We Tested 17 Back Exercises, These Are Best For Growth
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- The back is such an important part of what makes an impressive physique. But with literally 100’s of different back exercises out there, it’s hard to tell which you should do in your back workout. That’s why we got Betty - our muscle activation measuring machine. Today we’re using her to test the best back exercises on 4 different people. At the end, we’ll use the results to create a perfect back workout you can trust is the best back workout that’ll get you the muscular, powerful looking back you’re after.
Different back exercises will target different back muscles. The two main features of a well-developed back are thickness, and width. Most thickness comes from the mid and upper back muscles. So we put a sensor on the mid-traps. We also put a sensor on the lower traps. The main muscle responsible for widening your back and building is the lats. Because it’s the largest muscle of the upper body, we put 2 sensors on it, one on the upper lats, and one on the lower lats.
Next, let’s cover the details of the experiment that’ll help us find the best back exercises. Subjects: Coach Alex, Raza, Tahnee, and myself. There was no wager this time around. We had to control 3 variables: 1) weight testing, sensor placement, and maximum voluntary contraction. We did 1 set of 5 reps, then took at least 5-minute rest before moving onto the next exercise. We also rotated between horizontal and vertical pulling exercises.
Note that Betty, and EMG research in general, has its limitations. More activation does not always lead to more growth, and there are other variables to consider when determining how well an exercise grows muscle. That said, after averaging the data, I did find some very interesting insights that align with other current research.
First, “overall back builders” to include in your back workout. The first is deadlifts. Your legs are mostly responsible for moving the weight, but all of your upper and lower back muscles have to work hard to keep your body stable as you lift. Although they aren’t taken through their full range of motion and are only contracting isometrically, this is still a powerful stimulus for growth especially because of the heavy weight used and the deep stretch that some of these back muscles experience. The second exercise is bent-over rows. Similar to deadlifts, you’re able to load it relatively heavy and your whole back, including the lower back, is helping you stabilize and move the weight. The overhand grip led to more mid back activation whereas the underhand grip, led to slightly more lats activation primarily in the lower lats.
Next, the best exercises for the mid and upper back. The exercise that came on top was the inverted rows. It led to the highest back activation for both Tahnee and Raza but didn’t do nearly as well for both myself and Alex. So while it is a great bodyweight exercise that I’d highly recommend for most females and beginners, as you get more experienced you’ll want to consider other movements that you can start adding weight to or save this exercise for the tail end of your workout. As for the other exercises that came out on top, wide grip seated cable rows and dumbbell chest supported rows with the elbows flared out and shoulder blades squeezed together at the end, both led to the highest activation after the inverted row. So, when talking about the “best back workout”, these two will definitely make an appearance.
Now, I want to talk about the lower traps. It’s an extremely important yet often overlooked muscle for overall shoulder health and posture. So I’d recommend including at least one lower traps exercise in your routine. And the one that came out on top during our experiment? Incline prone Y raises.
Last but not least, the lats. While lat pulldowns and pull-ups do a pretty good job of activating the lats, one move in particular however led to higher activation than any of those exercises. The lat-focused row.
Let’s put everything we learned into “perfect back workout” that you can start using right away. I’d recommend picking one exercise from each of the categories we went through and then adding in prone Y raises to the end to give the lower traps some extra love.
Sample Back Workout
Bent-Over Barbell Row
Pull-Ups
Dumbbell Chest Supported Row (elbows angled out)
Incline Prone Y-Raises
Click below for a step by step plan training plan that reveals all the best exercises you should do for each and every muscle group:
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Download your FREE back workout PDF:
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Vote for the glutes exercises you think will come out on top:
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Hope you enjoyed this one! You can download the free back workout routine here: builtwithscience.com/backworkout . Enjoy! See ya next time for glutes 🍑!
Abs!!! Why glutes.
Peace, Islam is the truth. Read the Qur'an
@@majidhussain3896 🤣🤣🤣
abs, glutes and legs (including calves)
Jeremy, you didn't tell us which exercise came on top for the lower lats specifically?
It is just me, or would anyone else want to see him re-do his push/pull/legs… upper/lower… and full body split workouts using his new information as his other videos are a year or more old?
This is not new information, EMG based studies have been around for years and Jeremy used data from them
It's all bullshit anyway.
Yes please do
Just take all the exercises from the individual muscle videos and combine them to make a pull/push one.
