What’s The Best Way To Set Up Your Upper Back Workouts?

Overall, the back is a very large muscle group. The large wing-like latissimus dorsi muscles and the multiple muscles in the middle area of the upper back take up a lot of space. For me, I like to train the upper back all in one workout. I include training the traps and even the neck if you do any direct exercises for it during back workouts. The lower back muscles get worked on my leg day, so I don’t include it while training the rest of my back muscles.

Focus on Width and Thickness

Any great back workout will have you training for width and thickness. I like to start with lat training followed by middle back training. This makes the back the only muscle group I train that day. By using some intensity techniques you can get more done in less time for more training efficiency. That being said, don’t overdo it to the point of overtraining.

Pull-ups should be a staple of any upper back workout. However, not everybody can get very many, or even any, reps depending on body weight and strength. Cable pulldowns are the obvious alternative, as well as resistance bands and assisting pull-up machines. If possible, old-fashioned pull-ups are the way to go when you get to a point where you can do a decent amount of reps. I mix up my back workouts by featuring pull-ups during some workouts and pulldowns during others.

For more back thickness, rowing exercises are where it’s at. There are so many forms of the row that you’ll never have a problem waiting around to do them. Row areas and machines in the gym just aren’t gonna be packed like the bench areas and machines might be. Don’t be that guy, or girl. Get those intense back workouts that feature heavy barbell, dumbbell, and machine rows in for an overall thicker upper body appearance.

Use Variety to Increase Strength and Size

I have three main upper back workouts I like to do. They can be modified to your liking, whether you prefer some different exercises or would like to interchange some in the workouts below. Using a variety of the best back exercises will keep your muscles guessing. These workouts give you the chance for heavy training for strength and lighter training for a nice pump. I also like to do some training for my traps with upper back training. Here are my favorite workouts for the back.

 

Back Workout #1

Weighted Pull-ups

Once you get strong enough on pull-ups, you can add weight with a dip belt. Progressive resistance is the name of the game and adding weight will give you improved strength. I like to start with close grip underhand pull-ups with my heaviest added weight. I’ll do 2 or 3 sets with 2 minutes of rest between them. Then I’ll go with a normal width overhand grip for 2 or 3 sets with 2 minutes of rest. With each set, I like to decrease the weight by about 10 to 20%. 

Pulldown Superset

For this, start with a wide grip to do lat pulldowns. Once failure is hit, take a 10-second break and move your grip a bit closer. Do this one more time with the last reps done with an underhanded close grip. The short breaks will allow you to adjust your wrist straps accordingly if you’re using them.

Straight Arm Cable Pushdowns

A drop set is done here starting with around 15 reps in the first set. This is an exercise to focus on contracting the lats rather than going super heavy. Continue your set by dropping the weight by 10 to 20%. Repeat this one more time to finish your superset.

Bent Over Barbell Rows

I like doing both underhand and overhand grip bent rows for a total of 5 or 6 sets. To start, 2 or 3 sets of underhanded bent rows are done. You should be able to go heavier on these, which is the reason I like to start with them. Keep your lower back arched – not bent, and pull the weight to your lower abdominal area. After this, I do overhand grip rows to my upper abs for 2 or 3 sets. After warming up, start with your heaviest weight then decrease it by 10 to 20% on each subsequent set. Take two minutes to rest between each set.

Machine High Rows

Your gym likely has a high-row machine that enables you to pull toward you at a downward angle. I prefer training one side at a time, concentrating on really flexing the upper back muscles, then immediately training the other side. Then, repeat by getting some more reps with the first side you were training with little or no rest. If you prefer, do 2 or 3 straight sets with 90 to 120 seconds of rest between each.

Bent-Over Lateral Raises

This exercise is commonly done to target the rear heads of the shoulders. I like to concentrate on flexing the muscles in the middle of my upper back while doing it. Pause at the top of every rep for a two or three count to really work the muscles. Start with a weight you can do 15 to 20 reps on and do a couple of weight decreases of around 10% for a drop set.

