back and even the rhomboids and trapezius muscles. It also works your hips and biceps and brachialis muscles.
Form: Bend forward at the waist with legs slightly bent, chest out, shoulders back, back straight and take hold of a barbell with an overhand grip just slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Take a deep breath and breathe out as you pull the barbell towards your stomach. Slowly lower back to the start position as you take another breath. Repeat for the required reps and sets.
Tips/Key notes: When you bend over at the waist, your upper body should be between 45 degrees and 90 degrees bent over, ideally around 60-75 degrees, depending on your lower back strength and stability. Do not lock your legs out, but have a slight bend at the knees to help with your balance and make sure your back is as straight as possible to protect the lower back. Keep your abs tight to help keep your spine in a neutral position. Keep your shoulders back with your head positioned so your neck is in-line with your spine and do not flare your elbows out, keep them close to your sides. Also keep your wrists straight. Although this is a great mass builder of the back, be careful not to go so heavy that you cheat the weight up by using your hips and arms and concentrate on pulling with your back muscles only. Imagine you have strings attached to your elbows and they are being pulled up, back and then pushed together at the top, so you end up squeezing with your shoulder blades and not your arms or momentum doing the work. If you have a history of lower back pain, I would advise you to do the dumbbell row or cable row versions below.
Variations: The barbell row exercise can be done with an underhand grip also, which will bring in more of the biceps into play and possibly also allow you to use a slightly heavier weight. If you have limited room and can’t use a barbell then you can use a large triceps bar instead. For some people a neutral grip maybe more comfortable and therefore you will be best using dumbbells in that case.
Click on images below, the last one is a GIF animation:
Single Arm Dumbbell Rows
Type: Compound
Function: This exercise is another great back builder, also hitting the middle back, upper back, rhomboids, trapezius, biceps and brachialis muscles.
Form: Using a bench or stable platform that is approximately knee height, place your left knee on it and lean forward to support your upper body by placing the palm of your left hand down on the bench/platform with the arm locked out. The right side of your body should now have its leg near locked out and slightly wider out away from the bench to stabilise yourself and the right arm hanging down. Keeping your back straight and grabbing a dumbbell with a neutral hand position take a deep breath and pull the dumbbell up towards the side of your stomach as you breathe out. Slowly lower back to the start position as you take another breath. Repeat for the required reps, then repeat the process for the other side. Do your required sets, but note that both sides must be completed to count as one set.
Tips/Key notes: Keep your abs tight to help keep your spine in a neutral position, no curved or arched back. Keep your shoulders back, head should be positioned so your neck is in-line with your spine and do not flare your elbow out, keep them by your side. Also keep your wrists straight. Try to keep your body between 60 and 90 degrees and don’t allow it to twist around, keep it still and in the same position as the start. Concentrate on pulling with your upper back muscles. Imagine you have strings attached to your elbow and it is being pulled up and back.
Click on images below, the last one is a GIF animation:
Seated cable rows
Type: Compound
Function: Works the middle back, upper back, rhomboids and trapezius muscles. It also works your biceps and forearms.
Form: From a seated position in front of a pulley system, keeping your back straight, legs slightly bent, take hold of your chosen bar at arm’s length. Take a deep breath and as you pull the bar towards your abs, breathe out and expand your chest. Repeat for the required reps and sets.
Tips: When at the start position concentrate on stretching the back muscles, but keep your back straight up, don’t lean forward and keep your shoulders down, don’t bring them up towards your ears, pull with your back muscles, not just your arms and at the finish try to squeeze your shoulder blades together, bring the elbows back and don’t let them flare out.
Variations: This exercise can be done using a variety of different pulley attachments and as such depending on which one you choose will have a slight change in the feel and emphasise of the worked muscles. You can use straight bars to mimic the barbell, various neutral grip bars, including the popular V-Bar, or you can also do the exercise with a low pulley or high pulley to alter the angle of attack. Some people also like to do this standing and as a single arm row to mimic a dumbbell row.
Click on images below, the last one is a GIF animation:
Inverted rows
Type: Compound
Function: Works the middle back, upper back, rhomboids, trapezius and core muscles. It also works your biceps and forearms.
Form: Either place a bar across two high points, high enough so you can hang from it at full arms length when lying on your back on the ground or If you prefer you can also use a cable/band/strap set up attached to a sturdy structure. Once setup, take hold of the bar/cables/straps/rings with your chosen hand spacing/position, allowing yourself to hang underneath with straight wrists, arms, legs and body and with your heals on the ground. Take a deep breath and pull yourself upwards towards the bar while breathing out. Pull towards your lower chest or upper abs area and contract your shoulder blades at the top position. Breathe in as you return to the start position. Repeat for the required reps and sets.
