Top 3 Best Back Exercises for Muscle Mass & Development

The barbell deadlift is a powerlifting exercise for a reason. In this exercise, the lifter trains the trapezius, rhomboids, teres major, teres minor, gluteal maximus, gluteal minimus, gluteal medius, erector spinae (lower back), latissimus dorsi, quadriceps, hamstrings and the deltoids (shoulder girdle) muscle groups. If performed correctly, this is indeed one of the best back exercises and more specifically, the best lower back exercise. Aside from having strong thighs, this exercise would be impossible to perform without the erector spinae muscle group.

• To correctly perform the barbell deadlift, the lifter should bend down and grip the barbell using an over-under or mixed grip. The double overhand grip is usually used for reverse barbell curls or bent over barbell rows, but individuals are usually using a far heavier weight to perform barbell deadlifts than these other exercises. The barbell can easily roll out of the lifter's hands with the double overhand grip, which could cause a serious injury. Throughout the entire movement, remain looking forward at all times. Do not turn your head to the left or right during reps.
• While gripping the barbell, use your legs and arms to help pull the barbell off the ground. Pull the weight off the ground until you are standing normally with the weight in your hands at arms length. Then, use your thighs to squat to help put the weight back down onto the floor. Try NOT to just drop the weight out of your hands at the top of each repetition. A few lifters do this, but this isn't actually necessary. For a big reminder, always lift with your legs starting out at the beginning of each repetition. If you rely solely on your back to do the majority of the work in the earlier part of the movement, this will increase your risk of sustaining an injury. Lower back injuries are common with heavy weight lifting, but they can easily be prevented simply by following this advice. The back muscles will do their job once the weight is lifted a couple of feet off the floor.
• For power-lifting sets, the 3-5 rep range is perfect. I see some lifters maxing out for one repetition. Bodybuilders and powerlifters can do this but as I said before in other articles, this places a lot of unnecessary orthopedic stress on your joints and body itself to perform just one rep with a super heavy weight. This is good for improving strength, but this is the rep range that an individual is most likely to sustain an injury. For building muscle altogether, the 6 to 8 rep range is the best.

The deadlift can also be performed with dumbbells using a similar technique. If the lifter is deadlifting about 350 lbs. for about 6 repetitions for each week's back workout, the individual could try dumbbell deadlifts with two 150 lb. dumbbells aiming for a rep range between 8 to 12. Good mornings are another great lower back exercise if you're not feeling up to lifting heavy weight for the deadlift. This entails putting a barbell on your upper back with moderate weight and bending over until your torso is parallel to the floor.

The bent over barbell row is a great exercise for developing the trapezius, rhomboids, teres major, posterior deltoids, teres minor, latissimus dorsi and while providing indirect work on the erector spinae and biceps. The lifter will unlikely be using as much weight for this exercise as for the barbell deadlift. Any type of pulling exercise is great for working the trapezius and latissimus dorsi. A well-developed latissimus dorsi will appear as a classic "V" shape body-figure when flexed from the front or back. For bent over barbell rows, I most prefer to perform this exercise with a wide-grip. Wider grips for barbell row movements will help to widen your upper back.

• To perform the bent over barbell row, load up a barbell and either stand on a bench with the barbell or stand on the ground in-front of the barbell. A lot of lifters prefer to do this exercise standing on a bench because when using the larger Olympic weight plates, this will decrease your range of motion. To get the most out of this exercise, range of motion is very important. Bend over and pick-up the barbell off the ground with the knees slightly bent.
• With the back slightly arched while looking forward with the body bent forward, pull the barbell towards your stomach. Then, bring the weight back down to your feet or back onto the bench. Like while performing deadlifts, try to look forward during each rep without turning your head as well. For all back, thigh, chest and shoulder exercises, never take your focus off of what is in-front of you. I sustained one injury to my upper back during dumbbell flys on the bench because I turned my head to the left while arching the weight out to the sides of my body.
• The best rep range for building muscle for this exercise is 6 to 8 repetitions. Due to the lifter being bent over throughout this movement, it is not necessary at all to train with super heavy weights in the 3 to 5 rep range. Always remember to pull to your stomach. Do NOT pull the weight towards your chest. This has to be a rowing movement in order to give your back the best workout. Think of it like using paddles to row in a boat. Bringing the weight to your chest won't be as effective because this isn't giving the latissimus dorsi the greatest range of motion with the correct execution.

The bent over barbell row is one of the best upper back exercises. A few individuals may even add in barbell shrugs or dumbbell shrugs, but I feel these exercises are mainly for targeting the trapezius in isolation. The rhomboids, latissimus dorsi, teres major, teres minor and trapezius can get a great workout altogether with rowing exercises. If the individual does not have access to a barbell, one arm dumbbell rows are great for muscle mass. If you would normally perform bent over barbell rows with about 280 pounds, try to execute a one arm row with one 140 lb. dumbbell with one leg on the bench. If you're using your left arm first, your right leg should be on the bench. Your left leg is there to help support your left side of the body for every rep.

The pull up is another fantastic exercise for working the upper body. This exercise trains the latissimus dorsi, trapezius, posterior deltoids, rhomboids, teres major, teres minor and provides indirect work on the biceps. Wide grip pull ups is best for building the "V" shape back appearance. The lifter can even use a grip wider than what they normally could with a 7 ft. long Olympic barbell. Pull ups can be performed almost anywhere. You don't need a pull up bar in your gym or even at home to perform them. The pull up can be executed on a high enough rock, from a tree branch, from the monkey bars on a playground or on a barbell positioned on the highest point of the barbell rack. There are many different ways this exercise can be completed.

• Grab onto a nearby metal bar or steady surface from above with a shoulder-width grip. Wider grips are recommended to help build a wider back. Throughout the entire movement, the feet should not be touching the ground. At arms length, pull yourself up until your chin goes right over the bar itself. The slower each repetition is performed, the more difficult this exercise will be for most of your muscles.
• Now, this is entirely optional. If you don't weigh a whole lot, I strongly encourage individuals to use a weighted dip belt or to stuff weight plates in a backpack. Using extra weight for this exercise will challenge your body to work even harder. If you enjoy climbing, this will help to boost your overall strength and climbing abilities. For some people, bodyweight alone is very rarely ever enough.
• The best rep range for this exercise is between 6 to 8 like usual. I have never tried maxing out with the pull up. However, I have had a lot of fun trying to pull my own body-weight to the top of the bar on every rep with two 30 lb. dumbbells hanging from my waist. I was able to complete 4 reps. This can be extremely difficult, but it will give your body a great workout. It will make it even easier to perform pull ups with only your own bodyweight by training with the additional weight. Perhaps, partial reps with heavier weights are beneficial for pull ups.

If you are not strong enough to pull up your own body-weight for at least 6 reps, lat machine pulldowns are a great alternative exercise. This exercise is performed while seated. In conclusion, the deadlift, bent over barbell row and pull up are perfect exercises for developing massive and aesthetically pleasing back muscles. Of course, one's own exercise regimen doesn't have to be limited to only these three back exercises to train the back muscle groups. T-Bar rows and seated cable rows are also great movements for mass and muscle definition. In my own experiences though, I cannot help but feel that these three exercises were the most effective. My latissimus dorsi and trapezius development came from deadlifts, pull ups and bent over barbell rows, not from seated cable rows. The results will certainly vary from lifter to lifter.