A lot of people deal with aches and pains in their back, and the time spent hunched over desks, and mobile phones, as well as lounging on the sofa for box-set marathons only exacerbates the issue.

Incorporating mobility and strengthening back exercises into your routine is one of the best ways to support a healthier spine. Daily stretches can also help keep your spine mobile, as well as provide relief if you're experiencing tightness or tension. 

If you’re in need of some go-to stretches to mobilize your back muscles, try the five level 3 personal trainer and yoga instructor Emily Mouu shared in her Instagram Reel. Mouu also provided some extra form tips exclusively with Coach, so you can get the most out of each exercise.

A few of the stretches in this routine are twists and rotations, which encourage the spine's natural range of motion, according to Mouu. This includes the first stretch in the routine, the seated reach-over. “Sitting comfortably, with one knee bent and one leg extended, take your opposite arm to the knee that’s bent then reach your other arm over to the side. Take it to wherever feels good,” says Mouu.

Exercises like the down dog chest to thighs are great for stretching and strengthening the muscles in the back, and opening up the chest, shoulders and back, helping to ease aches and pains. Mouu recommends thinking of a downward dog as moving your body into “an upside down V shape”. Then, to do the exercise, “lift up onto your toes, bend your knees and squeeze your chest to your thighs,” she says.

Puppy pose is another yoga exercise in this routine that you might not have tried before, but it’s great for releasing the muscles in the back. “Begin in tabletop on your hands and knees with the palms of your hands underneath your shoulder blades and your knees underneath your hips,” says Mouu. “Walk your hands as far forward as you can, keeping your hips over your knees. When you can’t walk your hands any further forward, exhale and take your head and chest towards your mat."

Try to do these exercises a few times a week to increase your mobility, maybe at the start of the day or after working out. You can also try these back stretches and these exercises to relive back pain.

How’s your posture? Did you catch yourself slouching as you read that? If there’s room for improvement you should try barre. Barre is a challenging style of workout that combines ballet-inspired movements with Pilates-style strength work. It’s a tried-and-tested combination for improving your posture.

Qualified barre instructor Gen Greensted runs online barre program The Barre Coach and offers classes from her studio in Cobham in the UK. As well as explaining how barre can help with posture, she has also shared a five-move barre workout with Coach so we can all work on improving our posture.

“Barre workouts focus on alignment, balance and core strength, all of which play important roles in improving posture,” says Greensted. “The emphasis on controlled movements and maintaining a neutral spine helps strengthen these muscles while also promoting flexibility and mobility—all components of good posture.”

Five Barre Exercises For Posture

If you want to see changes, you’ll need to do workouts like this one regularly. “I’d aim to incorporate posture-focused workouts like Barre classes into your routine two to three times a week,” says Greensted. “With this level of consistency, you’ll start to notice you are standing taller and moving with more ease in day-to-day life in as little as four weeks. Beyond the physical benefits, improved posture can have an amazing impact on your mental and emotional well-being, giving you a greater sense of confidence.”

1 Barre-style bent-over row

Reps 10-12 each side

Stand with your feet hip-width apart holding a pair of light dumbbells (1-3kg). Step one foot back to adopt a staggered stance for a little extra glute work in this exercise. Hinge at your hips to bring your chest forward, keeping your back flat and core engaged. Bend your elbows and pull the dumbbells towards your ribcage, squeezing your shoulder blades down and in towards your spine. Lower the weights with control and repeat. Make sure you switch legs and repeat the exercise if you opt for the staggered stance.

“This is great for targeting your upper back and core while working on shoulder blade stability,” says Greensted. “It helps counteract the effects of sitting for extended periods.”

2 Barre-inspired Superman variations

Reps 10-12

Lie face down on a mat with your legs straight and arms stretched out in front. 

Keeping your neck in a neutral position (chin very slightly tucked, looking down at the floor), slowly lift your arms and legs a few inches off the floor, engaging your back, glutes and core. Hold at the top, squeeze your shoulder blades down and in towards your spine as you bend your elbows and pull them towards your feet, your hands passing the top of your head. Extend your arms in front and lower your arms and legs to the mat. You can progress this exercise by holding a resistance band, held shoulder-width apart in your hands.

Come up onto all fours and perform a few cat/cows (spinal extension and flexion) after you’ve finished this exercise to get some movement back into your spine.

“This exercise is all about strengthening your lower back, core and glutes, all key muscle groups in improving posture,” says Greensted.

3 Static lunge with chest opening

Reps 10-12 each side

Kneel on your mat then place one foot on the floor in front of you and your weight slightly shifted forward so your front knee is over your ankle. Hinge forward from your hips so your chest moves closer to your front thigh and tuck the toes of your back foot under. Bring both hands to the side of your head with your elbows pointing forward and round your shoulders slightly.

Take a deep breath in, and as you exhale, push up through your front leg until your back knee comes off the floor into a lunge and open up across your chest by pulling your elbows wide. Return to the start with your knee on the mat and repeat, moving slowly and with intention.

“This exercise is amazing for building total-body stability as you’ll have to work hard to find your balance,” says Greensted. “You’ll build glute strength, core stability and work on opening across your chest and reducing any forward rounding of your shoulders.”

