Each of the back exercises listed should be performed with proper form to not only avoid injury, but to also allow
the muscle to go through a full range of motion and get the most out of the exercise.
Pull Ups
1. Grab the pull up bar with an overhand grip that is slightly wider than shoulder width.
2. Allow your body to hang freely from the pull up bar with your arms fully extended.
3. Using your lats, pull yourself straight up as far as you can so that your chin reaches the height of the bar or above it.
4. Lower yourself back to the starting position (arms fully extended).
– This exercise can be done using a variety of different grips. Overhand or underhand, narrow or wide. And, while each way is effective, the overhand slightly wider than shoulder width grip is my personal favorite grip for pull ups.
– This exercise can also be weighted by either holding a dumbbell between your feet, or by adding weight to a pull-up belt (also called a dip belt).
– While pull ups are primarily a back exercise, they also recruit the use of the biceps secondarily. An underhand grip will recruit the biceps more so than the overhand grip. This is part of the reason why I prefer the overhand grip.
Lat Pull Down
1. Grab the lat pulldown bar with hands slightly wider than shoulder width with an overhand grip.
2. Sit down with arms fully extended overhead.
3. Pull the bar straight down either in front of or behind your head. (If in front, pull the bar to the top of your chest. If behind, pull the bar to the back of your neck.)
4. Return to starting position.
– Just like pull ups, this exercise can be done using a variety of different grips. Overhand or underhand, narrow or wide. Each way is effective.
– While the lat pulldown is primarily a back exercise, it also recruits the use of the biceps secondarily. An underhand grip will recruit the biceps more so than the overhand grip.
Barbell Bent Over Row
1. Hold a barbell with a slightly wider than shoulder width overhand grip.
2. With your knees slightly bent, bend over at the waist so that your upper body is slightly above being parallel to the floor.
3. Pull the barbell straight up into your stomach.
4. Lower the barbell back to the starting position (arms fully extended).
– This exercise can be done using an underhand grip as well.
– Do NOT round your back. Your back should be straight at all times.
– While the bent over barbell row is primarily a back exercise, it also recruits the use of the biceps secondarily.
Seated Cable Rows
1. Sit down at a seated cable row machine with both feet flat on the foot board and your knees slightly bent.
2. Grab the handle with both hands and pull it into your stomach while keeping your back straight and your chest out.
3. Return to the starting position (arms extended).
– This exercise can be done using a variety of different handles.
– While seated cable rows are primarily a back exercise, it also recruits the use of the biceps secondarily.
One other thing that some people don’t realize (I know because I get 100’s of e-mails like this) is that back exercises like pull ups and the lat pull down, barbell bent over rows and cable rows, or any other back exercise for that matter, will only help build muscle and increase strength in your back. Back exercises DO NOT target any of the fat that is specifically located on your back. If there is any fat, muscle will be built underneath this fat. You must then work on getting rid of that fat in order to see more “tone and definition” or look more “ripped and cut up” or whatever other fancy words you can think of. The ONLY way to lose fat from ANY part of the body is through either a proper diet, cardio or a combination of both.
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