Outside of leg day, a back day workout is one of the most challenging things you can do in the gym. Your back includes many strong muscles that require hard work and sweat to develop fully.
The effort is well worth it, though, as a strong back is essential for almost everything you do, inside and outside the gym, ensuring you can pick up anything from a loaded barbell to your groceries or kids without thinking, “This is how I meet my end.”
In addition, few muscle groups are more visually striking than a well-developed back.
This is the best back day workout for strength, muscle growth, and a healthy back in general.
StrengthLog’s Back Workout
StrengthLog’s Back Workout is for fitness enthusiasts, athletes, bodybuilders, and anyone else looking to build a better back.
This back day workout combines the best compound exercises for all major muscle groups in your back with isolation movements to give individual muscles the undivided attention they deserve.
It is intended for intermediate lifters and above, and you can easily adapt it to your fitness level.
Click here to jump directly to the workout.
Back Anatomy and Function
Your back is a complex body part made up of many different muscles, all working together. The following are the most important ones to consider for a great back day workout.
Latissumus Dorsi
The latissimus dorsi, affectionately known as the “lats,” are the flat, broad muscles sprawling across your mid to lower back like your body’s natural wings. They are one of the two most sizeable muscles in the upper body, rivaled only by the pectoralis major.
The primary function of the lats is to move your arms toward the center of your body, like when you do a pull-up, and allow you to reach for objects on a high shelf. In addition, they work with the pectoralis and teres major muscles to adduct, rotate, and extend your arms.
Trapezius
The trapezius is a large, trapezoid-shaped muscle extending from the nape of your neck down to the middle of your spine and across to your shoulder blades. Its main function is to move and stabilize your scapula (shoulder blade).
It’s divided into three parts – upper, middle, and lower. The upper trapezius muscle fibers help you shrug your shoulders like you’re saying, “I don’t know” to the question, “Should I skip my back day workout?” (Hint: The answer is always “No!”) The middle fibers are your “retractors,” pulling your shoulder blades together, while the lower fibers move your shoulder blades downward and assist the upper fibers in rotating them.
The trapezius provides symmetry and balance to both your shoulders and back and improves your posture. In addition, they generate power for many lifts and are involved in the shrug motion of a deadlift or a clean, like having a pair of built-in hydraulics for your lifting needs.
Rhomboids
There are two rhomboids on each side of your back: the rhomboid major and the rhomboid minor, nestled between your spine and shoulder blades. These guys help maintain good posture and prevent shoulder injuries. Plus, although they are relatively small muscles, a well-developed set of rhomboids adds extra oomph to your upper back aesthetics.
Their main gig is moving and stabilizing your scapula. They pull your shoulder blades together (retraction), lift them (elevation), and help rotate them. Essentially, they make sure everything runs smoothly, whether you’re lifting groceries or doing barbell rows.
Teres Major
The teres major is a small yet mighty muscle located in the upper back, part of the shoulder’s supporting cast. It’s nestled near its more famous neighbor, the latissimus dorsi, and they often get mistaken for each other at the muscle parties.
It assists the latissimus dorsi in the internal rotation of the arm (like turning a doorknob), adduction (bringing your arm closer to your body), and extension (reaching behind you). The teres major and the latissimus dorsi are so closely connected that they activate as one unit. It also works with your rotator cuff muscles to stabilize your humerus (upper arm bone).
Erector Spinae
The erector spinae is not a single muscle but a group of muscles and tendons that span your entire back, running alongside your spine. They anchor from the lower back and climb up to attach at various points, including your ribs and vertebrae, all the way to the base of your skull.
The spinal erectors helps straighten your back and rotate it from one side to the other.
There are several more muscles in your back, but these are the ones you need to target in your back day workout. The exercises that work them automatically engage every other little muscle hiding somewhere in your back.