4 Four-point leg extensions with resistance band

Reps 10-12, then 10-12 with reduced range, each side

Begin on all fours with your shoulders over your wrists, hips over your knees and your pelvis in a neutral position. Secure your long resistance band to the floor under both hands and loop the middle part around the back of one flexed foot. Inhale as you hover your knee off the mat. Exhale, engaging your core and squeezing your glute as you extend your leg back, finishing with your heel in line with your hip.

Repeat this exercise for the 10-12 reps, then perform the same movement but reduce the range of movement by half, so you’re extending your leg, then bringing it only halfway back, completing another 10-12 reps. Then switch legs.

“This exercise is great for shoulder and core strength and stability while building glute strength and working on hamstring flexibility, all of which are important for improving overall posture,” says Greensted.

5 Four-point arm and leg extension

Reps 10-12

Start on all fours with your shoulders over your wrists, hips over your knees and your pelvis in a neutral position. Place one hand on the side of your head with your elbow out to the side and slide the opposite leg back until it’s extended with your toes pointed, touching the floor.

Take a deep breath in and lift your back leg while drawing the opposite elbow a little higher towards the ceiling. As you exhale, slightly round your back and pull your knee and elbow in towards your core, engaging your core muscles as you do so. Inhale to return to your extension.

“This exercise is all about stability,” says Greensted. “It helps build core and glute strength, while opening your chest and helping reduce forward rounding of your shoulders.”

If there’s one exercise that feels beyond most gym-goers, it’s the pull-up. It makes sense that they’re one of the toughest moves to do. After all, you’re lifting your entire body weight.

“Consistency, patience, and progressive overload are essential principles for mastering the pull-up,” says Ali Malik, a personal trainer and founder of Fit Labs Kensington.

Our four-week pull-up workout plan for beginners sticks to those principles, but if you’re keen to speed up your progress or lay strong foundations while you wait for a home pull-up bar to be delivered, Malik has recommended a few exercises that will help you strengthen the muscles you need to do a pull-up.

“Incorporate pull-up-specific exercises into your routine at least two to three times per week, gradually increasing intensity, volume, and resistance over time,” says Malik.

“While calisthenics exercises like pull-ups and bodyweight rows are excellent for building functional strength, incorporating weight training exercises like lat pull-downs, rows and deadlifts can provide additional muscle stimulation and variety to your training regimen,” says Malik.

Here, he shares a variation of bodyweight and weighted exercises to help you achieve your first pull-up or improve the number of reps you’re able to do.

1 Negative pull-up

Why “This eccentric phase of the movement helps build muscle strength and control, which are essential for performing full pull-ups,” says Malik.

How Use a box or a step to get into the top of a pull-up position, with your chin above the bar and your hands gripping the bar shoulder-width apart. Lower yourself as slowly as possible until your arms are fully extended.

2 Band pull-apart

Why “Strengthening the muscles responsible for scapular retraction, such as the rhomboids and lower trapezius, is crucial for pull-up success,” says Malik.

How Stand holding a resistance band in front of you around chest height with your arms extended and your hands shoulder-width apart. Move each hand out to either side as far as you can. Pause and squeeze your shoulder blades before returning to the start under control. 

3 Face pull

Why This is another exercise to strengthen scapular retraction.

How Set up a cable machine with a double rope attachment fixed at eye level. Face the anchor and hold the handles with an overhand grip, palms facing the floor, Step back until your arms are extended at chest height and the cable is taut. Pull the handles towards either side of your face, then rotate your forearms to vertical, your elbow should be at a 90° angle. Pause and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Slowly return the handles to the start.

4 Lat pull-down

Why “Incorporating lat pull-downs and rowing exercises into your strength training routine can target the same muscle groups used in pull-ups, such as the latissimus dorsi, biceps and upper-back muscles,” says Malik. “Gradually increasing resistance and volume will contribute to overall pull-up strength.”

How Sit in a lat pull-down machine and hold the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your palms facing forward. Pull the bar down towards your chest. Pause and squeeze your shoulder blades. You can move backward slightly but don’t swing your torso to generate momentum to move the weight. Return the bar to the start under control.

I often deal with stiffness in my upper body. And if there's one area that tends to be particularly tight and achy, which I suspect might be the case for many people, it's my back.

I work a desk job, so I spend most of my time sitting down, often hunched over my laptop, which inevitably puts pressure on my back.

My fairly stationary working day paired with some tough upper-body workouts I've done recently meant that my back was very stiff last week. So I was excited to see an Instagram Reel by physiotherapist Sam Caddick with one exercise designed to relieve discomfort and stiffness in the back.

Take a look at Caddick’s Reel where he demonstrates the move.

I got in contact with Caddick to find out more about the movement. “I really like this stretch because it works through hip rotation, lengthening and loading the outside of the glutes while working on opening the quadriceps and the bigger muscles around the hips,” says Caddick.

I decided to try this stretch first thing in the morning, as this is when my muscles feel the most stiff. I normally don’t stretch as soon as I wake up—I usually head straight to the gym or my kitchen table to start work—so I tried this for a few days to see if it helped with achiness in my back.

