Back to Basics: The Complete Guide to Back Training

Ah, the back. It’s your base, and involved in just about every sport besides chess.

Although, because your hand is out in front of you as you move pawn to e5, there is a decent amount of lower and mid trap activation…but anyway let’s just keep moving through the post.

I find the most useful way to break the back down (figuratively) is to do it by movement pattern, rather than muscle group. This is because the back is complicated as hell and most people don’t want to have to think about spinal erectors, lower traps, middle traps, upper traps, lats, teres major, teres minor, rear delts, rhomboids, infraspinatus and more.

Indeed, many of these smaller muscles you simply cannot fully develop a mind-muscle connection with, as they are merely assisting other muscles.

Am I more jacked than the anatomy picture yet?

Instead, I think it’s simply better to break movements down into three categories:

• Vertical Pulls
• Horizontal Pulls (aka rows)
• Spinal Erector Movements.

With a few exceptions, just about all of the exercises can fit into these categories.

Here are a few laws to keep in mind:

• You need variety to fully develop the back.
• You cannot do every exercise every workout.
• Slight differences can produce radically different results.
• How you perform each exercise is vital.
• The back responds well to volume for most people — plenty of sets and higher reps.

So, let’s start with vertical pulls. These are going to primarily work the lats and teres.

The lat is a thin (especially for you, ohhh, burn) sheetlike muscle that attaches to the sacrum, spine and upper arm. It’s main function is to bring the arm from above the body down alongside it. The teres major is often called the “upper lat”, which is wrong. It’s a separate entity, though it has a similar function.

First, I like to activate the lats. Many people cannot feel their lats working — out of all the muscles in the body, this is definitely one that many people lack a mind-muscle connection with. I prefer using the 1-arm cable row.

Five important things:

First, use a very light weight. Second, get a good peak contraction (you might want to twist slightly, and crunch your abs slightly on that side). Third, ignore the expression on my face.

Fourth, get a great stretch. Fifth, ignore the fact that my shirt has a tons of holes in it.

Do this for a few sets before the workout. It’ll help a LOT. I prefer 8–10 reps per set, really focusing on each rep and making sure to get a great contraction. Without that, it’s not useful, so keep the quality HIGH.

Next, pulldowns are a great choice. I prefer using a narrow, neutral grip. Make sure you get a full range of motion, getting both a stretch at the top, and a squeeze at the bottom. Focus on your ELBOWS rather than your hands. Pull with your pinkies.

You can also use an underhand grip, though I prefer neutral grip, as it is easier on the elbows and wrists while getting basically the same benefit. For these, I prefer 12–20 reps, though occasionally I’ll go a bit lower.

A wide grip is also an excellent choice, and will work the teres a bit more, but the lats perhaps slightly less, due to less range of motion. Sometimes I go behind the head; I think this is a good choice if you have excellent mobility, and do it for higher reps — usually around 15–20. If you cannot do it comfortably, don’t do this one.

Another nice variation that I used to use in the gym (back when I could go) is the dual handle pulldown. Again, 15–20 reps, really focusing on controlling the weight.

This is a great lat and teres movement, and provides really an unreal peak contraction, especially after all that activation work from before.

Pullups are also great. Again, you can use a variety of grips, which will target the back in a different way, changing the stimulus to the teres, lats, lower traps or rear delts slightly more or less. You can generally go for lower reps on these, compared to pulldowns. I prefer doing them weighted, and doing just 3–6 reps to really overload the lats. You can also use a wide grip, but I typically do those for 6–12 reps instead. I wouldn’t do those behind the head, as the swaying can put your rotator cuff at risk much more than a pulldown.

One of my favorites for the lats is the standing pullover. These are fantastic, and really provide both an excellent contraction and stretch. Higher reps of 15–20 work well.

Finally, you have the dumbbell pullover. This provides a better stretch, BUT really no contraction whatsoever. I don’t use it very much, but it’s worth occasionally including. 10–15 reps here.

Next, we have horizontal pulls.

These are primarily going to be rows, and are going to target the rhomboids, traps and rear delts. It’s worth noting, however, that they still do work the lats and teres, particularly if you row in a certain way.

In general:

• Rowing to the belly=more lats. Rowing to the chest=more traps.
• Rowing with tucked arms=more lats. Rowing with flared arms=more traps and rear delts.
• For bent over rows, rowing with a very inclined torso=more lats. Rowing very upright=more traps.

So, if you are very bent over, rowing with tucked arms towards the belly…it’s a lotta lats.

If you are not so bent over (~45 degrees), row with flared arms towards the chest…it’s a lotta traps and rear delts.

Bearing all that stuff right above that you totally did not just skip over, how you row is really going to have a huge impact on what part of the back gets hit.

The bent over barbell row. Upright, flared elbows=more traps and rear delts.

