Cable Exercises for Back: Fantastic Exercises to Target Muscles at the Back

Cable exercises for back (Photo via Taylor Daugherty/Unsplash) — Cable exercises for back (Photo via Unsplash/Taylor Daugherty)

Cable exercises for back should be an important consituent in your workout routine.

Not only are they an excellent way to add variation to your back workout routine, cable exercises for the back are excellent for activating smaller muscle fibers in the lat muscles.

If you’re unclear on the muscles that make up your back, let’s have a quick look at that.

Parts of the lat muscles

Lat muscles (Photo via Nigel Msipa/Unsplash)

The following are the different groups that make up your lat muscles:

Latissimus Dorsi

This is a group that is usually referred to as the lats. It’s a broad muscle located in the upper and middle back. It’s a vital muscle group involved in all types of pulling movements and making the back v-tapered in appearance.

Trapezius

This is a smaller muscle that moves from the neck to the middle of the back. It mainly involves shoulder stabilization and shrugging movements.

Rhomboid

This muscle group is located between the two shoulder blades and is primarily involved in pulling the shoulder blades together.

Posterior deltoid

Also known as the rear delts, this muscle group is at the back of the shoulders. Its primary function is helping with shoulder rotation and extension.

Erector spinae

This muscle group is found along the spine and is primarily responsible for the extension of the spine, supporting the spine, and maintaining good posture.

Levator scapulae

This is another muscle group that extends from the neck to the shoulder blades. The muscle group is involved in raising the shoulder blades.

Teres major and minor

Finally, these are the smaller muscle groups present in the upper back and are round in shape. They primarily involve pulling and rotational movements.

Cable exercises for back

The following are certain cable back workouts using a cable machine that will allow you to activate the muscles and let them grow bigger and stronger.

Point to note: To do cable machine back workouts, you will need access to a cable pulley machine. If you don’t have access to one, it’s better to try dumbbell and barbell exercises for the back muscles.

Here are the cable exercises for back:

Cable row

It's done as follows:

Adjust the anchor at hip-level or at the bottom. Attach the v-bar to it
Select a suitable weight Hold the bar and move backwards.
Bend the knees, and slightly bend forward, but keep your back straight
Engage your lats, and pull the bar towards you
Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the motion
Release slowly before pulling for the 2nd rep

Seated cable row

It's done as follows:

Set the anchor at the bottom. Attach the v-bar to it
Select a suitable weight. Hold the bar and move backwards, and sit on the floor
Keep your feet on the floor with a slight bend on the knees
Engage your back, and pull the weight towards yourself
Squeeze your shoulder blades at the top of the motion
Release steadily to control the negative

Cable rear delt fly

It's done as follows:

Set both sides of the cable machine at shoulder height
Hold the grips attached to each anchor with your opposite hands, and face the machine
Keeping a strong and stable back, move your arms outwards. The cables should form a cross in front of you
Ensure that the rear delt is engaged

Cable pulldown

It's done as follows:

Attach the v-bar or straight bar to the anchor, and adjust it at the top
Hold the bar, and sit on the floor
Keep your back straight and knees bent
Engage the lats, and pull the bar towards your chest to do lat pulldowns

Cable exercises (Photo via Unsplash/Taylor Daugherty)

The aforementioned exercises are the most common cable exercises for the back.

Ideally, you can do 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps for each of these cable exercises for back. Furthermore, you can combine two or more cable exercises for back and create supersets. However, basic circuit training fundamentals can be applied using cable exercises for back.

Eventually, you must be able to complete at least ten reps in each set in proper form with the weight you choose. If your form is incorrect or you’re using the half range of motion, you won’t be able to push your muscles into growing the way you want.