“This drill is super handy because it requires no equipment so you can do it at home or even in the office, which is great especially if you spend a lot of time sitting at your desk,” says Caddick. “Hold this as a passive stretch for up to two minutes if you can tolerate it, to get the most out of the stretch.”

This stretch primarily targeted my hips, but it also opened up my shoulders and the muscles in my upper back, which felt great. It revealed that I wasn’t as flexible as I thought and I could feel my muscles protesting as I moved my leg forward.

Holding the stretch for up to two minutes was difficult, as I felt extremely tight. But after about a minute, I settled into the stretch a bit more and my entire body felt more relaxed afterward, particularly the muscles in my back and upper body.

Caddick stresses in the Reel’s caption that there's no one move to fix back pain. Incorporating back exercises, back stretches and mobility exercises into your routine can help, but seeking professional help is the best way to deal with the issue for good.

However, if you're anything like me and you're looking for a quick way to relieve your symptoms, this exercise could do the job. I'll be coming back to it as a quick way to mobilize my hips and upper-body muscles in the morning and throughout the day.

I spend most of my working day in front of a computer screen and all that sitting puts unnecessary pressure on my back muscles, to the point where I’ve come to accept backache as a part of life. Lately, it’s started to affect my life more than I’d like. At times, I can’t get completely comfortable when sitting down. At other times I struggle to sleep due to a dull ache.

To try and ease my backache, I’m incorporating mobility exercises into my routine and discovered this session from Gabriele Saturno, a calisthenics coach and yoga teacher.

It involves three stretches that don’t require any equipment and Saturno suggests spending between 30 to 60 seconds on each exercise, so it only takes a few minutes. 

Watch Saturno’s Instagram reel below where he demonstrates each of the mobility exercises.

These movements will also boost mobility in your thoracic spine (in your upper back) and hips too, both of which support the lower back.

I had been sitting at my kitchen table for most of the day the first time I tried the routine and felt the muscles in my back relax as I worked through the movements. Because they’re so easy and straightforward, I think they’re a great option before you start work or to loosen up over a lunch break. They could also be performed before a workout.

Of course, while doing these exercises provided some immediate relief, I plan to do these back stretches, and others, on a regular basis and take action to improve my desk posture.

If this routine hits the spot, keep your back in good condition with more movement. These 10 exercises to relieve back pain are safe, simple and office-appropriate. We also have five mobility exercises for your hips to try.

The upright row is one of the best back exercises around for building bigger traps. These upper-back muscles, which resemble a trapezoid shape and extend from the top of the spine to the mid back and laterally to the shoulder blades, are all too often neglected, even by committed gym-goers, because they’re tricky to train and impossible to see without a mirror (or two). 

Not training your traps could lead to imbalances and weaknesses that have an impact on your other lifts. Conversely, well-developed traps will help you perform a variety of moves better, including squats, deadlifts, cleans and bench presses.  

Aesthetically speaking, the upright row is also among the best shoulder exercises to target the front and middle deltoids of the shoulders. These muscles not only help create the V-shaped upper back popular with bodybuilders, but they are also crucial to stabilize the shoulder joint and protect it from injury.  

Here we will outline the exercise’s key benefits, explain why it should always form the cornerstone of the best back workouts, and provide some expert tips for beginners and experienced gym-goers to help you truly master the upright row once and for all. 

Benefits Of The Upright Row

The upright row is a staple of bodybuilding workouts for its effectiveness at growing the upper-back muscles, but its benefits translate far beyond the weights room.

One of its main advantages is a greatly reduced risk of injury to the neck and shoulders. Well-developed traps and rhomboids help cushion the neck, spine and shoulder girdle from heavy blows you might experience in contact sports. 

A strong upper back also provides extra stability for compound moves like deadlifts and front squats, helping you resist the weight from pulling you forward. Strong, robust traps can also benefit CrossFitters and powerlifters when performing dynamic Olympic lifts like the snatch and the clean and jerk.

By helping improve your posture, upright rows can help with everyday activities, as well as correcting hunched shoulders from too much time spent at your desk. 

Finally, upright rows carry plenty of cross-over benefits for your core. Holding the weight in front of your body increases the engagement of your abdominal muscles, while pulling the load towards your chin will test the strength of your lower back. 

How To Do A Upright Row

Here’s our expert guide, suitable for beginners and advanced gym-goers alike, although if you have limited training experience it’s a good idea to read out FAQs below, especially the advice on whether the upright row is safe for shoulders.

Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, standing tall, holding a barbell or EZ-bar with an overhand grip (palms facing you). Position your hands slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart. Keeping your chest facing forward and abs braced hard, lift the bar until it is level with your upper chest, keeping it close to your body at all times. Keep the lifting stage smooth to avoid excess strain on your wrists, elbows or shoulder joints. Pause in this top position, focusing on squeezing your traps as hard as possible, then slowly lower the weight to the start position. 

Sprague says: “Focus on lifting the weight with your back muscles rather than your biceps and lead with your elbows, keeping them above your forearms throughout.” 