THIS
Tahnee kicks ass!! Thank you Tahnee!! And thank you to Jeremy and the team for recognizing the under representation of women. Men often underestimate how important their voice is when they speak on that issue but it carries such a strong and positive message so thank you!
6:16 Overal best back exercises
8:21 Mid/ Upper back
9:34 Lower traps
10:03 Lats
He's wearing glasses so you know he's trustworthy
Not all heros wear capes
What about lower back
@@Itselijahbruh doesn't exist
@@Dimadawai wait how
I swear on my entire existence very close grip weighted pull-ups as in your palms facing away with them very close 2 inches apart on the bar will be the very greatest thing for your lats possible
I’m just surprised you haven’t perished
For those with not much time to watch.
- 2 Best overall: deadlift, bent-over barbell rows
- 3 Best middle/upper back: Cable row (elbows angled out), Dumbbell chest supported row, Wide grip chest supported machine row.
- Best lower traps: Incline prone Y-raises
- 4 Best lats: Lat focused row (elbows in, lean forward), pull ups, lat pulldown, chin ups.
Thanks lol
For lats, is it better to do wide lat pulldown or normal lat pulldown?
@@idlannizam74 it's all explained at 10:00 on the video - pulls will work the lats, but elbows close to the body will emphasise the lats more, like a close-grip row or pull down 👍
Love u
I haird they are the best workouts
Thank you Tahnee!! I have a chronic illness (EDS) and it’s really important that I strengthen my back. without your participation I would’ve had a much harder time finding information that will keep me out of a wheelchair for longer. Seriously thank you
Eds here too! Building muscle decreases pain for me!
I like how you showed all the exercises in little boards in the end of the video that way I can just take a SS and always look at the best exercises you guys found, you are a great help and immediately after I started listening to your tips I felt much more growth keep it up cuz I appreciate it man
Overall back:
Deadlifts
Bendover rows
Reverse bendover rows (more lower lat* activation)
T-bar row
Mid and upper back:
Wide grip seated row
Dumbell chest supported row
Inverted row (calisthenics/last exercise)
Lower traps:
Incline prone Y raises
Lats:
Lat focused row
Pull ups
Lat pulldowns
Edit: typo in lat
Shame its all about weights
@@koleszgdanska7149Check out the calisthenics youtubers.
Wut in tarnation is a reverse bent-over row?
@@DrSpooglemon
Bending over rows with the grip reversed
@@lanasharab1568 I wasn't sure if it was a sex position.
Thanks tahnee ! Im loving this type of content and how much more fun youre having now
Thanks Tahnee
@@eziocutarelli678 damn bruh that pfp is just…😂😂😂
So am i
I’ve been following you for years and I just wanted to say, I really appreciate you for everything. My fitness journey has been phenomenal with your insights to everything🙏
I love this series so much. Such top tier content 💛
Thanks Tahnee
Dude I've been waiting for this ever since you did it with shoulders. Thanks so much! Already tried some of your previous recommendations and really helps
Thank you Tahnee !! Love that a woman was included in this study. This was very much needed for me
Ever since he got Betty, he’s become even more awesome
Thanks Tahnee!
I'm gonna be working my Back!
My back can never be too big!
I'm gonna be walking sideways through the doorway when I'm done with my workout!
The information, the editing, the subjects, everything, absolute chef's kiss!
I like the added touches of humor and bits of personal life events. Well done and I appreciate what you do my friend!
Thanks Tawny!
Love your love…. He always has all the information and great workouts I need
This guy has the most reliable and trustworthy fitness content ever.
Thank you for all the effort done to make the video!
Most Effective Back Exercises for Hypertrophy
1. Deadlifts --> Ideally with a trap bar/hex bar IMGH but he didn't mention it despite it how well they work.
2. Bent Over Rows --> Overhand grip (more mid-back activation) Underhand grip (more lower lat activation)
3. Inverted Rows --> Great for beginners, Experienced lifters can use a weighted vest or just safe it for the end of the workout after your back is already fatigued.
4. Wide Grip Seated Row or Dumbell Chest-Supported Row with elbows angled out and the shoulder blades pinched together at the end (both great for mid-trap activation)
5. Incline Prone Y raise (needed for lower traps and for proper posture and overall shoulder health.)
6. Lat-Focused Row: Lean forward slightly and keep your elbows tucked in. (Supposedly better than pullups, but it feels strange to not do any pull-ups... and it's kinda redundant after the wide grip seated row, so I might just do lat pull downs instead.)
