Back muscles have many functions, acting on the arms, spine, and shoulder blades. Building a strong, beautiful back will not only help you look your best, it will help you with a great many functional movements while improving your posture.
Back exercises should be a priority looking to lose weight. Since the back houses a fairly large muscle group, back exercises burn a ton of calories, and building your back muscles helps raise your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories even while at rest.
Read this article to learn the best back exercises
Grip Pull-Up
deadlifts
Sumo deadlifts, conventional deadlifts, beyond the range (from a deficit), rack pulls - it doesn’t matter, just do them. The back not only works antagonistically to stabilize the torso (and spine) it works to lock out the weight to finish the movement. Deadlifts, by definition, are an exercise where you can move big weight.
Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
This is a great unilateral exercise—each side works independently—that allows you to move a lot of weight. You'll get greater range of motion when training unilaterally, and you won't be restrained if your weaker side fails first. You may also be better able to support your lower back—which may have taken plenty of punishment by now—when placing one hand on a bench. Allowing a slight degree of rotation of the trunk may engage a greater degree of "core" musculature, as well.2
Rack Pulls
One of the most underused back exercises in the bodybuilding community is rack pulls. Rack pulls are essentially the top lockout part of the deadlift movement that focuses more on your whole back and less on your glutes and hamstrings. First, find a stable service to place a bar at around knee level. Simply bend down with a flat back, lift straight up, and lock out by squeezing your arms back to contract your whole back. Drop the weight back to knee level and repeat for a total of 8-12 times. Make sure to build your weight up and not to jump heavy, nobody likes an injured lower back. Just make sure to not be scared to go heavy because this will definitely create a back-popping physique if used.
Decline Bench Dumbbell Pull-Over
Why it's on the list: Pull-overs for back? Absolutely! This one mimics the straight-arm cable pull-down you're probably familiar with. Yes, this is a single-joint move, but it allows you to really target and torch your lats. The decline version puts your lats under tension for a longer range of motion than when using a flat bench. Just make sure the dumbbell clears your head, and drop it on the floor behind you when you're done.
Back Extensions
Targeting the erectors, hamstrings and glutes. Stay neutral and don’t hyperextend or hyperflex your lower back. Head should also be in neutral with the back. You can overload this movement with a variety of implements like; kb’s, db’s, med balls, barbells or just holding an Olympic plate.