Upright Row Form Tips

1. Start light

Check your ego at the door to avoid embarrassment—or worse, injury. “Lifting too much weight will always be to the detriment of your form,” says Sprague. If you can’t keep your body upright and have to use momentum to shrug the bar up, you’ve gone too big too soon.

The Fix: If you’re unsure how heavy to go, start with a set of upright rows using an unloaded barbell. Once you’re confident with the technique, add weight in small 1.25kg or 2.5kg increments.

2. Don’t cheat

Lifting too heavy can also lead to jerky upper-body movements, loss of balance and an overarched back, meaning the muscles you want to work are missing out and your risk of injury increases.

The Fix: To avoid using momentum, perform the lift with your back against a wall, suggests Kern Alexander, a certified personal trainer at Leading Edge Personal Trainers in New York City. “The wall will stop you rocking back and forth so you can’t cheat the reps with your back or legs. And if you can’t lift the weight with your back against a wall, then you shouldn't lift it at all.”

3. Adjust your grip

The upright row is typically done with a shoulder-width grip, but small adjustments can subtly alter which muscles are recruited.

The Fix: A narrow grip will shift the focus to the front deltoids and forearms, although it may increase the strain on your rotator cuff muscles. If you’re battling any lingering shoulder issues, or want to focus on your traps, widen your grip.

4. Watch your elbows

Your elbows should remain higher than your wrists throughout the upright row to effectively activate the muscles of your shoulders and reduce undue load on your wrists.

The Fix: Keep your knuckles pointed down toward the floor. Bend your elbows and pull the barbell straight up until it reaches your chest, ensuring your wrists stay below the level of your elbows at all times.

5. Use a foam roller beforehand

“Tight or overactive traps are common in people who carry a lot of tension in their neck and shoulders, which can reduce the effectiveness of this exercise,” says Alexander. It’s vital to relax and mobilize your traps before your first set of upright rows.

The Fix: Spend a few minutes using a foam roller on your upper back as part of your pre-upright row warm-up. Check our guide on how to use a foam roller for the best results.

FAQs

Upright Row Variations

Dumbbell upright row

Why Switching to dumbbells for your upright row means that you can work each side of the body individually and identify any strength imbalances in your shoulders and back. It also allows for a more natural range of movement than using a barbell, even if you might have to reduce the overall weight used a little when lifting dumbbells. 

How Hold the dumbbells by your waist in an overhand grip, with your palms facing you. Lift the weights to your shoulders, squeeze your traps, then lower.

Cable upright row

Why Using a cable machine means that there is tension in the muscles throughout the entire exercise, because you will be resisting the pull of the machine when you lower the bar with control.

How Attach a straight-bar handle to the lowest position on a cable machine and hold it in both hands in front of your waist. Lift the bar to your shoulders, pause for a beat, then lower it slowly.

About Our Experts

We’ll freely admit that the lower back is not the most glamorous part of your body to target in the gym. You’re very unlikely to ever get complimented on its appearance, and lower-back exercises are often tricky, technical moves done with little weight.

All the same, they’re some of the best back exercises to do because lower-back pain is one of the most common complaints in the UK. It’s often linked to a sedentary lifestyle with lots of time spent hunched over a desk.

To help you avoid that unpleasant outcome, here is a selection of lower back exercises put together by Alasdair Fitz-Desorgher, trainer with at-home fitness app OpenFit. Fitz-Desorgher has picked a range of moves that use free weights, a cable machine, a resistance band, a suspension trainer and just your bodyweight, so there’s something for everyone regardless of what equipment you have access to.

If you’re struggling with back pain and feel like these lower-back exercises are beyond you, try these exercises to relieve back pain. They’re safe, simple and office-appropriate. 

The Best Lower-Back Exercises For Home

Bird-dog

Sets 3 Reps 10 2sec holds each side for the first set, then five 4sec holds each side for the second set, then two 10sec holds each side for the final set

This is an excellent core and mobility exercise. It’s also effective for warming up the muscles along your posterior chain, the muscles in the rear of your legs and spine, which are key for power production and athletic performance. Focus on maintaining your balance, keeping your back flat and making slow, controlled movements, which will also increase your time under tension. To ensure your back is flat, ask someone to check your form, or if no-one’s around, try to do the exercise in front of a mirror or record yourself on your smartphone and replay your set. 

How to do it: Start on your hands and knees with your hands directly below your shoulders and knees directly below your hips. Keeping your back flat and core engaged, simultaneously extend your left arm straight in front of you and your right leg straight behind you. Hold this position and then return to the start. Repeat, this time raising your right arm and left leg. Alternate sides with each rep.

For the first set, complete ten reps of two-second holds on each side. In the second set, do five reps of four-second holds each side. For the final set, perform two reps of ten-second holds each side.

Make it harder: Graduate to the bird-dog crunch. Each time you extend an arm and leg, bring your elbow and knee together under you, and then re-extend them before returning to the starting position.

Make it easier: Perform the movement with only one limb at a time, keeping three points of contact with the ground instead of only two.

