A strong back is essential to maintain good health as well as the correct posture and form. According to a recent study, almost 60-80% of individuals have experienced back pain, starting from their early twenties. One of the major reasons for this is a lack of good back-related exercise.
Why Are Back Workouts Important?
- Back exercises help stretch your muscles, increase blood flow and adapt it to any kind of strain that your body has to suffer.
- A strong back will help you to build a stronger main structure of your body, boost confidence and reduce stiffness.
- Back workouts help to prevent any kind of injury in the back and connective fibers from tearing under stress.
Benefits Of Back Workouts
Our back is one of the most important muscles group in the body. Having a strong back not only increases the overall body strength but also improves your stamina. Back workouts help in increasing the flexibility of your muscles near the shoulders and rib cage. It also improves their resistance to back pain and stiffness while lifting heavy weights.
Apart from functionality, it gives a V shape structure to your back, which looks great, whether you are in a tank top on the beach or in a pool. It improves body movement and also makes it look more aesthetic.
Back Exercises have also been known to prevent many types of issues people suffer at a young age. Back pain, stiff back, spine disbalance, shoulder pain, and a lot more can be prevented from an early age if you are consistent with back workouts.
Here is the List of 15 Back Workouts to Stay in Shape
We have compiled a list of the best 15 workouts for your back, which can be done with dumbbells, resistance bands, and even body weights. These exercises can be done at home or in a gym. The only thing that you need to focus on while doing it is the correct posture so that the right muscle group can be worked out.
Two-Hand Kettlebell Swings
Kettlebells offer great versatility when it comes to muscle training. It can be used for various kinds of muscle groups and offers great exercise benefits for your back. It provides controlled hip, back, and hand movement to strengthen your back muscles.
Muscles it works on
The exercise is very beneficial for your glutes, hamstrings, spinal erectors, and upper back muscles.
Benefits of this exercise
It increases strength and increases your side control. Overall, it will provide you with a good cardio workout, while strengthing your back muscles and giving them more flexibility.
How to do it
- Simply grip the kettlebell using both your hands, while your hands are between both your legs.
- Both your feet should be shoulder width apart with shoulders rolled back.
- Bend your knees slightly which will bring the Kettlenbell slightly behind your legs.
- Now, bring the Kettlebell up, while keeping your arms and back straight. Use the weight of the Kettlebell and its momentum to bring it back to the original position, which is behind the legs.
- Using the same momentum, bring it back up and continue repeating the pattern.
Dumbbell Row
The dumbbell row is among the best back workouts that can help build serious core and back strength. It is a much more focused back workout and can be done easily by beginners at the gym.
What Muscles does the dumbbell row work
The dumbbell row is a great exercise for your back and affects back muscles including latissimus dorsi, posterior deltoids, teres major, trapezius, and rhomboid.
Benefits of the dumbbell row
The dumbbell Row helps to have a much stronger back and overall development of the back muscles. It also improves your grip and helps bicep development.
How to do the dumbbell row
- Get a bench or a thigh-high sturdy platform and keep a dumbbell on one side of it.
- Put your left leg on the bench and grab the far side of the bench with your left arm.
- Bend your upper body, so that it is parallel to the ground.
- Pick the dumbbell from the right hand and bring it up to your right side of the chest.
- Squeeze your chest and shoulder muscles while doing and then low the dumbbell with your arm fully extended.
Lat Pulldown
Lat Pulldown is a great back workout that can be done in various ways. It can be done at the gym with a machine, or with a resistance band at home. It works majorly on the upper back and shoulder muscles.
What Muscles does the lat pulldown work
The muscle group that this workout focuses on is the trapezius, rotator cuff, posterior deltoids, rhomboids, biceps, and forearms.
Benefits of Lat pulldown
It helps improve your posture and increases spinal stability. It is also a great way to increase the strength of muscles covering the rib cage area.
How to do Lat pulldown
- Grasp the bar with a wide grip and look forward, with the torso upright. The same grip can be done with a resistance band at home.
- Pull down the bar or both ends of the resistance bar towards your chest.
- Resist leaning back and squeeze your lats at the bottom.
Kettlebell Halo
The kettlebell Halo is a much easier workout, where the person has to hold the kettlebell in their hands and make a halo around their head. However, it requires correct movement and control with a proper posture.
What Muscles does the kettlebell halo work
The kettlebell halo works muscle areas like shoulders (deltoids, rhomboids, trapezius), forearms, and abdominal muscles.
Benefits of kettlebell halo
The kettlebell halo helps increasing the mobility of upper back muscles and also improves the hand grip. The Halo movement further helps in the circulation of synovial fluid, which is a lubricant for joints.
How to do a kettlebell halo
- Stand straight and hold the kettlebell with both your hand and a firm grip.
- Now slowly circle the kettlebell around your head, above shoulder height.
- The circle should come back at the starting point once completed. Later it can be done in reverse motion as well.
