For strength, go heavy with low-rep sets (4-7 reps). If your shoulders are healthy, pulling behind the head is okay.

A mass workout that focuses on building outer lat width but still hits all areas of the back would look something like the chart below (not including warm-up sets). Bend your knees and, keepingyour feet on the floor, roll your knees to one side, slowly. If you do pull-ups early in your workout, you might have to add a weighted belt. Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic. Don't lean forward and backward to perform the exercise. In this article I will discuss the anatomy of the back, its function, location in the body, and some exercises for each area of the back. You probably didn't expect to see a squat variation on the best back exercises list, but front squats are an excellent way to build the upper back. Strengthening these muscles is important because a weakness can lead to unstable shoulders—and that limits your strength and muscle gains in nearly every upper-body exercise, including the bench press and arm curl.When you start this movement, pull your shoulders down and back.

Back pain. Inserts at the top of the neck travels all the way down the spine and inserts just about the buttocks. Why it's on the list: This is technically more than a back exercise—it hits the entire posterior chain from your calves to your upper traps—but it's the absolute best for overall backside development. Microaggressions Are Literally Killing Us, Why We Need a Real Lockdown to Stop COVID-19, Dyllón Burnside on Being Queer and Being Himself. Keep your wrists stable and maintain a straight line in your spine, squeezing your glutes. Accessed March 31, 2016.

There are two reasons I hear all the time. Seated lower back rotational stretch.

Squeeze your shoulder blades for one to two seconds maintaining your position, then return to the starting point. Once you get going, your posture will improve, as your weak, once-ignored muscles grow, so your desk-hunch will be less pronounced when you're away from the office. Include one exercise that targets each area of your back in your routine. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here. DO THIS: Start with a kettlebell on the ground slightly in front of you. Bend over about 45 degrees, staying close to the bar, and expect a little contribution from the hips and knees when you're pounding out the heavy sets.

As you can see from the workouts above you need to use many different angles, hand positions and different attachments on the cable machine to be able to hit all the areas of the back. Knowing which tools are best suited for building a wide, thick back will help you get the job done faster, which is why we've assembled our list of top 10 mass-building back exercises. Low back pain exercise guide. Free E-newsletter. Pause for a count at the top before lowering the weight to the starting position. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional prior to beginning any diet or exercise program or taking any dietary supplement. Maintain a tall chest and keep your upper arms parallel to the floor throughout the entire movement.DO THIS: Grab a barbell with a shoulder-width grip and place it in front of you across the tops of your shoulders. The bent-over barbell row has a significantly greater lumbar load than many other back exercises, so it's best done early in your workout in order to save your lower back. In your workout: You don't need more than a single reverse-grip movement in your routine.

Do you want to prevent back pain? Here, learn how to perform a range of exercises and stretches for the lower back. Squeeze your glutes and core to maintain a strong spinal alignment, looking at the floor ahead of you. If you get bowled over by the sheer number of rows you can do on back day, or even draw a total blank when thinking of new exercises to try, consider this list your new back blueprint.Â. If you've never tried the inverted row before, you're in for a surprise. For strength, go heavy with low-rep sets (4-7 reps). You can start with a light weight to really nail the form, then graduate to heavier loads to develop explosive power and body control. When you crack your exercise toolkit open each week on back day, you've got a seemingly endless array of movements available. Don’t use a ballistic motion, and avoid going too high; contrary to what some people call this move, hyperextending your back isn’t a good idea. Note: Many of the exercises we include here do not isolate, but rather emphasize, certain areas of the back musculature.