Superman to heel touch

Sets 3 Reps 15

This bodyweight exercise works the entire posterior chain.

How to do it: Lie face down with your legs straight and arms extended forwards. Keeping your core engaged and head down, looking at the floor, squeeze your glutes and raise your chest, arms and legs.

Bend your knees to draw your heels towards your bottom and sweep your hands back to touch your heels with your fingers. Return to the starting position and repeat.

Make it harder: Hold a pair of light dumbbells while performing the move. If you’re in need of a pair, browse our picks of the best dumbbells.

Make it easier: Only lift your chest and arms, keeping your legs on the floor.

Alternating extended side angle

Sets 3 Reps 10 each side

This exercise uses lateral flexion (more simply put, movement to the sides) to work muscles, which help to stabilise and support the spine through lateral and transverse movements. It may be familiar to people who practise yoga.

How to do it: Stand with your arms by your sides, legs straight and feet double shoulder-width apart. Imagine you are sandwiched between two sheets of glass in front and behind you so you can’t bend forwards only sideways. Keeping your right leg straight, bend your left knee and touch the floor on the outside of your left foot with your left hand as you reach your right hand overhead, creating a long, straight line from your right heel to your right fingertips. Return to the starting position and repeat, this time reaching to the outside of your right foot with your right hand as you reach your left hand overhead. Alternate sides with each rep.

Make it harder: Hold a pair of light dumbbells while performing the move.

Make it easier: Rest your elbow on your knee instead of touching the floor during each rep.

Standing ITY

Sets 3 Reps 21 2sec holds in each position for the first set, then 15 4sec holds for the second set, then nine 6sec holds for the final set

This is a bodyweight exercise that targets the muscles of the upper back and shoulders while requiring the muscles of the lower back and core to maintain an isometric hold. The result is increased core stability, enhanced shoulder mobility, and greater upper back strength and stamina.

How to do it: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Keeping your back flat and only a slight bend in your knees, push your hips back as you bend forwards slightly (hinging at the waist) until your torso is nearly parallel to the floor. Raise your arms overhead, bringing your biceps next to your ears to form an “I” with your upper body. Next, spread your arms slightly to form a “Y”. Finally, spread your arms perpendicular to your torso to form a “T”. That’s one rep. Continue to repeat the “ITY” sequence for the prescribed number of reps, progressively reducing the reps but increasing the hold time for each set as detailed above.

Make it harder: Hold a pair of light dumbbells while performing the move.

Make it easier: Don’t hinge forwards as far.

Reverse plank

Sets 2 Time Until failure

This is an isometric hold for the whole posterior chain to help build muscular endurance.

How to do it: Sit with your legs straight and your hands on the ground by your hips. Press down through your heels and squeeze your glutes to raise your bum off the floor until your body is straight from head to heels. Squeeze your shoulder blades together to open your chest. Hold until you can’t maintain perfect form. Try to beat your time from the first set in the second without looking at the clock.

Make it harder: Alternate raising each leg for two seconds during each set.

Make it easier: Keep your feet flat and knees bent in a bridge position.

The Best Lower-Back Exercises For The Gym

Deadlift

Sets 3 Reps 12

This compound exercise (an exercise that works multiple muscle groups) not only builds strength throughout the whole posterior chain – particularly in your glutes and hamstrings – but also requires you to master the all-important hip hinge movement, which is key for lifting safely and powerfully in the deadlift, the squat and other leg exercises. You’ll need dumbbells or a barbell with plates.

How to do it: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a barbell positioned close to your shins over the middle of both feet. Keeping your back flat, core engaged and chest up, push your hips back – imagine you’re closing a door with your bottom – and grab the bar with a shoulder-width overhand grip. Your hips should be lower than your shoulders, but higher than your knees.

Pull your shoulders back and down, and then drive through your heels to lift the bar, keeping it close to your body as you thrust your hips forwards to return to a standing position. Pause, and then reverse the movement to lower the bar back to the floor.

Make it harder: Increase the weight.

Make it easier: Decrease the weight.

Lateral cable/resistance band walkouts

Sets 3 Reps 10 each side

This is a resistance exercise using isometric contraction to build strength in the transverse plane (more simply put, strength when rotating), helping to support the spine through twisting movements. To do this workout at home, buy one of our recommended best resistance bands.

How to do it: Attach a resistance band to a secure anchor point at chest height, or set a cable pulley to chest height, and stand sideways to the anchor point, holding the other end of the band or handle in both hands with your arms extended straight in front of you.

Keeping your core engaged and arms directly in front of you, shuffle sideways for three steps away from the anchor point or pulley – don’t allow your torso to rotate. Pause, and then shuffle back three steps to the starting position. Do all your reps, then switch sides.

Make it harder: Increase the resistance and/or walk slower and further.

Make it easier: Decrease the resistance.

TRX inverted row

Sets 3 Reps 10

This is a bodyweight exercise, requiring a suspension trainer such as a TRX (use our recommendations of the best suspension trainers to add one to your home gym). Like the IYT exercise, it employs an isometric hold for the lower back and core to build muscular endurance.