Dumbbell Pullover
A dumbbell pullover is a very versatile exercise, that works on many different muscle groups at once. It is an old-school back workout, which improves your muscle strength in the back, ribs, shoulders, chest, and more.
What muscles does the dumbbell pullover work
Dumbbell Pullovers work on multiple muscle groups like the lats, teres major, triceps, and anterior deltoids. It also works on the wrist flexors based on the type of grip.
Benefits of the dumbbell pullover
Dumbbell pullovers are great for building upper body strength, with shoulder and back muscles. They also improve your triceps and shoulder strength.
How to do a dumbbell pullover
- Sit at the end of the bench with feet slightly wider on the ground.
- Hold a dumbbell with both hands and roll back to lie on the bench.
- Extend the arms towards the ceiling, over your chest. Inhale and extend the weights bank, over your head.
- Keep the core strong, and after a 3-second pause in a fully extended position, exhale and bring your arms to the starting point.
Back Extension
In the list of back workouts, back extension is a great exercise for your lower back muscles and spine. It can be done both at the gym and at home using an exercise ball.
What muscles does back extension work
Back extension is a great exercise for your extensor muscles, also known as the erector spinal muscles. Apart from that it also affects your glutes, and hamstrings based on the variation.
Benefits of the back extension
The exercise helps strengthen the lower back muscles and also improves muscle flexibility in the hips, butts, and shoulders. It is a great exercise if you suffer from lower back pain.
How to do Back extension
- Lie facedown on the exercise ball with your abdomen on the center of the ball.
- For balance, you can place your feet against a wall.
- Extend your arms overhead, to maintain the starting position.
- Slowly raise the arms upwards, till the shoulders, and above the hip height.
- Use your core and glutes to keep your feet on the floor.
- Pause for a few seconds and get back to starting position.
Kettlebell Renegade Row
Kettlebell back workouts can be tough but with great results. It is one of those exercises which will push both your core and back muscles to their limit. Each time you do this exercise, your muscles get stronger and better.
What muscles does the kettlebell renegade row work
The exercise mainly focuses on the core and back muscles. However, it also brings a lot of effect on your shoulder muscles. It targets the traps and lats in the upper back, with the rectus abdominus and the obliques in the core area.
Benefits of the kettlebell renegade row
Kettlebell Renegade Row helps to increase your core and back stability. It also benefits metabolic movement and unilateral strength.
How to do Kettlebell Renegade Row
- Grab a kettlebell in each hand and lie down in a plank position.
- Simply row one dumbbell up, towards your left shoulder.
- Lower the dumbbell after holding for one second and repeat the same with other arm.
Elevated Plank Row Hold
This exercise is a combination of both back exercise and core exercise. It brings in the plank form while focusing more on the back muscles. The exercise needs a lot of focus on the form and can be a bit difficult for beginners.
What muscles does the Elevated Plank Row Hold work
Due to the intensity of this back workout, it gives better results than a normal plank. It majorly affects the major back and ab muscles. While doing the exercise, you will feel stress on the glutes and obliques.
Benefits of the Elevated Plank Row Hold
This back workout helps in activating and stretching your core muscles, along with the shoulder, legs, and back muscles. It increases the weight-holding power of your biceps and shoulders. It also improves the stability and posture of your spine.
How to do an Elevated Plank Row Hold
- Get into a plank position with one forearm on the bench.
- Tighten your core and glutes, with your spine straight
- Hold the dumbbell in your other hand and squeeze the back muscles to row up. The weight should touch the ribcage.
- Hold for 30 seconds or more, and go back to the starting position.
Suspended Row
It is basically a great home workout, which can also be done at the gym. It not only requires you to have a good posture but also works on your balance and stability. It is suitable for anyone with any ability level.
What muscles does the Suspended Row work
Suspended Row basically works on the upper back muscles like Latissimus Dorsi, Rhomboids, and Traps. It also targets the biceps, core, and shoulders.
Benefits of Suspended Row
Suspension Row helps developing upper body strength while focusing on lats, biceps, and shoulders. The exercise also stretches both core and back muscles for better flexibility and removes any kind of stiffness.
How to do a Suspended Row
- Grab a suspension trainer with both hands.
- Lean back so that the arms are fully extended in the front of the chest.
- Make sure that the feet are shoulder width apart and straight.
- Pull towards the suspension trainer, until your hands touch the chest and return to starting position after a hold of 5 seconds.
Kettlebell High-Pull
The kettlebell high-pull is one of the best back workouts if you are looking to strengthen multiple muscle categories in your body. It can improve both your lower and upper body muscles at the same time.
What muscles does the Kettlebell High-Pull work on
It works on multiple muscle groups like arms, shoulders, and back. At the same time, it will also work on the hip and core strength. It works majorly on Trapezius muscles, Rhomboid muscles, Abdominal muscles, Gluteus muscles, and Hamstring muscles.