StrengthLog’s Back Workout: Overview
StrengthLog’s back day workout consists of five exercises for a total of 15 sets. It’s a complete back attack for every muscle on the rear side of your upper body, with a mix of compound movements, isolation exercises, and different rep ranges to take your back training to the next level.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Deadlift | 3 | 5 |
| Pull-Up (or Lat Pulldown) | 3 | 8 |
| Dumbbell Row | 3 | 10 |
| Back Extension | 3 | 12 |
| Reverse Dumbbell Fly | 3 | 15 |
- You start with three sets of deadlifts, the foundation of your back session, allowing you to blast your back with heavy loads for maximum strength and muscle gain.
- The following two exercises are pulling movements targeting your upper and middle back. Pull-ups and dumbbell rows are fantastic for building a strong, wide back and hitting your back muscles from different angles.
- You finish your back day workout with back extensions and reverse dumbbell flyes. The focus here is on technique and mind-muscle connection rather than hoisting as much weight as possible at any cost.
Together, these exercises hit all the different muscles in your back, from top to bottom: the perfect back day workout.
This training volume is ideal for intermediate lifters.
If you have been training for years and are an advanced lifter, feel free to add one set per exercise.
Performing this back workout routine once every 4–7 days is ideal for building muscle and strength. According to current research, 12–20 weekly sets per muscle group is the sweet spot.1 StrengthLog’s back day workout has you covered.
StrengthLog’s Back Day Workout: The Exercises
It’s time to get to work! Let’s look at each exercise in your back day workout, including what makes each special and how to perform them safely and effectively.
Rest Between Sets
Resting 1–3 minutes between each set is ideal for most lifters.
You likely want to a good long rest between each set of deadlifts, for example, while you might need no more than 60 seconds to recover from a set of back raises or rear delt flyes.
1. Deadlift
You start your back day workout with the deadlift, one of the best back exercises you can do and almost a full-body workout in and of itself. It strengthens your entire body, hitting both your upper and lower back muscles while working your quads, hamstrings, glutes, arms, and grip strength at the same time.
Regularly including deadlifts in your back day workout is like building a fortress around your spine—a stronger core, better posture, and practical strength you can use inside and outside the gym.
- Hoisting heavy iron in the gym? Check! ✅
- Moving furniture or lifting heavy grocery bags without calling for backup? Check! ✅
The deadlift is a great exercise for functional strength you can actually use and prepares your body for both PBs in the gym and everyday heroics.
And if you’re into sports, the deadlift enhances your performance by improving your explosive power and overall strength.
The deadlift is a go-to movement for both gym newbies and seasoned lifters, and it’s easy to tailor the exercise to your level. Start with a broomstick to master the form or pile on the plates if you’re an experienced deadlifter.
Just remember that proper form is key for safe and effective deadlifting. Start light, gradually add weight, and you’ll be doing heavy deadlifts safely and effectively in no time.
How to Deadlift
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with your toes pointing slightly outward. The barbell should be over the middle of your feet, close to your shins.
- Bend at the hips and knees to reach the bar. Grip the barbell slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. You can use an overhand grip (both palms facing you) or a mixed grip (one palm facing you and the other facing away).
- Keep your back straight and chest up. Engage your core and ensure your shoulders are slightly in front of the bar. Your hips should be higher than your knees but lower than your shoulders.
- Pull the bar close to your body, with a straight back, until you are standing straight. Keep the bar close to your body, and your arms straight throughout the lift. The bar should travel in a straight line vertically.
- Reverse the motion by hinging at the hips and bending the knees. Lower the bar to the starting position in a controlled manner, maintaining a straight back.
- Reset your position if necessary.
- Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.
Alternative exercises: dumbbell deadlift, trap bar deadlift. You can also do deadlifts with a pair of dumbbells instead of a barbell or use a special trap bar, which offers some benefits over the conventional deadlift, including being easier to lift with good form, especially if you’re taller than average. The sumo deadlift is also an option, although it shifts the action away from your back and involves your quads, glutes, and inner thighs more.
2. Pull-Up or Lat Pulldown
You have two options for the second exercise of your back day workout: the pull-up or the lat pulldown. Both are some of the best exercises you can do for back width and strength.
Both exercises are all-in-one packages for the rear of your upper body. Primarily, they target your lats (those big muscles on your back that make it look like you’ve got wings), but they also hit your lower traps and are excellent for biceps strength and muscle growth.
