IF YOU’RE LIKE many guys, you’re probably overly preoccupied with mirror muscles. While a heavy focus on these muscles is often disparaged online as a vain preoccupation, the fact is, many of us still do it, while neglecting the muscles we can’t so easily see: those on our backs.
In doing so, we neglect one of our body’s most critical muscular networks, one that can help build functional strength and fortify your physique against injury risk. In 2020, lower back pain affected 619m people globally. It is estimated that cases will increase to 843 million by 2050. By stressing your back muscles safely in the gym, you can mitigate much of this risk.
A strong back can also aid your athletic performance, enabling you to move your body to twist, turn, bend, stand, walk, run, and lift more effectively. This increases your chances of excelling in activities such as swimming and climbing, as well as sports such as basketball, Aussie Rules, rugby league, and tennis, to name a few.
Strengthening your back muscles can also help you perform everyday activities more easily and efficiently, from tying your shoelaces to reaching the cookie jar on the top shelf.
Last, but certainly not least, a strong back can also be aesthetically pleasing, helping you achieve the hallowed V-shape and providing a veritable drinking fountain of thirst that trails in your wake – it’s a pity human beings don’t come with eyes in the back of our heads or side mirrors to clock those admiring gazes.
Here, we break down the 10 best muscles for building a stronger back.
What are the major back muscles:
- Trapezius: moves your shoulder and shoulder blades
- Rhomboid: pulls your shoulder blades back
- Latissimus dorsi: pulls your arm down
- erector spinae: extends and stabilises your spine
1 Pull-up
Key to achieving a V-shaped back, pull-ups directly target your lats, helping visually widen your frame and appear slimmer around the waist.
How to do it:
- Grab the handles of the pull-up bar with your palms facing away from you and your arms fully extended.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together, exhale and drive your elbows towards your hips to bring your chin above the bar.
- Lower under control back to the start position.
2 Dumbbell single-arm row
Another one that puts your lats in the crosshairs, the dumbbell single arm row works both sides of your body, helping eradicate imbalances.
How to do it
- On a flat bench, place your left hand against it under your shoulder, keeping your arm straight.
- Rest your left knee on the bench and step your other leg out to the side.
- With your free hand grab a dumbbell off the floor and row it up to your side until your upper arm is parallel with the floor. Lower slowly back to the floor and repeat.
3 Barbell bent-over row
A barbell allows you to hoist more weight and recruit more muscle, targeting your middle and lower traps, rhomboid major, rhomboid minor, upper traps, rear deltoids, and rotator cuff muscles.
How to do it:
- Grab a barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
- With your legs slightly bent, keep your back perfectly straight and bend your upper body forward until it’s almost perpendicular to the floor.
- Row the weight upwards into the lower part of your chest. Pause. Lower the bar under control to the start position.
4 Kettlebell Swings
These work your back’s posterior chain and help build a stronger core, taking weight away from your lower back.
How to do it:
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and bend your knees to hinge at the hips and grab the KB handle with both hands.
- With your back flat, engage your lats to pull the weight between your legs then drive your hips forward and explosively pull the kettlebell up to shoulder height with your arms straight in front of you.
- Return to the start position and repeat in a swinging motion.
5 Chest supported dumbbell row
The inclusion of a bench helps keep your spine straight while isolating your back muscles, making it a safe and effective movement.
How to do it:
- Lie face down on the bench with your feet either side. Hold the dumbbells beneath you using a neutral grip.
- Keep your head up and bring your shoulder blades together as you row the weights towards your chest.
- Lower to the starting position under control.
6 Barbell deadlift
A true full-body movement – it builds stronger legs, back, shoulders and arms, while also blasting your upper-back muscles (rhomboids, traps, rear delts and lats).
How to do it:
- Squat down and grasp a barbell with your hands roughly shoulder-width apart.
- Keep your chest up, pull your shoulders back and look straight ahead as you lift the bar.
- Lift to thigh level, pause, then return under control to the start position.
7 Lat pulldown
As you probably guessed, lat pulldowns blast your lats. Go slow and low for max gains.
How to do it:
- Grab the bar with your palms facing away from you, shoulder-width apart.
- Lean back slightly and push your chest out.
- Pull the bar down to your chest, then return slowly to the start position.
8 Inverted row
Suitable for those struggling with pull-ups and chin-ups, the inverted row is surprisingly difficult. Smoking your back and your arms, you can progress or regress the move by re-arranging where your feet are positioned.
How to do it:
- Set up a bar in a rack at waist height. Grab the bar with a wider than shoulder-width overhand grip and hang underneath.
- Position yourself with heels out in front of you and arms fully extended. Your body should be straight from shoulders to ankles.
- Pull your chest up to the bar. Lower yourself back to the start position under control.
9 Seated row
One of the more simple and safe back exercises – you are seated, after all.
How to do it:
- Seated on a bench, grip the pulley attachment and plant the feet in the footrests. Keep your core locked and chest out.
- Pull the cable attachment towards your stomach, keeping your elbows close to your waist and squeeze the shoulders blades together.
- Hold for a beat and slowly release the rep under control back to your starting position.
10 Rear delt fly
These obviously give your rear delts a working over while also targeting the upper back.
How to do it:
- Hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides and hinge at the hips until your torso is parallel to the ground.
- Raise the dumbbells up and laterally away from your body, as if you’re spreading your wings, keeping a slight bend in your elbows.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of each rep before slowly lowering the dumbbells back down to a hang and repeating.
