Back Day Workout - Full Back Workout for Men | ATHLEAN-X (2024)

The back is very unique when compared to other muscles since it is NOT JUST ONE MUSCLE!

So why do we think a few sets of pullups or the bent-over barbell row is enough for muscle growth?

It’s definitely not.

There are two main problems with typical lat focused training, and if this is how you’re training, your back is seriously missing out when it comes to muscle development!

1. Lat focused training works only a fraction of the back muscles and doesn’t tap into the complete strength of the back!
2. Many people choose repetitive exercises that work the back in the same plane… over and over and over.

A Back Day Workout should consist of exercises for not just the lats and traps, but also fill in the gaps of what is lacking in the most popular back exercises to hit other important target muscles of the back.

For instance, if you look at two common lat-focused back exercises, the pull-up and lat pulldown, they are two major vertical pulling exercises. It’s not necessarily bad to perform them in the same back workout, but you’re overlooking the importance of horizontal pulling if these are the only back exercises you’re doing.

This Back Day Workout program is a definitive guide consisting of exercises to build not just the lats and traps, but also fill in the gaps of what is lacking in the most popular back exercises to hit other important target muscles of the back, build muscle mass and help you get that v shape torso!

THE 5 MUSCLE GROUPS OF THE BACK

This Back Day Workout needs to hit 5 important upper body major muscles in the back including upper back muscle fibers, mid back muscle fibers and lower back muscle fibers and all of the scapular muscles.

I’ve identified each of these target muscles with the Muscle Markers to help show how each of these muscle groups functions.

WHAT ARE THE MUSCLE GROUPS OF THE BACK?

1. Lats
2. Upper and Lower Traps
3. Low Back / Erector Spinae
4. Rotator Cuff Muscles
5. Teres Major

BACK DAY WORKOUT: STEP BY STEP

When I put this complete back workout program together, my goal was to hit the back through its ENTIRE range of motion and hit EVERY FUNCTION, as well as size and strength of the this multi muscle group posterior chain as well.

There are a variety of techniques that I use to achieve this, and we’ll take a brief look at each of them here.

THE WARM UP

Before we get started with our big compound movements we need to make sure that we have warm muscles.

Since the Deadlift is the first compound movement we’ll be working with, we’re going to perform a few submaximal light warmup sets of it. This gives us a good opportunity to practice and set ourselves up with proper form. We also have an opportunity to introduce some Straight Arm Pushdowns using the cable pulley machine with each warmup set of Deadlifts.

This exercise done with cable machines helps to ingrain one of the most important movement patterns you will need to not only perform the Deadlift but all next level back exercises: straight arm scapular strength work.

This reinforces the stability of your shoulder blades, and improves muscle activation to keep that upper body tightness when you do the bar Deadlift.

Starting position is standing at the cable tower with a short straight bar attachment. Begin with arms straight and feet flat on the floor shoulder width apart, and keeping your chest straight and core muscles tight, lower the bar toward your legs in a controlled movement. Return to start position slowly and repeat.

1a.) and 1b.) COMPOUND LIFTS

We’re going to kick this workout off with one of the best compound back exercises that’s going to hit a lot of the areas of the back at once: the conventional Deadlift.

The traps, lats, and lower back all get a heavy dose of progressive overload on this powerhouse of a back exercise!

If you choose a heavy loadand refuse to sacrifice your form, this can be an enormous benefit to your overall back muscle development.

For the first superset we’re going to pair the Deadlift with a Weighted Chin Up.

The deadlift with a loaded barbell is another of the best compound back exercises that can build a lot of back strength, size and overall muscle definition. An additional reason to pair these two movements together is that the loaded dead hang of the Weighted Chin Up allows us to get a great decompressive effect after the heavy load of the Deadlift.

To perform the Weighted Chinup, you can use my dog leash technique to add extra weight in the form of a weight plate. Starting position is in a dead hang on the bar with an underhand grip with palms facing you. Pull yourself up and then slowly lower down to the starting position. Keep your torso upright, spine stable and your core strength engaged during the entire exercise to plug the energy leaks.

2a.) and 2b.) SWITCHING GRIPS

It’s important not to get locked in on only one grip in hanging exercises, but instead mix both Chin Ups and bodyweight Pull-ups along with the Deadlift.

If you neglect to switch between an underhand grip and an overhand grip, you lose the chance to work other areas of the back such as the teres major (which in and of itself occupies a large amount of mass above the lats) and therefore lose the muscle gain you will see from your workout routine.

So, we’ll also pair the Deadlift with a Wide Grip Pull-up to incorporate that overhand grip in the second superset to hit those different sets of upper back muscles. We’ll do the Wide Grip Pull-up as a bodyweight movement.

Wide Grip Pull-ups take an overhand grip on the pull-up bar and help us switch up wide and narrow grip pulling exercises. Starting position for the Wide Grip Pull-up is with arms extended in a Y position on the pull-up bar. Pull your torso up to the pull-up bar, keeping the torso upright and a strong core, and pause at the top and before you slowly return to the starting position. Maintain a neutral spine during this exercise. In addition to working the back, this is one of the best pull-up variations that also challenges your grip strength.

3.) EXPLOSIVITY

My favorite exercise for incorporating explosivity is the Barbell Dead Row.

This heavy barbell row builds off the same movement pattern used for the deadlift, but by allowing you to train explosively, it primes your performance on the deadlift because it shares similar biomechanics. I always say, when you train like an athlete, you always want to speed up what you slow down with your heavier weight training because it helps improve athleticism and strength.

When you train like an athlete you always want to speed up what you slow down with your heavier weight training.

