Back

About the Back

Your back muscles help you pull things and maintain good posture. They work opposite to your chest muscles. When you do a pull-up or row, your back muscles are working.

Latissimus Dorsi (Lats): The largest back muscle. It helps pull your arms down and back, like in pull-ups.
Rhomboids: Between your shoulder blades. They help squeeze your shoulder blades together and maintain posture.
Teres Major and Minor: Work with your lats to help rotate and move your shoulder.
Erector Spinae: Run along your spine. They help you stand up straight and bend backward.

Best Back (Lats) exercises

Lats adduct and extend the shoulder — pull-ups, pulldowns, and rows. A vertical pull plus a horizontal row is the minimum useful pair.

Straight Bar Bench Mid Rows (barbell)
Bent Over Barbell Row (barbell)
Bent Over One-Arm Long Bar Row (barbell)
Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row (dumbbell)
Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row With Palms In (dumbbell)
Chin-Up (body only)
Close-Grip Front Lat Pulldown (cable)
Dumbbell Incline Row (dumbbell)

Common mistakes

Shrugging the ears to the bar instead of depressing the scapula.
Turning rows into biceps curls with no torso angle.
Never using a full overhead stretch on pulldowns.

Log Back (Lats) work in Easy Reps

Open the lift in the app library, log weight and reps, and PRs update when you earn them. No account and no subscription. Download Easy Reps or browse the full exercise library.