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If you're looking to build back strength, incorporating certain strength and conditioning exercises into your workout routine can be worth it.
Strength and conditioning exercises not only make your back muscles look physically appealing, but they're important for more than just aesthetics. These exercises help you maintain a balanced body, make the back bigger and stronger, and prevent pain and injuries.
While working the core and abs, strength and conditioning exercises also protect the spine, prevent misalignment, and make movements involving twisting and pulling much easier and pain-free. Plus, a stronger back helps you lift heavier, enabling you to bench press and do deadlifts more efficiently and safely.
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When it comes to achieving massive back strength, the key is to target all the primary muscles in the back. That includes the rhomboid, erector spinae, trapezius (traps), latissimus dorsi (lats), and deltoid (delts). Below, we’ve rounded up some of the best strength and conditioning exercises to help you achieve big gains.
Lat pulldown and other strength and conditioning exercises for back strength
Aside from targeting the back muscles, the following six strength and conditioning workouts may also train other major muscles in the body, including the chest, arms, shoulders, abs, glutes, and hamstrings.
Include the following strength and conditioning moves in your workout routine to achieve great back strength. Let's get started:
1) Lat pulldown
The Lat pulldown is a staple exercise to help build back strength. It can be done either using a lat pulldown machine or with a resistance band.
The major muscles targeted during the lat pulldown are the latissimus dorsi, rotator cuff, rhomboids, trapezius, deltoids, forearms, and biceps.
How to do the lat pulldown on a machine?
- Sit and ensure that the pad is touching your thighs. Hold the bar with both hands positioned wider than shoulder width.
- Once you're settled in this position, start to pull the bar towards your chest by bending your elbows and facing them towards the floor.
- Engage your mid and upper back, and keep your upper body straight throughout the exercise. Do not lean back.
- Complete 12-15 reps.
2) Bent-over row
Bent over rows is one of the most productive strength and conditioning exercises for developing back strength.
This exercise engages the posterior chain muscles, allows for an increased range of motion and also improves muscle imbalance. If you have lower back pain, though, perform this exercise with caution.
How to do a bent-over row?
- Take a standing position with your feet at a shoulder-width distance in front of a barbell.
- Hinge at your hips, and grab the barbell using a wider grip.
- Lean back so that your entire bodyweight is on your heels. Start to row the weight back using your elbows till the barbell nearly reaches your belly button.
- Repeat.
3) Reverse fly
Reverse fly improves posture and boosts back strength as well. To make the most out of this exercise, start with moderated weighted dumbbells so that you don’t strain your back. The primary muscles targeted during this exercise are trapezius, deltoids, and rhomboids.
How to do the reverse fly?
- Hinge at your hips, and hold a dumbbell in each hand.
- Let the dumbbells hang straight in front of you. Keep your palms facing towards each other, and keep a slight bend in your elbows.
- Engaging your core muscles, lift your arms out to your sides, and squeeze your shoulders at the top.
- Return your arms to their starting position, and complete a few more reps.
4) Barbell deadlift
Deadlifts are a compound exercise that targets different muscles at once. It trains the entire posterior chain and is considered one of the best strength and conditioning exercises for the full body range of motion and, let alone the back.
How to do a barbell deadlift?
- Stand straight with your feet together behind a barbell.
- Bend your knees, and hinge at your hips to grab the barbell with both hands.
- With your back straight and feet shoulder-width apart, push back up to a tall standing position. Ensure that your back is straight, and shoulders are down and back throughout the exercise.
- Return to the starting position by bending your knees and hinging at your hips till the barbell reaches back to the floor.
- Repeat.
5) Woodchop
A great compound exercise for the back, core, and arms, the woodchop is an excellent full body exercise that can be done using a medicine ball, dumbbell, or kettlebell.
The primary muscles engaged during the exercise are the core muscles, including the transverse abdominis and obliques, upper back, arms, and shoulders.
How to do the woodchop?
- Hold a dumbbell with both hands, and position it over your head with your arms extended straight.
- Slowly rotate your hips to the right, and bring the dumbbell down to the outside of your right knee. Do that in one swinging motion.
- As you move the dumbbell up, rotate your hips back towards your left with your arms straight.
- Simultaneously, bring the weight back up to the left side of your head, and make sure to do this in an explosive yet a slow movement.
- Repeat.
6) Single-arm dumbbell row
The single-arm dumbbell row directly targets the back muscles, trapezius, posterior deltoids, latissimus dorsi, and rhomboids. This strength and conditioning exercise targets each side of the back separately and also helps improve muscle imbalance in the body.
How to do single-arm dumbbell row?
- Stand straight beside a bench, and position your right shin and knee on it.
- Slightly bend forward, and place your right hand on the bench as well. Your left leg should be straight on the floor.
- Hold a dumbbell with your left while maintaining a straight torso, and start to pull the dumbbell up with your elbow facing up.
- As you pull your elbow, squeeze your upper back, and slowly lower it down to the starting position.
- Repeat.
As you progress through the aforementioned strength and conditioning exercises, remember to challenge yourself by adding more resistance or weight. However, do not add too much weight too quickly while performing any conditioning exercise. Also, if you have any back problems or a history of back pain or injuries, talk to a doctor before doing these strength and conditioning workouts.