Other Notes:
1. Lifting Straps --> I suggest using them half the time so that your grip strength doesn't lag behind.
2. Make sure you watch videos about proper former before each exercise until you know the proper form of each exercise by heart.
3. I'm thinking about doing one set of each of these exercises for my back workouts.
Thank you for including Tahnee. When I watched your other videos, I was hoping to see women included. Great info. Great job! 👍
It is obvious that you put so much efforts, I appreciate.
your work is the best man, thanks for always putting free pdfs of workouts and stuff too🙏🏽
~Top exercises for back~
Overall back exercises:
01: Deadlift
02: Bent Over Barbell Rows
03: Inverted Row (for beginners)
Mid/Upper back:
04: Wide Grip Seated Cable row
05: Dumbell Chest Supported Row
Lats:
06: Lat Focus row
07: Lat Pull-down
08: Incline Curl Y raises
09: Pull Ups
Incline Y it’s for low traps
Im going to try to workout on them on Monday
This is already a full Back Day. Thanks
if i had a 5 day split, and lets say, days that i do overall back is on monday, so then on thursday.. should i do just the mid and lats?
A quick spreadsheet with the results table would be really helpful for when we want to mix up exercises. Personally I have recently been enjoying the Cable Lat Prayers and am interested in how they stack up against the the more standard seated Lat Pulldown.
I enjoy it very much
My favorite kind of prayers when I worship at the House of Fitness!
I’ve been following you for years and I just wanted to say, I really appreciate you for everything. My fitness journey has been phenomenal with your insights to everything
Top 3 exercises for each back muscle
Best Overall:
01: Deadlift
02: Bent Over Barbell Rows (Wide Overhand/Narrow Underhand Grips)
Mid/Upper Back:
01: Cable Row (Elbows Angled Out)
02: Dumbell Chest Supported Row (Elbows Angled Out)
03: Machine Chest Supported Row (Elbows Angled Out)
Lower Traps:
01: Incline Prone Y Raises
Lats:
01: Lat focused row (elbows in, lean forward)
02: Pull Ups
03: Lat Pulldowns
04: Chin Ups
Where is Inverted Row?
You are the effin goat
Tahnee, you were great.... Nice having you with us. You both make a great team !! Excellent video with good info. Thank you, both.
5:14 what a pose sirrr😂😂😂
God bless you, Jeremy. You cannot imagine how many guys you've saved from injury and steroids. I write to you from Goainia, a little town I am volunteering in Brazil, they use rebars lodged into concrete cans or logs to train on wooden apparatuses. Your vids are helping me show these kids how to not injure themselves as their ticket out of poverty is usually fighting and athletics.
I totally agree 👍
Thanks Tahnee and of course Jeremy, who puts so much effort and energy into his work which is beneficial for us :)
He does put in so much effort
Thanks Tahnee!I am so grateful to you guys for female representing,its exciting! Waiting for leg routins
Really appreciate the amount of efforts you put into these videos! 💯
So have i
The fact your using actual science machines shows how authentic your content really is.
For me as I do pull-ups, Seated rows and lat pull downs and lat focused seated machine absent in gym. Modification I required for back Day:
Overall Back :
Dead lifts
Upper and mid Back:
Wide grip seated row
Lower Back (Lats)
Pull-ups
Lat pull downs.
Lower Traps:
Incline prone Y -Raises.
That's so cool! Love how you build up the video - everything makes total sense. Well done as always 💪🏼
EMG isn't accurate.
Top overall back builders
1. Dead lifts (activations mostly on last segment of exercise)
2. Underhand bent over rows 7:37 (More lats activation)
3. Overhand bent over rows 7:37 (More midback activstion
4.
What happened to posting all the results like you did for the chest study? That was crazy useful in helping pick potentially useful movements, especially for those old guys among us who may have some mobility/joint issues.
Same here. I deadlift twice a week (Once conventional, once RDL) so until my split is done bent over rows aren't an option for me as my lower back would already be heavily fatigued and be the limiting factor. I went to his blog to hopefully find the full breakdown of all the exercises and its corresponding EMG data and it wasn't there
@Andrew Plummer it's definitely disappointing, that's for sure.
Among us
Please post the data Jeremy!
just wanna say one thing"focus on his left eye"
actually one more thing"you are the best coach"
Thanks for the female-subject representation in this fitness research, Jeremy 💪🏼 (Gracias Tahnee!!)
