The back is one of the biggest muscle groups on the human body and I would argue it is one of the most important. Not only does it host your spinal cord, which is the bridge between the central nervous system and the rest of your body, but it also plays such a big role in longevity. A weak back will lead to a weak posture which in turn leads to a niggles and pains that are unnecessary the older you get.
I enjoy training my posterior chain, especially my back and today I’m going to share one of my back routines that I have been following for the past month or so. But before jumping into the training, let’s cover some basic anatomy. The back is split into 4 major muscle groups, the latissimus dorsi (traps), rhomboids, erector spinae and the trapezius (traps).
Lats
The main function of the lats is to raise the arm away from your body and to extend your arm in front of your body. To optimize your lat training, you should aim to perform exercises that train should adduction (raising the arm away from your body) and shoulder extension (extending your arm in front of your body).
Traps
The traps are the biggest muscle and extend throughout your back. Their main purpose is to extend the scapular (high traps) or retract the scapular (lower and mid traps).
Rhomboids
The rhomboids are divided into two parts, the rhomboid major and rhomboid minor. Their purpose is to retract the scapular.
Erectus spinae
The erectus spinae expand from the lower back all the way to the skull and their purpose is to extend the spine.
Okay, now that all of that is covered, let’s jump into the routine. I like to start my session with good old pull-ups, this gets me warm and ready for strenuous exercises ahead. From there I move on to compound exercises (learn more here), this is typically a deadlift and a bent-over row. Finally, once that is completed, I finish off the training with a rowing movement on the machines, this will add more shape to my physique.
Exercise 1: Pull-ups 3 sets of 12 reps
Exercise 2: Bent-over row 4 sets of 12 reps (go as heavy as you can without neglecting your form)
Exercise 3: One arm rows 3 sets of 12 reps
Exercise 4: Machine rows 7 sets of 8 reps (resting only 30 seconds)
How many sets and reps should you do?
A good rule of thumb, especially if you’re on the high end of the exercise count, is 2 to 3 working sets per exercise. A working set means not a warmup—you’re using a challenging load and going to failure, or close to it (within one or two reps of failure).
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