Pull-ups are your go-to if you want to build overall strength and love a challenge. If you’re still on your way to mastering your first pull-ups, then lat pulldowns have you covered.
You can’t do wrong whichever you opt for.
Pull-Ups
The pull-up is a classic exercise, as challenging as it is rewarding.
Imagine you’re hanging from a bar. Now, pull yourself up until your chin is over that bar. Voilà, you’ve just done a pull-up! Bodyweight pull-ups are simple in concept but can be pretty challenging in execution.
Pull-ups are phenomenal for building muscle and strength in your upper back muscles. Plus, they’re super functional – you’re literally training to lift yourself, which is useful in all sorts of real-world scenarios, like when you’re hanging off a cliff after a last-second jump out of a crashing helicopter.
If you struggle to do more than a few (or even zero) pull-ups, you can use an assisted pull-up machine or a resistance band (loop it over the pull-up bar and stand on the other end of the band) to provide you with a helping hand. Or, you can do lat pulldowns instead.
How to Perform Pull-Ups
- Stand beneath a pull-up bar and reach up to grasp it with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you), slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Ensure your grip is secure and comfortable.
- Hang freely from the bar, fully extending your arms. Your feet should be off the ground.
- Engage your core muscles by squeezing your abs and glutes.
- Inhale and initiate the movement by pulling yourself up towards the bar by bending your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Focus on using your back muscles rather than relying on your upper arms.
- Continue pulling yourself up until your chin reaches or clears the bar. Keep your torso upright and avoid excessive swinging or kicking with your legs.
- Slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position while maintaining control and stability, fully extending your arms.
- Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.
Lat Pulldown
The lat pulldown is among the top five most popular exercises for both men and women. For good reasons, too. It’s easy to learn and very effective, making it a dependable staple in back workouts for beginners and advanced lifters alike.
Lat pulldowns are very similar to the pull-up in terms of muscle activation. The main difference is that you’re not fighting against gravity, and the additional stability can make it easier to focus on your lats.
The biggest mistake many people make when doing lat pulldowns is using too much weight, forcing them to rock back and forth. It might look impressive (or so they tell themselves), but it reduces the stress on the muscles you want to train. Instead, choose a weight where you can maintain good form and pull the bar down below your chin without using body momentum.
How to Perform Lat Pulldowns
- Sit on the lat pulldown machine and adjust the thigh pad to fit snugly against your thighs.
- Reach up and grasp the bar attachment with a moderately wide grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width, and your palms facing forward (overhand grip).
- Keep your feet flat on the floor and sit with your back straight and chest up.
- Take a deep breath and engage your core strength to maintain a stable torso throughout the exercise.
- Begin the movement by pulling the bar down towards your upper chest while keeping your elbows pointed to the sides. Imagine bringing your shoulder blades together as you pull down.
- Continue pulling until the bar is below your chin or touches your upper chest. Maintain control and avoid using momentum to swing or jerk the weight.
- Squeeze your lats in the contracted position, slowly release the tension, and allow the bar to rise until your arms are fully extended. Maintain control throughout the entire range of motion.
- Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.
3. Dumbbell Row
No back day workout is complete without a rowing exercise, and the dumbbell row is a prime example of one of the best movements for building strength and muscle mass in the entire back.
The star and primary target muscle target of the dumbbell row show is your latissimus dorsi, but it also works your rhomboids, rear delts, and traps. But wait, there’s more! It also gets your core muscles in on the action, along with your biceps.
The dumbbell row is a unilateral exercise, meaning it involves only one side of your body. Since you’re doing it one arm at a time, many lifters find it easier to really focus on the lats compared to the bent-over barbell row or t-bar row where you heave the weight using both arms. It also means that the single-arm dumbbell row take twice as long as two-handed rows, but think of it not just as double the time but as double the fun.
When doing the one-arm dumbbell row, focus on a full range of motion, getting a good stretch at the bottom and a complete contraction at the top. Keep your elbows close to your body throughout the movement and lower the dumbbell slowly and with full control.