Perform this powerful back exercise as a follow up to the deadlift and you will find that even a heavier weight seems like a lighter load and more able to be accelerated.

Starting position for this barbell row is bending your knees with feet about shoulder width apart, start with a deadlift movement and finish with a barbell rowing movement. As you perform the bent over rows portion, be sure to squeeze your shoulder blades together as you pull the bar toward your torso. Use correct form and maintain your core strength throughout the entire movement to avoid risk of injury.

4.) THE LATS

Dedicating some additional focused tension towards the lats allows you to develop that mind muscle connection that is important for maximizing hypertrophy of the back.

I’ll give you two exercises to choose from, but you’ll just do one of them.

Focus on really squeezing each rep and taking the lats through their full range of motion for optimum effect.

OPTION 1: The Alternating High Cable Row (using the cable pulley machine) done in an alternating fashion is perfect for taking the lats through their entire range of motion. I’m able to get my arm out in front of my body, getting my lat out in full stretch. This is an improvement on the more limited range of motion in a seated cable row.

It still gets it all the way back behind my body, into extension, but also adducted tightly to my side, hitting all the major functions of the lats. You even get a little bit of rotation on the back to really get into more extension.

In addition, working each side of your lats separately helps fix any muscular imbalances that you may have.

Start by placing the cable attachment in an elevated position on the cable pulley, take the cable pulley handle in the left hand and pull your elbow in toward the torso, twisting slightly, being sure to engage the lats and maintain core stability. Return to the start and grab the cable with the right hand, repeating the same motion on the other side.

OPTION 2: The Rocking Pulldown (also done with a cable pulley using the lat pull-down attachment) is probably one of best pulldown variations. Instead of being limited in a frontal plane, the rocking motion helps us get more adduction down closer to our side and more extension back behind our body, giving us a better overall lat contraction.

All you have to do is give this a try and I promise you, you’re going to see the results!

You won’t have to sacrifice the weight you’re using to do this, but you’ll get a much better contraction. You can use the same type of weights, maybe dropping down just a plate or two. This focused tension gives you more of an aesthetic benefit on top of the athletic performance and the strength you’re already building in the workout.

5.) the SMALLER MUSCLES

Filling in the gaps by hitting the smaller muscles with corrective exercises helps with improved posture and building strength in the entire back, because we’re only as strong as our weakest link.

The rotator cuff is one of these very important and often undertrained muscles. If you’re not training the rotator cuff muscles at least two to three times a week you’re not doing it enough.

The Hyper Y W Combo will allow you to hit both the lumbar erectors and the rotator cuff muscles in a single move. This exercise can be done in a glute-ham raise, or you could do this on a physio ball like I’m showing you.

If you’re not doing rotator cuff at least two to three times a week you’re not doing it enough.

You will not need to use heavy weights to do this; light weights will light you up in exactly the way you need for best effect. The Y portion achieves muscle contraction in the lower traps and trains them how to fire properly and in the right sequence. The action of the W is to create external rotation at the shoulder to incorporate the muscles of the rotator cuff.

6.) the UPPER TRAPS

We’re going to finish this workout with the area you probably focus on more often which is the upper trap.

We’re going to hit it with a Standard Barbell Shrug. You can take a slightly wider grip that puts the angle of the arm more in alignment with the orientation of the fibers of the upper traps, or you can go narrower if it’s more comfortable for you.

THE WORKOUT

So, here is the entire BACK DAY WORKOUT step by step, all sets, all reps and rest between exercises for you guys to follow. I promise you, you’re going to see and feel the difference.

BACK DAY WORKOUT

*IMPORTANT NOTE: PERFORM ONE SET OF STRAIGHT ARM PUSHDOWNS FOR EACH WARMUP SET OF DEADLIFTS

When you put your back workout together in the format I’m suggesting here, not only do you now hit the back through its full range of motion, but you hit every function of the this multi muscle group posterior chain as well. The supersets and ladders allow for an intensification of the workout to ensure that you are creating enough progressive overload to spark muscle development and see huge strength gains.

This Back Day Workout is just one example of how to apply science to your strength and conditioning workouts. If you want to train like an athlete you’re going to want to put science back in every workout you do. You can do that with the ATHLEAN-X programs and get started right away on building a ripped, muscular, athletic body.

1. The back is not just one big muscle group! There are 5 main areas that the Back Day Workout must focus on: lats, upper and lower traps, low back, rotator cuff and teres major.
2. There are two big common mistakes with typical lat focused training: it only works a fraction of the back muscles and many people choose repetitive exercises that only work in one plane. Training this way does not maximize your upper body strength.
3. When we structure the Back Day Workout, we want to be sure to work ALL the back muscles and incorporate a variety of training elements: compound lifts, switching grips to hit different muscles, explosivity plus targeted work in the lats, the smaller muscles and the traps.

Gordon R, Bloxham S. A Systematic Review of the Effects of Exercise and Physical Activity on Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain. Healthcare (Basel). 2016 Apr 25;4(2):22.

Escamilla RF, Francisco AC, Kayes AV, Speer KP, Moorman CT 3rd. An electromyographic analysis of sumo and conventional style deadlifts. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 Apr;34(4):682-8.

Fenwick CM, Brown SH, McGill SM. Comparison of different rowing exercises: trunk muscle activation and lumbar spine motion, load, and stiffness. J Strength Cond Res. 2009 Mar;23(2):350-8.

Barra-López ME, López-de-Celis C, Pérez-Bellmunt A, Puyalto-de-Pablo P, Sánchez-Fernández JJ, Lucha-López MO. The supporting role of the teres major muscle, an additional component in glenohumeral stability? An anatomical and radiological study. Med Hypotheses. 2020 Aug;141:109728.