Tips: If you aren’t strong enough to do inverted rows you can place your feet flat on the floor and bend at the knees to give you both support and to take some of your bodyweight until you can do a full length inverted row. Or another way is to have the bar higher up and your body angle much more upright to reduce the angle and therefore the weight. If you want to add more weight, then try wearing an adjustable weight vest. Try not to relax at the start of each rep, but keep a continuous tension on your back muscles and abs. Don’t allow your elbows to flare out during the exercise, keep them in.
Key notes: This is a better row exercise for those with lower back problems or those with balance issues.
Variations: This exercise can also be done at various angles and with different grip positions using cables/straps/rings attached to a sturdy structure.
Click on images below, the last one is a GIF animation:
Pull Ups
Type: Compound
Function: Great exercise that mainly works the middle and outer back muscles and biceps and brachial forearms.
Form: Standing beneath a bar, either in a doorway, gym rack or dedicated pull up stand, take hold of the bar with your hands facing away from you (overhand grip) and width set at about one and a half times your shoulder width. Take a deep breath and then breathe out as you pull yourself up towards the bar. Pull up until you can pretty much kiss the bar. Keep your core muscles tight. Slowly lower yourself down to the start position while breathing in. Repeat for the required reps and sets.
Tips: Do not use momentum to help you up. You can bend your knees and cross your legs behind you if you wish. Try to keep your shoulders down as much as possible, especially at the bottom to avoid just hanging and extending the shoulders to far forward. If you are having difficulty and can’t pull yourself up, use a chair or similar under your feet to help assist or start at the top part of the exercise and fight your weight down (called a negative rep) until you are strong enough to be able to do pulls ups on your own. If you want to add weight, use a weight vest or dip belt.
Key notes: All pull ups should be done with the bar being pulled to the front and not to behind the head, as this can create shoulder issues. If you can pull the bar to your chin and it is comfortable to do so, that should be fine, however if not and it causes you any discomfort in the shoulders then don’t try to cheat your way up and throw your head back to do so, just pull to around mid face height.
Variations: If you are suffering from any shoulder issues you can substitute the traditional straight bar for something that will allow you to take a narrow neutral grip (palms facing each other) or you can use a lat pull down machine to reduce the weight and add variety with various different bars, such as the V-Bar. A lat machine will also allow you to vary the angle of the pull if you prefer to do more of a row/pull down combination.
Click on images below, the last one is a GIF animation:
Pull ups side view
Pull ups front view
Close Grip Chin Ups
Type: Compound
Function: Works the middle and outer back muscles, with great emphases also on your biceps and forearms and can also provide some stimulus to the chest and abs.
Form: Hang from a bar with arms extended and take a palms facing you underhand grip of the bar that is slightly less than shoulder width apart. Take a deep breath and then as you breathe out pull yourself up until you touch the bar with your chin. Breathe out as you slowly return to the start position. Repeat for the required reps and sets.
Tips: Keep your elbows in front of you and your torso tight and straight. Do not use moment or your legs to force/kick your way up. Do not allow yourself to just drop back to the start, but fight the negative part back down. Like the wider pull ups you can use the same methods if you are struggling to do any proper reps or need to add weight.
Key notes: Although I have included this exercise here in the back section, it is also a primary biceps builder.
Variations: You may also do this exercise as a close grip pull down on a lat machine if you would like to use lighter weights or new to chin ups, but there is no substitute for doing this exercise with your own body weight once you are strong enough.
Click on images below, the last one is a GIF animation:
Close grip chin ups side view
Close grip chin ups front view
My final thoughts on back exercising
You will notice that there are no isolation exercises here, as nearly all back exercises are compound due to the way the muscle is attached to the shoulder joint and torso. You can try to isolate them to a very small degree by moving to a single arm version of these exercises and really concentrate on the muscle being worked. However it is very difficult to isolate the back muscles without involving some part of the shoulders/arms. Also all the routines in my workout articles have you working either the entire upper body or the whole body in a single session. Therefore it really isn’t an issue and you will get sufficient work to your back muscles using the exercises described above. One more thing to note, is that your lower back muscles are also prone to injury and care must be taken to properly warm up and use the correct form when performing all back exercises.