Just watched the back one from 6 yrs ago... you hace come so far.... its so amazing to see your channel grow!! Caught on pre covid.!!
Goat for uploading this. My back workout has always been mid and doesn't look that good compared to the rest of my body. Gonna see some crazy results in a couple of months hopefully
Bro follow Ryan jewers and jpg coaching they are way ahead of this you will get jacked.
Split back into two days upper back focus and lat focused.Both of these guys have pull workouts and everything else.
How’s it goin man?
Thank you Tahnee! I loved that it is female included ❤
I bought a program a month ago. It’s a lot.. but I’m easing into it and seeing some great results. I look forward to your videos each week to implement new techniques and exercises. Keep up the good work! Ps thanks Tahnee🎉
Thanks for the free content bro!
what you did in this video is insane i cant imagine the time that is took to be uploaded
very awesome and informative video
And then he didn't release the data 😞
Fantastic video! I really like this series and appreciate the scientific approach!
It’s also really cool that you’re a local! I grew up in Vancouver. It’s awesome to know there’s such great talent in the neighbourhood! Keep up the exceptional work!
Thanks Tahnee 💫
This dude is by far my favorite fitness RUclipsr
The point I’d like to make about the inverted row is that it is one of the easiest movements to progress. You can place your feet on an object to increase the ROM and over time keep increasing the ROM, you can put a weight plate on your chest, and finally you can use rings or TRX straps to turn it into a completely different movement. I’m currently doing rows on a TRX setup with my feet on an 18” box.
I love inverted rows. They’re one of my favorite exercises of all time.
Inverted rows(and all its variations) + pull ups are my favorite back exercises.
Yeah nobody should sleep on inverted rows. Before I was able to get in to a gym and start using free weights, inverted rows did all of my back building and it built a solid base.
Thank you man your videos sooo high quality
I really enjoy this type of videos, keep the great work!
Dude this video is academicly perfect, thank you for your work
Yo , these Betty Series or soo helpful and entertaining. Would love to see one for the quads.
Thanks Tahnee! 😄
@Ryan Humiston did these videos too and he has done the quads already. Look it up !
Been following you since day one of my gym journey, underrated guy fr
Yeah he has a good channel
I have done standing Y exercises with 10 lb weights but never the prone Y's until I hit the gym tonight! also, I am going to lighten up the weights, lean forward, keeping the elbows tucked in and do those lat rows! very impressive! Thanks, and thanks Tahnee for your help! OH, I do the dead lifts on both back and leg days, with upper body days in between
I. I normally do deadlifts on leg days too.
II. My guesses for highest glute activation:
A. Hip thrusts
B. Squats
C. Deadlifts
D. Donkey kicks/cable-assisted donkey kicks
E. Side-lying glute bridges
I love the content all the way through in this video💯very helpful!! Everyone will have there own muscle build but with the different body types and gym experiences you could actually make a full program that’s accurate and not biased based on experiences
Your data is always tops in my book Jeremey! I’m always impressed and a lot of times surprised by your findings!
Thank you for all your videos!
(1) 7:35 Underhand BB Row
(2) 10:12 Lat Pulldowns
(3) 9:00 Cable Row
(4) 9:50 Incline Prone Y-Raises
FOR ME
Man called her the love of his life... bro that's so special, amazing and rare. Don't ever let her go, ever, no matter what. You'll regret it. Best wishes.
00:02 Testing the most popular back exercises to find the best ones for muscle growth.
01:36 Determining best exercises for overall back growth
03:11 Testing and preparing for back exercises
04:51 Testing revealed two top back exercises for high muscle activation.
06:18 Deadlifts showed high activation in every single back muscle, surprising but effective for growth.
07:45 Rows with angled out wide elbows target the mid and upper back effectively.
09:12 Wide grip seated cable rows and dumbbell chest supported rows lead to highest activation for back growth.
10:38 Focus on basic exercises for back growth.
This channel is so educational. I love it here❤
Just started training again after almost a year, this time by myself. I really appreciate your videos and your studies!
Single arm rows and straight arm lat pull downs are my absolute favorite lat workouts, they’re the only workouts i can truly feel in my lats, especially if you pull to full activation.
