The Best Exercises That Will Strengthen Your Back

Chances are, if you've ever set foot in a gym, you've seen someone performing a lat pulldown. And we'd say it's definitely an exercise you'll want to include in your repertoire. Suitable for novices and gym pros alike, the lat pulldown targets your latissimus dorsi muscle (or lats), the large muscle that spans the width of your lower and middle back, and builds strength and size (per Pure Gym). Lat pulldowns are particularly good for newbies to back exercise as you can adjust the load — meaning you don't need a massive amount of prior strength to perform the movement, unlike with some bodyweight exercises like pull-ups.

To do a lat pulldown, sit on your lat pulldown machine, facing toward it, with the weight adjusted to your desired amount — if you're new to this exercise, less weight is probably better than more. Reach up and grasp the bar above you, with your hands at shoulder-width. Activating your lat muscles, pull the bar downward, until it reaches your upper chest. Hold briefly, then allow the weight to release, letting the bar travel back to the starting position while still holding onto it. Make sure to keep your core activated through the exercise, and try to limit using too much body momentum to pull the bar down.

In our opinion, the inverted row is underrated. If you find pull-ups too tricky, this bodyweight exercise can bridge the gap between limited back strength and abundant pull-up action, by targeting your lats and smaller stabilizer muscles, increasing strength and function (per Coach Magazine). Aside from its awesome back benefits, it's also a move that you don't need a gym to perform: Any park that has a parallel bar, bike rack, or sturdy table can be used to do an inverted row. Just make sure that anything you're doing an inverted row on is well-braced and strong, with no risk of breaking or toppling during the exercise.

You'll need to start your inverted row lying on your back under your chosen bar or object. Reach up, and hold on with both hands in an overhand grip, keeping your body straight. Squeezing your back, pull your chest up to meet your hands, pausing momentarily at the top, and then lower yourself back to the floor. Don't allow your hips to either sag or jut out during the exercise, and keep your neck relaxed as you do so.

It can often seem like training your back is reliant on gym equipment or weights. But bodyweight back exercises should be an indispensable part of your workout repertoire — and the reverse snow angel is an excellent move to include. Reverse snow angels activate the muscles in the upper back, and are notably useful to support correct posture, according to Invictus Fitness. As a bonus, you get to remind yourself of the days spent making snow angels in the yard.

The exercise, which also improves range of motion in the back, is begun lying on your stomach, says Aaptiv trainer Ackeem Emmons to Aaptiv. With your arms and legs extended, lift your chest away from the ground, keeping your neck relaxed. "Arms are extended in front, [and] with your palms facing down, pull elbows down towards to your obliques, or lower back, and repeat. With every rep, you should feel retraction and protraction in the scapula," says Emmons. Aim for 20 reps for three sets if you're a beginner, resting for a few minutes between sets.

Mastering the single-arm row will give you a one-way ticket to back strength. While single-arm rows mainly work your lat muscles, your arms, shoulders, and hips also come to the party, making this move not only great for your back but also your upper and mid-body generally (per Verywell Fit). The single-arm nature of the exercise allows you to isolate the muscles on one side of your body at a time — just don't forget to repeat the movement on the other side, to limit building up your muscles unevenly.

Start the move by standing next to an exercise bench, and placing your left knee on it, your right leg planted on the floor, says ACE Fitness. Bend over so your body's parallel to the bench, and place your left hand on the bench to brace your body, holding a dumbbell in your right hand. Contracting your abs and back, slowly row the dumbbell up to your chest, bending at the elbow as you do so. Make sure your body remains aligned while you do this, avoiding rotation at the hips. Hold the weight there briefly, and then lower it to the starting position. It's useful to do this exercise with a mirror next to you, to keep an eye on your form.

A standard fly motion is great for working out your chest, but reversing it can bring some serious back benefits. The reverse fly trains your upper back muscles, and specifically targets your rear shoulders, or posterior deltoids, says Verywell Fit. Working out both areas of the back improves posture and balance, and hitting your rear delts can assist in improving the width (to a degree) of your shoulders, which not only helps with visual presentation of your back in general but also reduces injury risk during other exercises, advises Healthline.

The reverse fly is best done with a pair of dumbbells. Stand with your feet at shoulder-width, and keeping your back straight, bend forward at the hips until your upper body is almost parallel with the ground. Your dumbbells should be hanging at each side of your body, and your knees slightly bent. Exhaling, bring your arms out to each side of your body, pulling the dumbells back until they're at shoulder-level (if it helps, visualize your arms coming out like wings). Lower the weights to the starting position, for one rep. A reverse fly can also be done sitting down, on the end of an exercise bench. Try not to use momentum to do the movement: If you have to work too hard, you're likely using weights that are too heavy.

Pull-ups are pretty much the go-to exercise for back strength, and we can definitely see why (even if we can't quite do them yet). The pull-up is highly effective for training a range of back muscles, including your latissimus dorsi and trapezius, as well as the infraspinatus and erector spinae muscles, which support spine and shoulder blade function (per Healthline). As a compound exercise, a pull-up also works your shoulder and forearm muscles and can develop stronger grip strength.

Stand under your pull-up bar, and using an overhand hold, grasp it a little wider than shoulder-width, explains Sweat. On an exhale, engage your back, core, and arms, and proceed to pull your body up toward the bar, until your chest reaches it and your chin moves past your hands. Try as much as possible to keep your legs still, and your shoulders aligned. Hold at the top briefly, and then slowly lower yourself down until you're hanging off the bar. Crucially, you'll want to warm up your back with some other exercises first. "Most of what we do each day—sitting at work, laying in bed, looking at phones and laptops—fails to engage the back properly. Be sure to warm up by doing some work with bands, or a few single-arm rows, before graduating to pull-ups for the day," suggests trainer Idalis Velazquez to GQ.

If you're tired of doing endless rowing variations to build up back muscles, the dumbbell pullover could be the one for you. Requiring an exercise bench and pair of dumbbells, this movement utilizes both the front and back muscles, working out your latissimus dorsi and your pecs in one fell swoop (per Verywell Fit). As a bonus, your triceps can also benefit from the exercise, and the activation through your core muscles keeps them engaged too.

Begin by sitting on the end of your exercise bench, and then slowly lay down on your back across its length. Make sure that your neck and head aren't hanging off the end of the bench. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, raise your hands above your head, with your palms facing inward. Then, while inhaling, allow the weights to move back and over your head, moving in an arc until your arms are extended in line with your body. Exhaling, slowly move the weights back to the first position. For a dumbbell pullover, safety is key. You're going to be holding weights above and near your head for the majority of it, so make sure you're not using dumbbells that are too heavy. As the exercise requires a full range of motion in the shoulder, it's best avoided by those with limited shoulder mobility.