The Best Back Weight Training Exercises
What Is Back Weight Training?
A back weight training workout should not be anything like a typical weightlifting session. You’re not doing dead-lifts, barbell rows, or any other type of pressing.
Instead, you’ll do exercises that isolate the muscle. The goal is to add muscle mass within the muscle tissue as opposed to actual “lifting” weight in any traditional sense.
First, you should start with the back exercises that work the lower back. Believe it or not, many people actually have a hard time working their lower back, and this makes sense on one level because the area is often tight and painful from a lifetime of sitting.
The lower back deserves lots of attention, and it’s nice to have a few exercises that you know will help you build mass there.
Lat Pulldowns
Lat pulldowns are an old favorite, and they’re especially good because they hit the lower back from both the front and the back. This is good because most people do them in a seated position where the lower back won’t get much attention.
Lower Back Exercises
Lower back exercises are often important to stay healthy. Lower back exercises can be done at home and will help you feel better after doing them.
The main thing to understand about the lower back exercises is that they’re low-intensity. For this reason, you should do them slowly. The goal is to get your muscles involved from the top down and not waste energy trying to “explode” the weight away from your body.
Another important thing to understand about these exercises is that you shouldn’t be going up or down after each rep (if you’re doing them correctly). You should be pulling and then holding the weight in a static position for a few seconds before going down again. This is important because it will push the muscle to work harder.
A-List of The Best Back Weight Training Exercises
The following workout should be performed 2-3 times per week at a frequency of 3-5 days.
- Bench Press – 3 sets, 8 reps
- Seated Row – 3 sets, 12 reps
- Low Pulley Rows – 3 sets, 15 reps
- Seated Low Pulley Rows – 3 sets, 20 reps
- Pull Down to Chest – 2 sets, 8 reps
- Underhand Cable Curls – 2 sets, 15 reps
- Barbell Curls – 2 sets, 8 reps
Bench Press
A great exercise for the chest, arms, and shoulders. Put your legs up on a bench, grab the bar with your hands shoulder-width apart and lower it to your chest. Pause for one second before pushing it back up to the starting position.
Seated Row
A great exercise for the back and biceps. Sit on a seated row machine and grab the bar with your hands out in front of your body (just wider than shoulder-width apart). Pull the bar towards your chest, then release it. Repeat.
Low Pulley Rows
Another good exercise for the back and biceps. Stand facing a low pulley machine and grab the bar with your hands shoulder-width apart. Pull the bar towards your chest, then release it. Repeat.
Seated Low Pulley Rows
A great exercise for the lower back, glutes, hamstrings, and to some extent, the upper back. Stand while holding a bar in front of you (shoulder-width apart). Then bend forward at the hips while keeping your upper body straight. Reverse this motion back to the standing position.
Pull Down to Chest
A good exercise for the biceps and upper back. Stand while holding a bar in front of you (shoulder-width apart). Then bend forward at the hips while keeping your upper body straight. Use your biceps to pull the bar down towards your chest. Reverse this motion back to the starting position.
Underhand Cable Curls
A great back exercise. Sit while lying on a bench with the cables hooked up to a pulley. Use your biceps to pull the cable upwards towards your shoulder. Reverse this motion back to the starting position.
Barbell Curls
Another great bicep exercise. Sit while holding a barbell with palms facing each other and elbows slightly bent. Then curl the weight up towards your chest, using your biceps, then reverse this motion back to the starting position.
Some Extra Exercises for you to do:
Cable Pullovers
This is a great back exercise. Sit while holding a bar on top of your head with palms facing each other and elbows slightly bent. Then pull the bar down to your chest using your biceps, then reverse this motion back to the starting position.
Decline Pushup
A good pushup. Lower yourself onto the floor while keeping your arms straight and elbows at your sides.
