Wide Grip Pullups

Works: Lats and middle back

How to do it: Hold the overhead bar with your hands wide apart. Start lifting yourself up till your chin passes the level of the bar. Hold there for a moment and return back to starting position.

Adjust the pull-up frequency to avoid body swinging. Don’t use momentum!

Lat Pulldown

Works: Lats

How to do it: Sit on the seat of the lat pulldown machine with your knees under the support. Hold the bar with your hands wider apart. Pull down, using your lat muscles, until the bar touches the top of your chest. Return to normal with a slow controlled movement. Don’t lean back during the execution, as this will cause you to involve your lower back.

Bent Over Barbell Rows

Works: Middle back

How to do it: Standing with your feet at shoulder width apart, bend forward till your upper body becomes almost parallel to the floor. Back straight. Head up. Your knees slightly bent. Get a wide grip on the bar. Lift the weights up and touch between your chest and stomach. Lower the bar back down without changing the angle in the lower back.

Seated Rows

Works: Lower lats and middle back

How to do it: Sit on the machine with your feet against the support plain. Get a hold of the handle. Your spine should be straight. Your arms stretched all the way. Start by pulling toward your abs. Flex the lat and mid back muscles as you reach the stomach. Go back to starting position but keep the angle between your upper body and hips the same. Don’t lean forward!

T-Bar Rows

Works: Middle back

How to do it: You will need a piece of equipment, called T-Bar Machine. The one in your gym might have chest support or might not. If it doesn’t then step on the platform with your feet at shoulder width apart, your knees slightly bent. Bend forward about 45 degrees with the floor but keep your back straight. Get a grip on the handles and lift up, using only your middle back muscles. Squeeze the middle back in upper position and then return the weights back. If your machine offers chest support then that makes it even easier. In this case you will not be able to use your lower back to help lift the bar. In this regard it’s safer.

If you don’t have this machine at your local gym you can use a regular olympic size bar. Stick one of its ends in the corner and load the weights on the other. Here you will have to hold the bar itself as it doesn’t have the handle that gives it the T-shape. Everything else is the same.

One Arm Dumbbell Rows

Works: Middle back and lats

How to do it: Set one foot on the floor, bend the other leg in the knee and lean it on a bench. Position your non-training arm on the bench for support. Make sure it’s not perpendicular to the floor. The angle between your supporting arm and the floor should be more then 90 degrees. Your back should be straight and almost parallel with the floor. Pick up dumbbell with your other arm. Pull up while keeping your elbow close to your trunk. The dumbbell should touch the trunk somewhere between your chest and stomach. Return back to starting position. Once done with the set, switch arms and do the other part of the back.

Barbell Shrugs

Works: Traps

How to do it: Stay straight with your feet at shoulder width apart. Hold a bar slightly wider then shoulder width. From lower position start by pulling your shoulders as far up as you can. Keep your neck still. Don’t nod. The trick here is to try to touch your ears with your shoulders. Of course that’s impossible but you should keep trying in each rep (and some day you might get to touch them;-). Lower the weight back by letting it pull your shoulders as far down as they can go. This way you are getting a full range of motion.

Alternatively you can perform this exercise with a pair of dumbbells.

Note: Many consider this to be a shoulder exercise and classify it as such. However, the trapezius is one of the big back muscles and I consider it and train it as a back muscle. That’s why you find it here.