5:45 is where the stuff you care about starts
Thanks for the content!! I was watching on the TV, but I felt obligated to pick the phone, subscribe and like the video just because of the content high quality
Hey jeremy you are always my distination after getting confused by other fitness influncers
I really appreaciate your efforts keep going man 🔥🔥
Old school bodybuilders are the true science. Deadlift, bent over rowing, t bar rowing, seated cable rows, chins, pulldowns
i personally do deadlifts on back days because i just feel like there are better exercises for muscle growth in legs
it is refreshing to see someone natural.i am tired of seeing liars claiming that they did something but forget to mention the PED.
Oh man I wush I found your channel earlier
You really changed my life, thanks to your content i started working out, also I was working in food delivery for a year, and thanks to u finally made a channel about fitness, now feel like I'm where I should be, working hard and hope one day my 100 subs will become 100k and I'll quit delivery! Best wishes from Ukraine man, keep it up!
Thank Tahnee. Great stuff.
I've always done deadlifts on back day( first exercise) I find it to be great to warm up and prepare your back( I do higher reps lower weight)
I do deadlifts on core day along with primarily lower back training.
But I toss in pull-ups and push-ups wheverever I can in any workout because I think they're amazing exercises that people really shouldn't underestimate.
Great series, Jeremy, this is a really splendid way to show growth in individual muscles or in muscle groups! And thanks to Tahnee and F to your your wrist strap!
As for deadlifts, I actually do a Upper-Lower Body split so I just include it in my Lower Body days, which happens to be my leg days.
push day / pull day is better ;-> with legs as part of that or split out
@@nonfictionone I was actually debating between a Upper-Lower and PPL split back in August when I was updating my workout schedule, I just chose Upper-Lower because it seemed better for my usual schedule since I exercise late at night.
I love Jeremy, I guess this guy is most experienced and best fit person in youtube.❤✌love you bruh
The deadlift is indeed good at activating your back muscles, however once again, they are mostly used to stabilize your back during the movement. Thus is including them in your leg-workout beneficial for your back muscles over a longer period of time. I wouldn't replace them with, for example, bent over rows, since that exercise IS mainly focused on activating your back muscles.
Great job on the video, Jeremy. Hope to see more content like this.
Yup , Deadlift is terrible for back hypertrophy … High Activity comes from stabilizing and using really heavy weight . It’s overrated
I really think it's very smart to add deadlifts, specially rdl's on your back day, because you can add maybe 3 or 4 sets of leg curls and you get done with the hamstrings, like start with your rows/pulldowns go to rdl's (will still use your back) and since u already doing rdls just add some leg curls and u're done. And on your leg day you can focus more on quads and since you dont need to train hams on that day you have more time to maybe add the calvs, shoulders, abs, etc.. that's just my opinion
Thanks Tauni!! I’m excited to try these!
Thanks Tahnee! And Betty!
Oh and you too Jeremy
Betty is the G.O.A.T.
Waiting for biceps, Triceps,Legs version..of this series make it soon 😅😅
lol same, who wants to see glutes?
crazy much work you've put in this video. I love that fact! Great job guys
Thanks Tahnee 😁 as a woman, I’m grateful for your participation in this experiment. We are underrepresented af in these muscle activation studies
(Also my bad if I spelled your name wrong 😅)
I’m grateful too 😉😏
What's a woman? Serious question, curious to your answer 😁
@@Crossfirev lmao you’re really trying to find any reason to get worked up
@@Crossfirevim pretty sure its an american goverment propaganda or something
@@CrossfirevSomeone you'll never touch, incel
These videos are really informative ❤
mogging people in the gym is the best back workout
thanks tahnee! Im digging the scientific validity angle in including tahnee, it gives us viewers a more full understanding of the benefits of the excercises, AND its good for kinesiology too as like you said, more subjects, across a wide variety of different types of people, makes the data more credible and accurate. Instant like and sub.
Thanks tahne
I'm really happy you added a female to your sample size, and for addressing the fact that a lot of research ignores females! :) Love your videos and that they are science backed. Keep it up!
9:09 Mid/Upper Back = Seated Row (Wide Grip)
9:52 Lower Traps = Incline Y Prone Raises
10:17 Lats = Lat Focus Row
Thanks tahnee!
Ngl she seems like a very fun person.
A lot has been said here and yet nothing
Tahnee kicks azz!! Thanks for helping with this research. 💪
8:28 pull up
8:58 wide grip rows
9:50 Y raises
10:29 lat rows
I'm genuinely shocked that most people, including Jeremy, didn't know that deadlifts would be number 1 for building a back. How is that a surprise??
6:50 tell bro to moisturize his elbows