You may not be able to see it, but your back is vital when it comes to your strength, health, and physique. Stronger back muscles equate to better posture, which helps counteract our increasingly normalized hunched-over position, and bigger lifts—you need a tight back for a better squat and deadlift, and a big base to press from when you bench. Also, thick, meaty lats will create the illusion of a smaller waist and widen your frame. For these reasons, we recommend hitting your back more than once per week and to expand your back-training arsenal.
Most likely, you already gravitate toward the classic back builders—chinups, bentover rows, seated rows, deadlifts, and maybe some reverse flyes. There’s nothing wrong with any of these movements, but by making a few minor angle and tempo adjustments, we’ve effectively freshened up some oldies but goodies to help you prevent ever stalling out when it comes to your back gains. Now give them a try.
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Marcus Bugge / M+F Magazine
Cobra Pulldown
Why it works: Lying on an angled bench on your side increases the stretch that you can achieve compared with a standard lat pulldown, placing more tension on the muscle over time and helping you flood the target area with more nutrient-rich blood. Using one arm at a time also allows you to better isolate each lat for a better contraction.
Do it: Set up an adjustable bench, adjusted to 45 degrees, in between a cable station. Attach a D-handle to a cable pulley set at the highest setting. Lie down sideways on the bench, with the handle in your top hand. Begin the rep with your arm fully extended and then pull the weight down toward your rib cage. Pause a beat at full contraction, then slowly return to the top position.
Sets X Reps: 4-6 X 12-15 (per arm)
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Marcus Bugge / M+F Magazine
Suicide Row
Why it works: This isn’t only a back exercise—it’s a total posterior chain builder. It allows significant weight to be used and doesn’t give any of the working muscles a break for the duration of the entire set.
Do it: Set up securely in a horizontal back-extension machine. Be sure your entire upper body from the hips up is free and uninhibited. With a barbell in an underhand grip, raise your body to just above parallel to the ground while simultaneously rowing the bar to the rib cage. Lower the bar slowly first, then slowly lower the upper body to prepare for the next rep.
Sets X Reps: 5-6 X 8-10
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Marcus Bugge / M+F Magazine
Eccentric Chinup
Why it works: Focusing on only the lowering phase exploits more muscle fibers and develops your strength tremendously. It also reinforces proper chinup form—if you struggle with these on a regular basis, this is a great tool to help you get better at them.
Do it: Place a six-to-eight-inch box underneath a pullup bar and use it to get yourself into the finished position of a chinup. From there, slowly lower yourself back down to full extension to a count of five to 10 seconds.
Sets X Reps: 4-5 X 6-8
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Marcus Bugge / M+F Magazine
Wide-up Pulldown
Why it works: Changing the direction of your pull midmovement does two things: increases your muscles’ time under tension and changes the path of your pull from linear to nonlinear. Both of these things make the exercises harder and result in more growth.
Do it: Attach a D-handle to a pulldown pulley. Secure your legs under the pads and, with your palm facing in, perform a one-arm pulldown until your hand is at chest level. Keeping your arm bent at 90 degrees, rotate your arm outward until you’re in a wide-grip lat pulldown position, then raise the weight back to the top.
Sets X Reps: 5-6 X 8-10 (with a 3-second negative)
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Marcus Bugge / M+F Magazine
J-rope Pull
Why it works: This vertical-horizontal row hybrid is a combination of a straight-arm pulldown and a cable row, providing you with the most bang for your buck of any isolation-training back exercise—when done correctly, that is.
Do it: Attach a rope handle to a cable pulley set to the highest setting. Kneel in front of it about three feet back. From the kneeling position, grab the ropes and lean forward about 45 degrees. With a very slight bend in your elbows, pull the rope attachment down until at chest level, then smoothly transition into a row, pulling your elbows back toward you until the ropes are touching your chest. (The entire movement should form an invisible J, hence the name.) Reverse the movement. That’s one rep.
Sets X Reps: 4-6 X 12-15
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Marcus Bugge
Single-arm Landmine Row
Why it works: Training one side at a time is a better way to fix imbalances and increase your workload over time. And using the landmine attachment places the axis point behind your body, which is easier on your lower back and therefore a better option for guys with back injuries.
Do it: Place a barbell into a landmine attachment. (Don’t have a landmine? Wrap one end of the barbell in a towel and place it into a corner.) Load the other end with a modest amount of weight and then stand perpendicular to it. Grab the bar with the hand closest and assume a classic bentover row position. (One cue you can employ is to place your free hand on your abs or lower back to help you maintain a rigid trunk.) Then row the weight until the plates almost make contact with your ribs.