How to Perform Dumbbell Rows
- Place a dumbbell on the floor beside a bench or some other sturdy object. Stand facing the bench and place your left hand and the knee of your left leg on top of it.
- Grip the dumbbell with your right hand. Hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back flat and your torso roughly parallel to the floor.
- Engage your core muscles and right leg to stabilize your body throughout the movement.
- While maintaining the position of your upper body and keeping your elbow close to your side, inhale and pull the dumbbell up towards your torso by retracting your shoulder blade. Focus on squeezing your back muscles as you lift.
- Continue pulling the dumbbell until it reaches the side of your torso. Row it closer to your hips to target your lower lats. Squeeze your lats at the top of the movement, ensuring a strong contraction in your back muscles.
- Lower the dumbbell back to the starting point while exhaling, maintaining control throughout the descent.
- Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions, switch sides, and perform the above steps rowing with your left hand.
Alternative exercises: barbell row, seated cable row, machine row. Other excellent rowing exercises include the barbell bent-over rows, cable rows, and the machine chest-supported row. Feel free to add variety to your back workout routine with one of them instead of the single-arm row.
4. Back Extension
That’s the heavy parts of your back day workout done! It’s time to move on to the finishing muscle-building touches, starting with back extensions.
Imagine you’re a human hinge. That’s the back extension for you: a great exercise to keep back pain away and to help keep your entire back in tip-top health. The star or the movement is your erector spinae, those long muscles running along your spine, with a supporting cast featuring your glutes and hamstrings.
Compared to barbell deadlifts, the back extension is lower impact and more forgiving for newbies. It’s also more suitable for a higher rep range, making it a great way to hit your muscle fibers slightly differently for more muscle growth. Including both exercises in your journey to a muscular and strong back is a good idea.
If you find back extensions using only your body weight too easy, you can hold a weight plate or a dumbbell to your chest for added resistance.
How to Perform Back Extensions
- Adjust a back extension bench and get into position, making sure your lower body is snug and secure. Hold a weight plate against your chest if you want to use additional weight.
- Lean forward as far as you can by hinging in your hips.
- Reverse the movement with control and return to the starting position.
- Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.
Alternative exercise: good morning. Good mornings also target the erector spinae, but holding a barbell across your shoulders ups the ante for the glutes and hamstrings.
5. Reverse Dumbbell Fly
You’ve reached the fifth and final exercise of your back day workout! Good job! The last exercise is the reverse dumbbell fly (also called the rear lateral raise), which works both your rear deltoids (the back part of your shoulder muscles) and recruits the muscles in your upper back, including the rhomboids and trapezius.
Training your back and rear delts together saves time and lets you hit two birds with one dumbbell (figuratively, of course). You get a more efficient workout as your back muscles and rear deltoids work in tandem for many pulling movements.
Many people focus on the “mirror muscles” like the chest and biceps (I’m looking at you, bench press and bicep curl!), often overly so. But the rear deltoids are key to rounded, visually appealing shoulders and perfectly balance a well-developed back. However, it’s not just about looks; strengthening your rear delts helps with posture and reduces the risk of shoulder injuries.
Keep your back flat and in a neutral position, and don’t swing the dumbbells up. Choose a relatively light weight; this is one exercise where form trumps the amount of weight you use.
How to Perform Reverse Dumbbell Flyes
- Hold a pair of dumbbells with a neutral grip, lean forward, and let your arms hang towards the floor.
- With almost straight arms (just a slight bend at the elbow), slowly lift the dumbbells by raising your arms out to the sides.
- Reverse the movement and lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
Alternative exercises: reverse cable fly, reverse machine fly. Instead of using dumbbells, you can perform reverse flyes using a cable machine or a dedicated rear delt fly machine. Doing so provides constant tension on the muscles throughout the entire movement.
Warming Up for StrengthLog’s Back Day Workout
A good warm-up is like pre-heating your oven before baking a muscle pie. It gets the blood flowing, lubricates your joints, and preps your muscles for the action-packed adventure of deadlifts, pull-ups, and rows of your back day workout. The increased blood flow and temperature in your muscles make them more pliable and less likely to argue with you when you ask them to do heavy lifting, even reducing the risk of injury.
