Thread: Favorite back exercises?

Heavy bent row....

Workout...
Pull ups 3x10-12 (easy, for warm up)
bent row 2-3x6-10+ 1x 15-20 (light,for pump)
seated row 2x8-12
1arm row 2x10-12

bent over barbell rows are good mass builders, you can grab the barbell in two ways ; NORMAL WAY , fingers in front of the barbell like grabbing it or the other way fingers behind TRY IT .
PULL Downs
seated rows with pulley
dumbell rows
T bar
hammer strength pull down machines are GREAT

all these will give you mass

That's all you do? Since im cycling right now i'll throw in 1-2 things for shoulders as well as 1 thing for bicep. So far, it's been working.

deadlifts and one arm rows

I was thinking (pull-ups, t-bar, seated row, DB bent row, shrugs) As far as for bicep I was doing 21s, but I think I should switch it up. I think there could be something more effective I could include for just a one exercise to promote growth and get size on the arms, any advice on this one?

However, the 1 exercise you might suggest might be one I do for bicep day! LOL. Would it be stupid to repeat a bicep exercise I usually do just obviously change the reps. Possibly concentration curl?

Rack pulls, deads, bent rows

Concentration curls won't do much to add mass in my opinion. You need to do barbell curls, dumbbell curls, preachers, hammer curls, pinwheel curls, something that you can handle a good amount of weight.

On your back exercises, do whatever you can that doesn't hurt your back.

Originally Posted by Anabolic5150

Concentration curls won't do much to add mass in my opinion. You need to do barbell curls, dumbbell curls, preachers, hammer curls, pinwheel curls, something that you can handle a good amount of weight.

On your back exercises, do whatever you can that doesn't hurt your back.

For sure bro, I got you. I'm just adding one extra exercise for biceps since im trying to get them to grow and this is something i've never done. So far 4 weeks into it, it's working. Now just figuring which 1 exercise I want to include, I've been doing 21's but maybe I should switch up?

Bicep day looks like this: Barbell curl, pull ups, cable hammer curl and preacher curl.

For pull ups I'm going to grip as wide as I can (for back) for my back workout, god only knows I will be doing very low reps!

Originally Posted by GymRat4Life

For sure bro, I got you. I'm just adding one extra exercise for biceps since im trying to get them to grow and this is something i've never done. So far 4 weeks into it, it's working. Now just figuring which 1 exercise I want to include, I've been doing 21's but maybe I should switch up?

Bicep day looks like this: Barbell curl, pull ups, cable hammer curl and preacher curl.

For pull ups I'm going to grip as wide as I can (for back) for my back workout, god only knows I will be doing very low reps!

I don't think wide grip for pull ups really is the best for back width. I like to use a V bar or a straight bar and use a reverse grip. Read an article by Dorian Yates and this is where this thought came from.

For the extra bicep exercise, try high pulley curls at the end of your session uses all biceps and you really can't cheat much.

Im a huge fan of seated cable rows to failure

Gotta agree with Niki on this one. Nothing is better then deads. I partially herniated a disc years ago and still do deads. I don't go as heavy as I use to but got 405 yesterday for 10 and still no problems.

Pull-ups and rows (BB and one-arm DB)

Dead Lift
Pendlay Row
Pull Up

That about covers everything.

Rack pulls really target my lower back. Not sure if you can hit a rack pull since its a similar motion of the dead. If you can add that for lower back/traps(ditch the straps and get a freebie forearm workout too).

HANG CLEANS. Hands down my back feels pumped, forearms again feel HUGE(nothing I do hits my forearms harder than hang cleans).

Weighted chins. This is as simple as it gets but doing high reps, heavy weight puts my back on the fringe of defeat.

One suggestion for deads, depending if you workout at the gym or home is to try a trap bar. Depending on why your back hurts it might do the trick.

Lower Back = Good Mornings/Weighted GHRs

Upper Back = Kroc Rows

Originally Posted by GymRat4Life

What are your favorite back exercises? I'm looking to switch up my routine a little and looking for favorites as far as building mass and isolation the muscle (meaning I'm not being picky) but i'm looking for a mix.

Should I continue to skip out on deadlift? I did because I already have a messed up back, bending over to rack and re-rack plus the movement isn't all that fun. I was able to do quite a bit of weight (and correctly) but stopped because it was just a PITA.