How to do it: Attach a suspension trainer to a high anchor and adjust the straps so that the handles hang at waist height. Holding the handles with an overhand grip, walk your feet forwards as you lower yourself into an inverted row position. Your body should be straight from head to heels with your arms extended straight above your chest.

Keeping your core and glutes engaged, squeeze your shoulder blades together as you pull your chest to the handles, driving your elbows wide. Pause, and then lower yourself back to the starting position.

Make it harder: Lengthen the TRX ropes to bring your body closer to horizontal.

Make it easier: Shorten the TRX ropes to bring your body closer to vertical.

Openfit features live, trainer-led classes with real-time coaching. Memberships start at £37.99 with three-, six- and 12-month plans available, and you can get a free trial of the service.

The pull-up is a phenomenal exercise for building upper-body strength and muscle, but they’re hard—horrendously hard. So hard, in fact, that most people will tap out after just a couple of reps, long before they’ve had the desired effect of putting the muscles under enough tension to grow. They can be draining physically and demoralizing mentally.  

This is when the lat pull-down machine comes into its own. It involves a similar movement to the pull-up, challenging your mid- and upper-back muscles, arms and grip, but you have more control over how much you lift—there’s no need to heave your entire bodyweight off the floor. 

Additionally, you can slow the tempo right down to help increase muscle size rapidly.

As the name suggests, the lat pull-down targets the latissimus dorsi—the large, flat muscles across your mid back. Latissimus dorsi translates to “broadest of the back”, underlining why this is one of the best back exercises, and more specifically best upper-back exercises, that you can do.

A strong back is also vital for a strong chest, meaning the more you work on your lat pull-downs, the better equipped you’ll be to go big on the bench press.

That said, the lat pull-down is notorious for being poorly performed in most gyms. You’ll typically see someone leaning back and yanking the bar towards their chest, using their bodyweight to initiate the move. Not only does this mean the lats aren’t working properly, but also that they’re putting extra stress on their pelvis and lower back.

To help you avoid this fate, Coach spoke to fitness and nutrition coach Karl Bratland. A USA Weightlifting-certified trainer, Bratland will help you nail your form, explain how to swerve common lat pull-down pitfalls and arm you with the tools to broaden your wingspan.

How To Do The Lat Pull-Down

Most gyms will have a lat pull-down machine, featuring a seat, a pad that sits on top of your thighs (to stop you rising out of your seat), and a bar attached to a cable. 

The Set-Up 

To start, sit down and adjust the pad so that it sits comfortably but snugly against the top of your thighs. 

“Grab the bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart with a pronated grip, meaning your palms face away from you and knuckles point skywards,” says Bratland. “Next, retract your shoulder blades to engage your upper-back muscles.”

If you’ve never been asked to retract your shoulder blades before and aren’t sure what that means, think about moving them back and down, like you’re trying to move them towards your back pockets on a pair of jeans.

The Pull

“From this position, pull the bar down to your chest, trying to keep your back fairly straight,” says Bratland. “You can lean back a little bit, but don’t use momentum by swinging your back towards the ground to help bring the weight down.”

Bratland says he likes to focus on trying to pull with his elbows, using the lats to bring the bar to his chest rather than swinging his torso to generate momentum. “Instead of momentum, you should really be focusing on activating your upper-back muscles,” he says.

The Return

Once you’ve pulled the bar down until it is a couple of inches from the middle of your chest, squeeze your upper-back muscles hard to activate them as much as possible, then return the bar to the start position under control. 

The slower this eccentric part of the lift, the greater the activation of the muscles and the more they will grow.

Common Lat Pull-Down Mistakes

Leaning Too Far Back

We’ve seen people near-horizontal at the bottom of lat pull-down reps as they lean back to drag the bar downwards. Suffice to say, this is sub-optimal. “You definitely don’t want to be horizontal,” says Bratland. “You want to be more vertical, only leaning back a little bit to get the bar to your chest—maybe 10-20° at most.”

Using Momentum

You want your lats and biceps to be responsible for moving the weight. The more you swing your body or jerk the bar to get the exercise started, the less emphasis is placed on these muscles. If you find yourself picking up this bad habit, reduce the weight slightly and focus on controlling the entire movement from start to finish. 

Lat Pull-Down Benefits

Lat Pull-Down Variations

Underhand lat pull-down

Switch your grip on the bar so you’re holding it with your palms facing you and your hands shoulder-width apart. By changing to an underhand grip you recruit your biceps to help with the movement, which has the added benefit of taking some of the load off your lats if they are tiring towards the end of a back workout. Holding the bar with that underhand grip, pull it down to below chin height, keeping your chest up throughout. Pause at the bottom of the movement, then take the bar back up under control.

Wide-grip lat pull-down

The wider your grip, the more the lats have to work during the exercise. Your grip should be fairly wide even with the standard version of the lat pull-down, but with this variation you take your hands right to the ends of the bar. Other than that, the form is the same as the standard lat pull-down. Pull the bar down to your upper chest, pause for a beat while squeezing your lats, then take the bar back up under control.