Benefits of the Kettlebell High-Pull
It is a great cardiovascular exercise without having to move your feet and helps burn fat through muscle activation. Th exercise is great for shoulder joints and strengthening back extensors.
How to do a Kettlebell High-Pull
- Hold a kettlebell with both hands and stand straight with feet shoulder-width apart. The kettlebell would be located between your legs.
- Pull the kettlebell with both hands towards the center of your chest with a high elbow, while keeping the wrist straight.
- Hold for a couple of seconds and return back to the starting position.
- While going down, go into a partial squat and then back into a straight position when the kettlebell is pulled up. Also, use rhythmic breathing.
Incline Pause Row
Incline row is one of the best back workouts with minimum stress on your body and maximum support. While you can use an inclined bench for it, the exercise can be done by anyone.
What muscles does the Incline Pause Row work
The exercise basically works on your lats (latissimus dorsi) and upper-back muscles. It also provides good exercise for your biceps.
Benefits of the Incline Pause Row
One of the major benefits of this exercise is that you will have better and bigger back muscles with a better and more stable core. It also improves shoulder strength and gives back muscles more flexible.
How to do an Incline Pause Row
- Lie on an inclined bench with your face down and let your arms hand down, holding a set of dumbbells
- Bring the dumbbells up by squeezing the shoulder blades, while your upper arms are leveled or higher than the torso.
- Pause for a few seconds and then release the weight back down, to the original position.
Good Morning
It is probably one of the easiest back workouts and can be done by almost anyone. It is great to back exercise which also improves your bowel movements. It can easily be done at home with or without weights.
What muscles does Good Morning work
This exercise may seem simple, but has a lot of effects on different muscle groups. It is great for your glutes, hamstrings, erector spine, and upper and lower back muscles.
Benefits of Good Morning
With proper good morning exercise, you can easily improve both your leg and back strength, which will also prevent any kind of back pain. It also improves posture and supports muscles in the posterior chain.
How to do the Good Morning
- Stand straight with the feet shoulder-width apart.
- Simply bend forward until your upper body is parallel to the floor. Also, the back should remain straight at the same time.
- Hold for 5 seconds and return to the starting position.
- You can use a barbell weight for an advanced variation of this exercise. Place the barbell on your shoulders, behind your head, and repeat the same process.
Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift
Among all the back workouts, Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift is majorly focused on the lower hip and lower back muscle category. It not only makes the muscles stronger but also improves the hip structure.
What muscles does the Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift work
This exercise majorly works on the glutes, hamstrings, lower back, and core muscles.
Benefits of Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift
This exercise is great to strengthen the glutes, hamstrings, lower back, and core muscles. The exercise also improves your body balance and movements.
How to do Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift
- Hold the kettlebell in one hand and hold it straight with a horizontal arm.
- Now bend forward from the core, while keeping both the legs and hand straight.
- While going down, raise the opposite leg slowly. By the time the kettlebell touches the ground, your opposite leg should be parallel to the ground without any bend.
- Hold and return back to the original position.
Renegade Row
Renegade row is a complete all-in-one exercise, which majorly focuses on back muscles as well. The exercise is for people who have some experience with workouts as it can get a bit difficult and requires some effort.
What muscles does the Renegade Row work
Renegade Row is majorly focused on the hips, back, and core. It targets the traps and lates in the upper back and rectus abdominus and the obliques in the core.
Benefits of Renegade Row
The major benefit of this exercise is that it promotes full body engagement. It provides the benefit of plans, pushups, dynamic rowing, movements of the shoulders, and more in just one exercise. It is a great exercise as cardio as well
How to do a Renegade Row
- Grab a pair of kettlebells or dumbbells while holding them in a push-up position.
- Pull one hand or row it upwards, till the upper arm is slightly higher than the torso.
- Bring your hand down and back into the original position.
- Repeat the same process with the other arm as well.
Wide Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
A Wide dumbbell bent-over row provides an increased range of motion for the person and helps to bring more balance to the posture.
What muscles does the Wide Dumbbell Bent-Over Row work
The exercise majorly affects the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, brachialis, trapezius, and erector spinae muscle categories.
Benefits of the Wide Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
The exercise helps to develop back strength and improves the pulling performance by strengthening the arms. It also allows the back to lift heavier loads and improve shoulder strength.
How to do a Wide Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
- Hold the dumbbell in each hand and bend from the hip forward to a 45-degree angle. Keep the knees slightly bent and dumbbells hanging in front of you.
- Row your elbow to a 90-degree angle and pull them towards the ceiling. Squeeze your shoulder blades while doing so.
Conclusion
So here are the 15 best back workouts for you, that can easily be done at either home or the gym. Each workout can be done with multiple variations and intensities. However, if you are a beginner, make sure not to stretch your body initially more than your limits. Slowly and steadily, while doing these workouts, you will see a noticeable change in your back muscles, stamina, and spinal strength. Make sure keep a close eye to nutrition along with these exercises for better results.
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