Upper-back: cleans/upright rows

Mid-back: bent-over rows, t-bar rows, weighted chins

Lower-back: squats and Good mornings

IMO deads and rack pull build more core and erectior strength then muscle..... if anything they have only made my waist bigger. The pic I have posted was before I ever did a deadlift. So.... I know they are not needed to make a great back progress.

Current back program (GEARED):

Wide grip weighted chins 4x8
Narrow grip chins 4x8
Yates Rows/Barbell rows (alternate weeks) 4x6-10
T-Bar Rows: 4x8-10
Hammer Strength Iso-Row: 3x10-12
Deadlifts: 4x6-10
Seated Cable rows: 3x12-15 Drop sets

week a Sunday:

4 sets fixed lat pulldowns
4 sets t bar rows

These are supersetted with incline bp and db flies

week a wednesday or thursday

5 sets deadlifts
4 sets pullups (supersetted with dips)

week b Sunday

4 sets hammer strength high rows
4 sets seated cable rows (sometimes wide sometimes narrow grip)

supersetted with cable flies and incline bp

week b wednesday or thursday

5 sets rack pulls
4 sets pullups supersetted with dips.

Sundays are chest and back days and thursdays are kind of the same thing but no bench work

Bent over T-Bar Rows
and
One arm dumbbell rows are my best 2

Unsupported t-bars
one-arm dumbbell rows
deadlifts
weighted chins; overweighted negative chins (stand on the raised end of an incline bench to self-assist on the way up)

Regarding chins - if you want your lats to do the work, keep your grip narrower than shoulder-width, and neutral. This way the entire force goes straight down through the lat. As your grip widens, some of that vertical force is taken up not by the lat, but by the rotator cuff. The result is less lat stimulation and more rotator cuff strain.

Wide grip does nothing special to build width. Overloading the working muscles while overfeeding builds width.

My .02

one arm Heavy Dumbbell stiff leg dead lift

One arm kettlebell swing

Cable upright row

Body rows

Originally Posted by Built

Unsupported t-bars
one-arm dumbbell rows
deadlifts
weighted chins; overweighted negative chins (stand on the raised end of an incline bench to self-assist on the way up)

Regarding chins - if you want your lats to do the work, keep your grip narrower than shoulder-width, and neutral. This way the entire force goes straight down through the lat. As your grip widens, some of that vertical force is taken up not by the lat, but by the rotator cuff. The result is less lat stimulation and more rotator cuff strain.

Wide grip does nothing special to build width. Overloading the working muscles while overfeeding builds width.

My .02

You've confirmed what I have always suspected about chins. Wide grip never did a damn thing for me.

Built is a legend

Originally Posted by Built

Unsupported t-bars
one-arm dumbbell rows
deadlifts
weighted chins; overweighted negative chins (stand on the raised end of an incline bench to self-assist on the way up)

Regarding chins - if you want your lats to do the work, keep your grip narrower than shoulder-width, and neutral. This way the entire force goes straight down through the lat. As your grip widens, some of that vertical force is taken up not by the lat, but by the rotator cuff. The result is less lat stimulation and more rotator cuff strain.

Wide grip does nothing special to build width. Overloading the working muscles while overfeeding builds width.

My .02

Agreed. Mine really took off when I went to neutral narrow grip. I've never looked back since.

Sent from my Android device

Weighted Pull ups- hammer,chin,wide grip...

Does wonders for the back putting no pressure on it...

Originally Posted by Anabolic5150

Concentration curls won't do much to add mass in my opinion. You need to do barbell curls, dumbbell curls, preachers, hammer curls, pinwheel curls, something that you can handle a good amount of weight.

On your back exercises, do whatever you can that doesn't hurt your back.

I definitely second this, especially with barbell curls. The back does work to stabilize during the motion; it's a 1-2 punch with bicep and back work. However most importantly, PULL UPS!! Any grip width, theyre killer for your back. I went a long time doing very little lifting because of $$, and received many compliments on the definition in my back as a result of my pull up work.

Seriously, in my eyes pull ups are thee best damn thing for your back, bar none. Simply cause you need almost no equipment and theres a lot you can do with 'em.

Dont underestimate push ups either, the downward motion of your triceps goes straight through your lats.

As with weights, nothin makes me burn like any variation of rows. One armed DBs bein my favorite.