EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Strengthen your lats, traps, rhomboids, and spinal erectors with back exercises that build muscle mass, improve posture, and enhance lifting performance.

Best Upper, Middle, and Lower Back Exercises

Recommended by Nurudeen Tijani (Bodybuilder and Pain Relief Fitness Coach)

I’ve been lifting weights for over 10 years, and I’ve personally performed every exercise below to build strength and transform my body. You can see my results. The recommended back exercises below work—and you can find full instructions and video demonstrations in the JEFIT Exercise Library.

1. Pull-Ups: A bodyweight exercise where you lift yourself by pulling up to a bar until your chin clears it, primarily working the lats and upper back. This is my favorite back exercise.
2. Deadlifts: A compound lift where you lift a loaded barbell from the ground by hinging at the hips, engaging the entire posterior chain, including the back, glutes, and hamstrings.
3. Bent-Over Rows: A barbell or dumbbell row performed with a forward lean, pulling the weight toward your torso to target the lats, rhomboids, and upper back. This is another personal favorite.
4. Lat Pulldowns: A cable exercise where you pull a bar down toward your chest while seated, simulating the pull-up motion and targeting the lats.
5. T-Bar Rows: Performed with a T-bar or landmine setup, you row the bar toward your torso, engaging the lats and mid-back muscles.
6. Barbell Rows: A row variation where you pull a barbell toward your torso from a bent-over position, primarily targeting the upper back and lats.
7. Single-Arm Dumbbell Rows: A row performed with one arm and a dumbbell, often with the opposite knee on a bench, focusing on unilateral back strength and control.
8. Inverted Rows: A bodyweight row variation where you pull your chest toward a bar while keeping your body straight, engaging the upper back and core.
9. Seated Cable Rows: Performed on a cable machine with a close grip, you pull the handle to your torso, working the lats, traps, and rhomboids.
10. Face Pulls: A cable or band exercise where you pull the handles toward your face, focusing on the rear delts, traps, and upper back.
11. Renegade Rows: A core-intensive row variation performed in a plank position with dumbbells, where you alternate rowing each dumbbell toward your torso.
12. Rack Pulls: A partial deadlift performed from knee or thigh height, emphasizing the back and glutes with reduced range of motion.
13. Superman: A bodyweight exercise where you lie face down and simultaneously lift your arms and legs off the ground, engaging the lower back and glutes.
14. Chest-Supported Rows: A row variation performed on an inclined bench with dumbbells or a barbell, focusing on the upper back without strain on the lower back.
15. Good Mornings: A hip hinge exercise with a barbell on your shoulders, where you bend forward, activating the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings.

Helpful Tip: Do you feel back or hip pain when doing back exercises?

Discover  TitaniumPhysique  — a self-treatment program athletes use to eliminate weight training injuries, with a 98% user satisfaction rate.

Contact    About    Privacy    Terms    |    Copyright © 2025 TitaniumPhysique LLC.

Disclaimer: (1) Fitness results vary by individual effort, as such, individual results may vary; (2) We use Microsoft Clarity on our website to ensure you have the best possible browsing experience. Our privacy policy has more details.