Back Workout: 3 Routines, Best Exercises, Sets and Reps

The best back exercises

Your back is not a single muscle, which is why a back workout needs more than one kind of pull. A vertical pull brings your arms down from overhead, as in the pulldown or the pull-up, and focuses on your lats. A horizontal pull brings your arms toward your torso, as in the row, and adds your mid-back. If you only do one of the two, part of your back gets less work.

Lat pulldown. The lat pulldown is the easiest vertical pull to adjust, because you choose the weight. It works at any level.
Pull-up. The pull-up is the same movement with your bodyweight. If you cannot do one yet, start with the assisted pull-up.
Barbell row. The barbell row is the horizontal pull that lets you use the most weight. In exchange, your lower back has to hold your torso leaning forward for the whole set.
Cable row. The cable row keeps your torso more stable, so it is easier to hold your form when you are already tired.
Single arm row. In the dumbbell row you brace on a bench and each side works on its own. It helps you notice if one falls behind.
Straight arm pulldown. The straight arm pulldown brings your arms down with almost no elbow bend, so it loads your lats with very little help from your biceps.

The upper and lower back have their own exercises, like the dumbbell shrug and the back extension. To pick others, see the back exercises, the upper back exercises and the lower back exercises, each with a photo and step-by-step instructions.

Back workout at the gym

This session opens with the barbell row because it is the heaviest exercise, and the one done first gains the most strength (Nunes et al., 2021). If your priority is improving your pulldown or pull-ups, put them first. For building muscle, the order matters little.

Full back workout: 5 exercises and 16 sets. Each card shows sets × reps and rest.

That is 16 sets in one session, so it suits a day dedicated to your back. If you train it twice a week, split by type of pull: the barbell row, cable row and back extension on one day, which add up to 9 sets, and the pulldown and straight arm pulldown on the other, which add up to 7. If you can already do pull-ups with good form, use them instead of the pulldown.

Dumbbell back workout

With dumbbells, rows are easy to load, but you are missing a true vertical pull, because nothing comes down from overhead the way it does in a pulldown. The dumbbell pullover is the closest option, since it takes your arm from overhead toward your torso and works your lats. You only need dumbbells and an adjustable bench.

The incline dumbbell row supports your chest, so your lower back does not have to hold your torso up. If your bench does not incline, swap it for the dumbbell bent over row, standing. And if you have a pull-up bar, add it at the start of the session, because it is the vertical pull missing here.

Back workout at home, with a resistance band

Your back is hard to train without equipment, because to pull you need something to hold on to. A resistance band solves most of that: you hook it high on a door for the pulldown and at chest height for the row. The load is lower, but muscle grows similarly with light or heavy loads when the sets are hard (Schoenfeld et al., 2017). That is why the rep ranges are higher here and each set should end close to failure.

Back workout at home: 4 exercises and 13 sets. On the single arm row, reps are per side.

Before you pull, check that the anchor is secure. When you reach the top of the range with good form, use a stiffer band or step further from the anchor. If you have a bar, the pull-up or the inverted row give you more load than the band.

How many back sets to do per week

To build muscle, what matters most is how many hard sets each muscle gets per week (Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger, 2017). The ACSM links the greatest hypertrophy to 10 or more sets per muscle per week and sees gains level off around 18 to 20 (Currier et al., 2026). When you are starting out you do not need to reach 10, because fewer sets also build muscle (Currier et al., 2023).

Direct back sets per week by level
Level	Sets per week	Sessions	How to split them
Beginner	Fewer than 10	1 or 2	One pulldown and one row per session
Intermediate	10 to 16	2	5 to 8 sets per session, half pulldowns and half rows
Advanced	Up to 20	2 or 3	A third session if they do not fit with good form

Ten back sets are 5 per session if you train two days, and they fit in one pulldown and one row. With the same volume, training a muscle once or twice a week gives similar hypertrophy (Schoenfeld, Grgic and Krieger, 2019), so frequency mainly helps you spread the work. The table counts pulldowns, rows and pullovers. Shrugs and back extensions are separate, because their work falls mostly on your traps and lower back.

If you already follow a push pull legs routine, your back has its pull day. In an upper lower routine, put one pulldown and one row in each upper day.

Common back training mistakes

Doing only pulldowns or only rows. Each one loads your back differently. Include at least one of each type during the week.
Pulling with your arms. If you feel most of the effort in your biceps, think about driving your elbows down in the pulldown and back in the row. Your hands only hold on.
Swinging your torso. Leaning back in the pulldown or heaving the row lets you move more weight, but then you cannot compare one session with another. Lower the weight until your torso stays still.
Rounding your lower back on rows. Keep your back neutral for the whole set. If your lower back tires before your upper back, switch to a chest-supported row, like the chest supported T row.
Going to failure on every set. Reaching failure does not build more muscle than stopping close to it (Refalo et al., 2023). The ACSM suggests ending with 2 or 3 reps in reserve (Currier et al., 2026).
Resting too little on heavy rows. To build muscle, resting more than 60 seconds has a small benefit, and beyond 90 it barely changes (Singer et al., 2024). If you want strength on heavy lifts, more than 2 minutes works better in trained people (Grgic et al., 2018). More detail in rest between sets.

How to progress on your back workout

Log every set. Weight and reps for each exercise, pull-ups included. Without that number you do not know what to beat next session.
Add reps first. When you reach the top of the range on every set, raise the weight by the smallest step you can. In trained people, adding weight and adding reps both worked over 8 weeks (Plotkin et al., 2022).
Work up to the pull-up in stages. Start with the assisted pull-up and reduce the help little by little. Then move to the full pull-up and, when you reach the top of the range, add load with the weighted pull-up.
Repeat the same session. Rotating exercises at random or very often can hurt (Kassiano et al., 2022). Change an exercise when you have a reason, like discomfort or a long plateau.

The full rule is in the progressive overload guide, and you can estimate your max on the row or the pulldown with the 1RM calculator.

Questions

How many back exercises should I do per session?

3 to 5 is enough, with at least one pulldown and one row. With those two and 3 sets each you already get 6 sets, a good starting point.

Which is better, the lat pulldown or the pull-up?

They are the same movement. The pull-up makes you move your bodyweight, and the pulldown lets you choose the weight. To build muscle, use the one that lets you do hard sets with good form.

Can you train your back at home?

Yes, with a resistance band or a pull-up bar. Without either one you can do the superman for your lower back, but it is hard to load your lats.

Which exercises work the lower back?

The back extension and the superman work it directly. The barbell row also demands a lot from it, because it has to hold your torso leaning forward.

Should I train back with biceps?

It is a common pairing, because every pull already uses your biceps. There is a ready-made session in the back and bicep workout.

Sources

This guide is for information only and does not replace advice from a health professional.

Back workout: the best exercises, sets and reps

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