Nothing feels more impressive than being able to bang out 30 pull-ups in a row or finishing a set of 10 with 90 lbs hanging from a belt. Nothing looks more impressive than being able to hit a front or rear lat spread with confidence like a cobra. Furthermore, how many women do you know who can finish a set of 10 pull-ups? The best back exercises can help you break through your back training plateaus.
Trust me, due to a lack of knowledge about back training, there aren’t many who have accomplished the above. The reality is that we can attain all of these things with intense back training using free weights to perform this list of the best back exercises. Here’s how.
Pull-ups are very simple but very hard. Most people think they know how to do pull-ups but there are quite a few variations on the proper form that some hardos might frown on, but still count as legitimate pull-ups. To perform a pull-up, hang on to any bar, doorway, tree branch, etc… with your arms straight and your palms facing away from you, and pull yourself up until your chin passes the bar. That’s it.
Pull-ups can be performed on anything that allows you to hang with your arms straight and your knees not touching the floor. Beginners can’t typically do a single pull-up, so we need a proper tutorial for increasing pull-up strength.
This post will teach you how to increase your performance with pull-ups using the correct technique.
Like pull ups, heavy rows are one of the best exercises to train your back. The king of rowing exercises is the standing barbell row, but the problem is that too few people perform them properly.
You might see the following common technique flaws in people executing barbell rows:
momentum – using the posterior chain to generate momentum, instead of using the muscles of the back and arms
rounded back – weakness in the lower back or hip tightness can cause your lower back to round, which is bad for the spine
standing upright – you have to bend over nearly parallel to the floor in order to work the upper back properly
As I mentioned last week, you can fix all of these issues by switching from barbell rows to inverted rows, or you can learn how to perform barbell rows correctly.
Let’s talk about how we can best use barbell rows in our training routines.
Do you limit yourself by avoiding horizontal or vertical back movements? Did you know that your traps and lower back also need to be strengthened? Are you stuck on lat pull downs as your main back exercise? Can’t do a pull up?
Tsk, tsk, tsk…
Avoid these 6 common back training mistakes and you will have a much better chance of looking like Atlas and performing like an Olympian.
Along with pull ups, rowing is one of the best exercises to train the back. The king of rowing exercises is the standing barbell row, but the problem is that too few people perform them properly.
You might see the following common technique flaws in people executing barbell rows:
standing upright – you gotta bend over just short of 90 degrees
rounded back – lower back weakness or hip tightness can cause this
momentum – using the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings for momentum
You can fix all of these issues by changing your barbell row into an inverted row. The inverted row is not a perfect replacement for the barbell row – it removes posterior chain stabilization from the movement and limits the load you can use – but it is a suitable replacement if you need one, and believe it or not it gives us yet another reason to accept the existence of the Smith Machine… OK, maybe not.
Let’s find out why and how to use inverted rows in our training routines.
Chin-ups are a basic exercise that you were probably taught early in your life, possibly as a kid. They are pretty simple, and fairly difficult, though not as hard as pull-ups.
To perform a chin-up, hang on to any bar, doorway, tree branch, etc… with your arms straight and your palms facing towards you. Using your back and biceps, pull yourself up until your chin passes the bar. It’s that simple.
Chin-ups can be performed on anything that allows you to hang with your arms straight and your knees not touching the floor.
Beginners usually can’t perform many chin-up, if any. This post intends to be a proper tutorial for increasing chin-up strength using optimal chin-up technique.
Proper Chin-up Technique
Now that you know how to perform a chin-up, let’s examine proper chin-up technique.
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