Unilateral lat pull-down

This single-arm variation works each side of your body individually, which is a great way to ensure that a stronger side isn’t doing all of the heavy lifting (or in this case, pulling) as with the standard exercise. Replace the bar on the machine with a handle and hold it with your palm facing away from you. Turn your palm to face you as you pull the handle down, before slowly returning to the starting position. Do all the reps on one arm, then switch to the other.

Straight-arm pull-down

It can be hard to avoid over-using your arm muscles with the standard pull-down, so to make sure you’re really focusing on the lats, try the straight-arm version. Stand up for this exercise and hold the bar over you with your arms straight and angled forwards 15-20°. Pull the bar down to your thighs, keeping your arms straight, then slowly bring it back up.

Close-grip lat pull-down to triceps press-down

You shouldn’t be feeling the burn in your triceps with a standard pull-down – if you are, it means you’re not engaging the lats as you should be. This variation of the move, however, does hit the upper arms hard. Kneel facing the machine with your body upright. Hold a short bar above your head with an overhand grip, palms facing forwards. Pull the bar down by bringing your elbows in to your sides. Then press the bar down, keeping your elbows by your sides. Reverse the movement to return to the starting position.

If you’re looking to strengthen and build muscle in your back, then prepare to perform a lot of exercises with the word “row” in them. Thankfully, there are no shortage of types of row to choose from, with the bent-over row being perhaps the most fundamental.

The incline bench row is a terrific variation to add to your workout repertoire for several reasons. By supporting your chest with a bench during the move, you remove the instability that is part of the standing bent-over row. This means you can focus more on your form and home in on the back muscles you’re looking to target with the move, and it also allows you to lift heavier weights because you are in that safer, supported position.

It’s not all good news, though. By removing the instability of a standing row you lose some of the core-strengthening benefits of the row, but this is a move mainly designed to work the back muscles, and the incline bench row does a fantastic job on that front.

See related

• The Best Back Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• Back Workouts To Build A Broader, Stronger Back
• Use This Back Workout At Home To Improve Your Posture

How To Do The Incline Bench Row

Set up a bench at a 45° angle and lie face down on it so your chest is in full contact with the bench with your feet on the floor behind you. Let your arms hang down, holding a set of dumbbells with your palms facing each other.

Row the weights up by squeezing your shoulder blades together and bringing your elbows back until your upper arms are level with or slightly higher than your torso. Slowly lower the weights back to the start.

While the bench is supporting you during the exercise, that doesn’t mean you don’t need to be conscious of your body position. Focus on keeping your chest and abs pressed into the bench – in particular, don’t let your lower back arch away from the bench. This will ensure the exercise isolates the back muscles and stops you creating momentum to assist the lift.

Back Exercises To Improve MobilityBack Exercises To Increase Strength

Whatever kind of lifestyle you lead, back pain can strike you down at any time. It’s an incredibly common problem and once you’ve suffered from it, it’s important to have a strategy for managing the symptoms because back pain is something that unfortunately tends to recur.

There is some good news though, which is that back pain is usually benign.

“It is believed that 60% of those who suffer from acute lower-back pain recover in six weeks and up to 80-90% recover within 12 weeks,” says Dr John Etherington, medical director at Pure Sports Medicine.

Having a set of exercises to manage your back pain will help, and you can find four moves recommended by Etherington below. Before that, however, you should check if your back pain is something that needs to be seen by a medical expert.

“Some features can indicate more serious causes of back pain and you should seek immediate professional help,” says Etherington. These features include:

• Numbness or tingling around your genitals or buttocks
• Difficulty passing urine
• Loss of bladder or bowel control
• Chest pain
• Back pain associated with a high temperature of 38°C or above
• Back pain associated with unexplained weight loss
• A swelling or deformity in your back
• Pain which does not improve after resting or is worse at night
• Prolonged stiffness in the morning – usually lasting longer than one hour after getting up
• Pain which started after a serious accident, such as after a car accident

“You should also seek professional help if the pain does not start to improve within a few weeks, stops you doing your day-to-day activities including work and sport, is very severe or gets worse over time, or you’re worried about the pain or are struggling to cope,” adds Etherington.

Back Exercises To Improve Mobility

Arm opener/thoracic rotation

“Lie on your side with your hips and knees flexed, head supported and arms extended in front of you with your hands together,” says Etherington.

“Protract your shoulder blade by reaching forwards with your top hand, then retract back and slowly lift your arm and rotate your trunk to reach the ground on the opposite side. Look at your fingertips during the entire movement to make sure you are rotating your spine and not just your arm. Come back to the starting position and repeat. Your lower back, hips and legs should remain still during the exercise.”

Lumbar knee roll

“Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor,” says Etherington. “Place your arms out to the sides for stability. Slowly lower your legs to one side until you feel a gentle stretch. Return to the central position and repeat. Keep your knees together during the movement.”

See related :

• Exercises To Relieve Back Pain That Are Safe, Simple And Office-Appropriate
• How To Prevent And Treat Back Pain
• Four Back Stretches And Exercises To Prevent Painful Problems
• 5 Stretches And Exercises That Will Feel Amazing After A Day At The Office
• Three Easy Neck Exercises To Help Prevent Neck Pain

Back Exercises To Increase Strength

Glute bridge

“Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet shoulder-width apart, and your arms by your sides,” says Etherington.