Upright, more tucked elbows, pulling to the belly=fairly equal lats and traps.

Bent over, pulling to belly=a lot of lats, a bit of traps.

You can also start with the bar on the ground each rep. This is going to work the lower back less, and usually limit the loading a bit. This is known as a Pendlay Row, which I rarely do, but some people rave about them.

Machine rows are often pretty decent as well, but keep in mind that often the angle of pull is somewhat fixed, and you might not be able to target the area that you want — you’ll have to experiment to see if the machine you have available is suitable for you.

My personal favorite machine is the chest supported, free weight row. This gives an unbelievable stretch on the upper back — make sure that you allow your shoulder blades to come apart at the bottom, and get a strong contraction at the top as well.

T-Bar rows are amazing as well. They’ll work the lats and traps fairly evenly, and are also absolutely heaven for the biceps. A great movement to include. Just don’t hit yourself in the crotch. Yes, for those who have my book, I did recycle that joke :)

I prefer staying somewhat upright, so that the limiting factor is not my lower back and hip strength. I’ll also admit that sometimes I cheat a bit — for most people I don’t advise this, as it is too easy to get out of position and then injured. Using leg drive is OK for a few reps…flailing around like a…erm….flail (weak effort, I know) is not good.

1 arm rows I’m not personally a HUGE fan of, but some people are so they’re worth including.

Again row towards the hip/belly area and it’s more lat, flare your elbow out and it’s more rear delt and trap. Don’t twist, better to keep this one strict.

Cable rows are also excellent, and the same general tips that apply to the other rowing movements also pertain to this movement. 15–20 reps is ideal.

Keep in mind that using an extreme range of motion CAN be injurious to the lower back if you are not ready for it — it’s amazing for lat growth, but be careful.

For all of those who don’t have a gym, a bar row is a great option.

These are something that I’ve grown to love, and really are fantastic. You can do drop sets, even, by going to failure, then moving your feet closer to you each “drop”. I prefer 10–15 reps on these. You can even weight them by wearing a backpack if you want.

There are also a couple of back movements that I’d place in the horizontal pulling category, though they are not really rows.

First, face pulls. Man, I love these. Great for the shoulders, traps and rhomboids as well as wonderful for injury prevention. 100% necessary movement here. 15–20 reps focusing on the squeeze.

Second, shrugs. These aren’t as needed, but are a great upper trap exercise that rows can’t really fully stimulate. 10–15 reps, pausing at the top.

Finally (Is anyone still reading? My fingers hurt. I need a nap), you have spinal erector exercises.

These bad boys, as you might imagine, erect your spine — or keep you from folding like a lawn chair when squatting and deadlifting.

These are simulated slightly with bent over rows and T-bar rows, but for full development, you’ll want to add in some more movements.

Specifically, this means deadlifting, at least in some form.

My favorite is probably deadlifting from a deficit. The extra range of motion really stimulates the erectors even more, as you are in a more inclined position. This will also work a lot of lats and traps, making it very much a complete back movement.

Snatch grip work is also great, if you have long arms and good mobility. Again, due to more range of motion, the erectors are stimulated a lot more. The wider grip also works a good deal of rear delt. 3–5 reps are optimal, though you can of course go higher. Lifting straps might be a good option as well.

Back extensions are also wonderful, though they are more of a hamstring exercise, they are still a fair amount of spinal erector. 8–12 reps here.

Romanian Deadlifts are also great, again, more of a hammy exercise, but still will get you a lot of erector development. These work best in the 10–20 rep range, going too heavy will compromise form for most people.

Another option is to pull from higher up, using a power rack to do “rack pulls”.

These take the legs somewhat out of the movement, making it more traps, lats and erectors. You can also generally use more weight, plus get in a better and safer position. Definitely a nice option. 5-8 reps works well.

Finally, though inherently slightly riskier, I found good mornings to be absolutely amazing — nothing makes my spinal erectors as sore as these. Just be careful — you cannot use your lats to keep the bar close. 10–15 reps is a good call.

So, for a typical “back day” I would choose 2 vertical pulls, 2 horizontal pulls and 1 erector movement. Warm up with lighter weights, then do each for 2–4 sets in the prescribed rep range, 1–2 reps away from failure. For how to set things up in the picture of a bigger week, feel free to email me for a custom plan that fits your body and your schedule.

The order you set things up isn’t that important, but just be aware that whatever you do last, you’ll be weaker, so don’t let ego get in the way.

For a lot more info on these movements and hundreds more, check out my book. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0838D5K8X

If you like reading my posts enough to digest all of that, you’ll really enjoy it!

Improve by gradually getting stronger over time. That’s the key, without progressive overload, you won’t see much improvement. The back is an area that is complex, can be hard to feel, and thus can take time to fully develop.

But keep it! You’ll have a big beautiful back faster than you think!