A wide, thick back is one of the most attractive muscle groups, making you look strong and masculine. Plus, back training plays a huge role in making your shoulders look broader, which is why anyone aiming for a V-taper physique puts effort into both shoulder and back workouts.
I’ve been deeply interested in building my body, and as someone who has competed in a natural men’s physique competition, I’ve carefully studied which back exercises are the most effective.
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| A photo taken after a back workout. |
The truth? There’s no single right answer. The best exercise is the one that allows you to train with proper form, minimizes injury risk, and lets you feel both the stretch and contraction of your muscles to the fullest.
For some, that might be pull-ups. For others, seated rows. Maybe you have your own unique method that works best for you and I would never know.
But while there’s no single perfect exercise, there are key principles to follow. From my personal experience, these are the two essential principles of back training:
- Can you train with relatively heavy weight?
- Can you effectively target either your traps or lats?
With these principles in mind, here are my top three back exercises.
1. Chest-Supported T-Barrow
In my opinion, this is the best back exercise out there. Why?
First, it significantly reduces injury risk compared to free-weight row variations. While free weights are great for overall strength and functionality, they can sometimes have limitations for bodybuilding purposes. One big issue with free-weight rowing movements is that if your core collapses, you risk serious injury. Plus, maintaining core stability makes it harder to focus solely on your back muscles.
Chest-supported T-barrows eliminate this problem. The pad supports your chest, reducing strain on your lower back. Also, because you don’t have to stabilize your core as much, your back muscles can fully stretch and contract without extra distractions.
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A photo of me performing a chest-supported T-bar row, really focusing on getting a deep stretch. |
Another reason I love this exercise is that it strongly activates the traps. Many people focus too much on lats when training back. While lats are important for both aesthetics and function, traps are just as crucial. If you row with your elbows flared out at about a 45-degree angle, you’ll shift more focus to your traps, especially the mid and lower traps. This helps create that thick, strong look from behind.
When I do Chest-supported T-barrows, I keep my reps under 10 and focus on fully stretching my traps before contracting them hard at the top. Instead of pulling with my arms, I push my chest into the pad, making sure my traps and rear delts do the work.
If your gym has a Chest-supported T-barrows machine with freely moving handles, I highly recommend using it. It allows for a greater range of motion and reduces injury risk. But if your gym doesn’t have this machine, don’t worry—a standard chest-supported T-bar row machine is also great and can be performed safely.
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2. Dead-Stop Conventional Deadlift
I know. Deadlifts are one of the most debated exercises in fitness. Are they safe? Are they effective for bodybuilding? Are they a back or a leg exercise?
Here’s my take: Deadlifts aren’t dangerous if done correctly with proper weight selection. And while they may not isolate the back as much as some bodybuilding exercises, they still place a unique and heavy load on the back—one that’s hard to replicate with other movements.
If your back is already growing well without deadlifts, great! You don’t need them. But for me, deadlifts were a game-changer.
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A photo of me performing a deadlift. |
After about two years of training, I hit a plateau. Since I started with bodyweight exercises, deadlifts weren’t part of my routine. But then a friend in the military suggested I try them. At the time, my goal wasn’t even to grow my back—I just wanted to make carrying my heavy communication gear easier during long marches (I was an Army-Recon communications soldier). But once I added deadlifts, my back grew rapidly.
Not only that, but my overall strength and stability improved, allowing me to lift heavier in other exercises, leading to even more muscle growth. Plus, my traps saw noticeable gains.
I specifically recommend dead-stop deadlifts. Unlike touch-and-go style, where the bar barely touches the ground between reps, dead-stop deadlifts ensure each rep starts from a completely reset position. This prevents unnecessary strain from bouncing the weight and maximizes tension on the muscles.
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| The image quality is poor, but this photo was taken after a back workout. |
3. A Parallel Grip Lat Pulldown
Many people use a wide grip for lat pulldowns, thinking it’s best for lat development. And yes, wide-grip pulldowns do work the lats. But the primary function of the lats isn’t just shoulder extension—it’s shoulder adduction (bringing your arms closer to your body).
With a wide grip, other muscles like the traps and rear delts tend to take over. But with a narrow grip, your elbows naturally stay in front of your body, allowing you to better engage the lats in their strongest range of motion.
That’s why I always recommend using a parallel grip or max-grip handle for narrow-grip lat pulldowns.
One important tip: Focus on keeping your arms slightly away from your torso while stretching at the top. This ensures proper lat and teres major activation, leading to better lower-lat development.
Final Thoughts
These are my top three back exercises. But again, if you’re already making great progress with your own routine, stick with what works! However, if you’ve hit a plateau and need something new to break through, give these exercises a shot.
Train hard, stay safe, and keep growing!
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