Back Strengthening Exercises: Increase Your Pulling Power

As I have mentioned before, the V-shaped torso is one of the most attractive features a guy can have in the eyes of most women. Although the shoulders are at the “top” of this V, the back can be thought of as the sides of it, bridging the shoulders to the waist.

A strong back is a sign of pulling and climbing strength, as it is utilized heavily in these activities. And you’ll need some excellent back strengthening exercises to develop them.

The Pull Up

The pull up is, without a doubt, the gold standard of back strengthening exercises. It is the most functional of all exercises targeting the back – it mimics the grabbing and pulling motions that would have been so important to our ancestors, long before we started sitting in a cubicle all day to earn the means to procure food and shelter.

Perform the pull up as follows:

1. Grab on to the pull up bar. (Overhand or underhand. Close grip or Wide grip. Pick your poison. But the overhand slightly-wider-than-shoulders grip is the classic.)
2. Pull yourself up until your chin is level with the bar. Retract your shoulder blades and drive your elbows downwards.
3. Slowly lower yourself down.

Sounds simple enough, eh?

For extra challenge, you can do pull ups on rings or by adding weight. Check out this post from Relative Strength Advantage for some excellent ideas on how to do the latter.

The Row Family

Rows, along with bench presses, occupy a bit of a tenuous role in resistance training. Whereas exercises such as the pull up and the deadlift are quite functional, it’s hard to imagine too many cases in one’s life when it is necessary to pull something heavy towards your body or push it away using only your arms.

Nevertheless, rows are a compound exercise with a multitude of benefits, primarily focused on the upper back.

Rows are an exhaustive family and I will only focus on a couple. The “bent-over” rows are often hard on your lower back if you do not have perfect form, particularly barbell and T-bar rows. My personal love of efficiency leads me to not hold the dumbbell row in high esteem either, even though you have the benefit of a bench for support.

Rowing

The best choice when it comes to rowing exercises, using a rowing machine or (ideally) rowing in a boat out on the water, is a true full-body exercise. (As you might have guessed, LMVM is all about the compound exercises!) I’m guessing few of you have a lake and a boat outside your house to make this convenient. Rowing machines can sometimes be found in gyms, but in a world of treadmill- and elliptical-lovers there’s a good chance you’ll be S.O.L.

Inverted Rows

The next best rowing exercise are inverted rows. Think of these as an “upside down push up.” You’ll need a barbell and a rack for this, or another sturdy low bar or surface. Unfortunately, this is a neglected exercise, but I think it can be a great back-strengthening addition to everyone’s routine.

Inverted rows are done as follows:

1. Set a bar on hooks in a squat rack greater than arm length from the ground. The lower it is to the ground, the better the exercise you’ll get, as long as it’s not so low your body touches the ground.
2. Lie underneath and grab the bar overhand slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Keep your shoulder blades retracted. Spread your body out with your legs together so it is completely straight.
3. Pull your body up until your chest touches the bar, all the while keeping your body straight.
4. Lower yourself down to complete one rep.

This is an exercise that can be approximated easily outside the gym by using a handrail or other low bar.

Back in Action

Weighted or unweighted. Close grip or wide grip. Whatever flavor you want, the almighty pull up is the king of back exercises. A compound and functional movement that also engages the biceps and abs, this one should be a staple of everyone’s routine.

Rows, while not as functional as pull ups, are still an excellent family of exercises that can be a good fit in your routine as well. If you can do real rowing (either in a boat or on a rower) you’ll be best off. Otherwise, inverted rows are a great gymnastic-type bodyweight exercise. If you are fortunate enough to have a thick, long rope and a high ceiling to tie it off on, rope climbs are another one of these excellent back strengthening exercises.

Tagged as: back muscles, climbing, pull ups, rows