A warm-up is also great for mental focus and getting your mind in the game.
General Warm-Up
Begin with ~5 minutes on the exercise bike, treadmill, elliptical machine, or any other cardio you like. Your intensity should be low to moderate; your goal is to get the blood pumping and maybe break a light sweat, not an aerobic workout.
Dynamic Stretching
For a back-focused warm-up, you want something that wakes up your entire posterior chain (the muscles on the backside of your body) and gets your core ready for action. Start with a few dynamic stretches for your upper-body muscles, followed by a series of ramp-up sets of the first exercise, the deadlift.
- Arm Circles:
- Pretend you’re a windmill, starting with small circles and gradually increasing to larger ones. This’ll get your shoulder joint ready for action. Do them clockwise and anti-clockwise for 15-20 seconds each.
- Cross-Body Arm Swings:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and swing your arms horizontally across your body for 15-20 seconds.
- Band Pull-Aparts:
- Grab an elastic band, hold it out before you on straight arms at shoulder height, and pull it apart. If you don’t have resistance bands available, pretend you’re pulling apart an uncooperative giant marshmallow. Aim for 15-20 reps.
Ramp-Up Sets
Finally, do a few sets of bodyweight rows or lat pulldowns to prepare your upper back, followed by a series of ramp-up sets for the deadlift. Start light, maybe even just the empty barbell, and gradually work your way up to your working weights. The warm-up sets should not be near failure.
For example:
- Set 1: 50% of your working weight for 5 reps
- Set 2: 60% of your working weight for 5 reps
- Set 3: 75% of your working weight for 5 reps
Remember, the goal is to warm up, not wear out. Your warm-up protocol should prepare you for your workout, not leave you tired.
How to Fit StrengthLog’s Back Day Workout into Your Training Split?
This back day workout can be a part of any workout routine or bodybuilding split.
For example, it fits right into almost any 3-,4-,5- or 6-day workout split you can think of. You can combine it with a chest, shoulder, biceps, or triceps workout or have it work its magic as a stand-alone back session.
Here are five examples of great workout spits you can try:
3-Day Split
- Day one: StrengthLog’s Back Workout and chest (try our chest day workout for the perfect back/chest combo).
- Day two: quads and hamstrings
- Day three: shoulders and arms
4-Day Split
- Day one: StrengthLog’s Back Workout and shoulders
- Day two: quads and hamstrings
- Day three: chest
- Day four: biceps and triceps
or
- Day one: StrengthLog’s Back Workout and biceps
- Day two: chest and triceps
- Day three: quads and hamstrings
- Day four: shoulders
5-Day Split
- Day one: StrengthLog’s Back Workout
- Day two: chest
- Day three: quads and hamstrings
- Day four: shoulders
- Day five: biceps and triceps.
3-Day PPL Split
The workout also fits right into a classic push/pull/legs split:
- Push day: chest, shoulders, and triceps
- Pull day: StrengthLog’s Back Workout and biceps
- Leg day: lower body
Those are just a few examples; feel free to come up with your own combinations.
Track StrengthLog’s Chest Workout in the StrengthLog App
Whether your goal is a muscular, big back or strengthening your back muscles to stay mobile and support an active, healthy lifestyle, give this workout a go. It has everything you need to build a complete back.
This back day workout and over 80 other strength training workouts and programs are available in the StrengthLog workout tracker, along with numerous exercise guides and videos. Regardless of your fitness level or goals, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for.
A workout log is the best way to keep track of your progress.
Remember that progressive overload is the key to consistent gains over time. To continue making progress, you must gradually increase the demands on your muscles.
A training log helps you stay consistent, set and achieve specific goals, track your progress over time, identify patterns in your training, and hold yourself accountable to your fitness goals.
StrengthLog is 100% free to download and use as a workout tracker and general strength training app. All the basic functionality is free – forever. It’s like a personal trainer in your pocket.
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Good luck with your back training!