Dumbbell Shrugs

Shoulder shrugs are a relatively basic movement – you shrug your shoulders up while holding weight. The issue is that too many trainers use too much weight and hardly do any actual lifting. Get those traps up and hold for a 2 or 3 count at the top of each rep. Go for 2 or 3 sets, pyramiding up or down with 90 seconds of rest between them.

 

Back Workout #2

Pull-ups

Some classic pull-ups are done with just bodyweight to start this back workout off. I like to start with wide-grip pull-ups for my first set as they are the most difficult version of this exercise in my eyes. On each subsequent set, I move my grip inward. By the last set, I’m doing either close-grip underhand-grip or v-bar pull-ups. Go for 5 total sets with a 2-minute break in between each of them.

One Arm Machine Pulldown

This is a high rep alternating superset to really blast the lats with one of my favorite high-intensity techniques. Rep out with one side before going to the other. Then go back to training with the arm you used first and so on. With the short rest for the non-working side, the reps will go down every set of this superset.

Machine Pullover

I go for one set of about 20 before getting ten seconds of rest before continuing with more reps. After doing those extra reps, I repeat with a short break and some more reps to failure.

T-Bar Rows

This is done for 4 straight sets with 2-minute rests. I use a v-bar on this with weights loaded on one side of a barbell. Fortunately, most gyms have anchors to do these more easily. I start heavy after warming up and go down in weight each proceeding set. By the last set, I’m aiming for around 20 reps. Pyramid up in weight if that’s what you prefer.

One Arm T-Bar Rows

I do these by gripping the anchored bar and training one side at a time. My pattern of alternating from failure with one side then the other is done here for 3 rounds. Every other time I do this, I like to grip the very end of the loaded side of the barbell for variety.

Face Pulls

These are done by pulling a cable rope towards your face/neck while standing. Pause to get a nice contraction on each rep to hit the rear shoulder, upper back, and lower traps. I’ll do a drop set, decreasing the weight twice.

Barbell Shrugs

Two or three sets of this classic exercise for the traps are done here. Give yourself a short break and get some more reps if you want to boost the intensity of the exercise. Rest for 2 minutes between each set.

 

Back Workout #3

Weighted Pull-ups

For this group of weighted pull-ups, I like to go to a different set of pull-up bars in my gym. These are spaced and angled in a variety of ways for some interesting grips. Once again, I’ll start with closer grip pull-ups with heavier weights and work my grip farther apart on every subsequent set. Four sets are done with 2 minutes of rest between them.

One-Arm Straight Cable Pushdown

This is the same as a normal cable pushdown, but done one arm at a time. I’ll go for one long superset, going back and forth between which arm I’m using after hitting failure.

Wide to Close-Grip Lat Pulldowns

I like to do a drop set instead of doing short rests with the same weight for this back workout. I’ll start out with a 15 to a 20-rep set of wide-grip pulldowns. Then I do two weight drops, moving my grip closer on each set of the superset.

One-Arm Dumbbell Rows

On this popular exercise, you can brace your non-working side with your leg and arm on a bench or while bent over with just your hand on a bench or other platform. You then pull a dumbbell using the muscles of the back up to your side. Go to failure with one side, then do the other. I give it 2 minutes of rest between sets (after working both sides back to back) for 4 sets.

Close-Grip Seated Rows

This is another back favorite. Sit down on the cable row and pull the grip to your midsection, focusing on working the upper back muscles. I do one all-out set with two short breaks before getting more reps.

Wide-Grip Seated Rows

This is done on the same cable row, but with a different grip bar. While using a wide grip bar, I like to pull the bar to my chest, all the time focusing on contracting the upper back and rear delts at the end of each rep. I’ll do a drop set here to finish my back.

Hex Bar Shrugs

Most gyms will have a hex bar that you can grip with your knuckles facing outward. I’ll just do 2 or 3 straight sets of these, giving myself 90 seconds to 2 minutes of rest between each set.