“Push through your heels and squeeze your glutes to lift your buttocks until your thighs are in line with your torso. Do not extend with your lower back. Lower and repeat.”

Standing crab walk

“Wrap a mini resistance band around your legs just above your knees,” says Etherington. “Turn your feet out slightly to 10 and 2 o'clock. Bend your knees just deep enough to place them over your toes, straighten your back and bend at the hips slightly. Keeping your knees are in line with your feet, side-step slowly, maintaining the half-squat and the slight external rotation of the legs. Step in one direction, then the other so you work both sides.”

Dr John Etherington is medical director of Pure Sports Medicine

To build a bigger back, target the trapezius. The large, trapezium-shaped muscle takes up the bulk of your upper back: it’s made up of three parts, and extends from the base of your skull down to the middle of your back.

It’s a muscle that’s essential in a range of movements and increasing the strength of your traps will help you out with any number of big lifts. To help you work on the muscle, here are five top traps moves from Tom Kemp, personal trainer and ambassador for PhD Nutrition, which has recently launched its Life Range of supplements.

Kemp has put his selected exercises together into a traps workout you can do, or you can pick out your preferred moves and add them into your general gym routine.

1 Farmer’s walk

Reps 4 Distance 20m

Use heavy weights for this move. Many gyms will have a farmer’s walk bar, or you can hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand. Deadlift the weights off the floor and walk the distance, keeping your arms fully extended, shoulders retracted, core engaged and chest up, with tension in your traps throughout.

2 Dumbbell shrug

Sets 3 Reps 12-15

Stand holding heavy dumbbells by your sides. Keeping your arms straight and your shoulders retracted, bring your shoulders up as close to your ears as you can. Lower back to the start under control.

3 Farmer’s handle static holds

Sets 3 Time 1min

Hold a heavy set of handles or dumbbells, and stand with your back flat, core tight, shoulders retracted and chest up. Hold the position for the time indicated. This exercise will test your grip strength and your traps will be screaming by the end.

See related 

• The Best Upper Back Exercises
• The Best Back Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer

4 Incline dumbbell shrug

Sets 3 Reps 12-15

Face a weight bench set on an incline and lie chest-down on it, with your feet on the floor. Let the dumbbells hang, then raise them by shrugging your shoulders. Squeeze your shoulder blades for two seconds at the top of the rep, then slowly return to the starting position under control.

5 Trap bar deadlift

Sets 4 Reps 6

Sit your hips back and grasp the bar with your arms extended. Keep your chest up and imagine pulling your lats down, as if you’re putting them into your back pockets. Engage your core and drive your feet into the floor as you lift the bar to standing. Keep tension in your traps throughout the lift.

Anyone who wants to target their back is well advised to perform some type of row, since the pulling motion involved is great for strengthening those muscles. The one-arm dumbbell row and bent-over barbell row are the most common forms you’ll see in the gym, but here we present the landmine row as a seriously effective variation that’s well worth considering.

To do the landmine row you secure one end of a barbell on the floor – the easiest way is simply to wedge it in a corner of the room – and then row the other end.

Having one end of the bar fixed in place means the whole movement is more stable, which makes the landmine row easier for beginners to perform, since there’s not as much core involvement. It also allows more experienced gym-goers to load up the bar with more weight than the bent-over row and really go to town on their back muscles.

The downside is that core involvement is generally a major additional benefit to the bent-over row, since you have to stabilise yourself as you row the bar up and down. But if you’re happy to lose those core benefits in favour of a safer, more stable rowing experience, here’s how to perform the landmine row.

See related 

• How To Do The Landmine Press
• How To Nail The Landmine Squat
• The Best Back Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• 7 Essential Barbell Exercises To Get Stronger

How To Do The Landmine Row

The landmine row is also known as the T-bar row, and if you have a T-bar machine in your gym you can use that to perform the exercise. If not, then grab a barbell and secure one end in a corner – or in a landmine attachment, which your gym might also have.

Face away from the anchor point and straddle the bar. Bend your knees slightly and hinge forwards at the hips, keeping your back straight, and grasp the end of it in both hands below your chest, with your arms extended. Pull the barbell up to your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body and squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top of the move. Lower the bar slowly back to the start.

You can also perform the landmine row using one arm, in which case, begin by standing to one side of the bar. This unilateral form of the move allows you to focus on one side of the body at a time, so you can spot and then work on any strength imbalances.

You probably don’t need us to tell you that the pull-up is one of the toughest bodyweight exercises there is. If you’ve ever attempted to knock out a set in the gym, or just pull yourself up and over a wall out in the real world, you’ll know the demands it places on your back, shoulder and arm muscles.

Being able to perform a strict pull-up is a great goal to have and our comprehensive guide to the movement can help you achieve just that. We also have form tips to help you refine your technique, and variations and challenges you can try once you’ve nailed it. But first, a few frequently asked questions, answered.

Pull-Up Benefits

Aside from the sense of achievement that comes with mastering a feat of strength most people struggle with, what are the benefits of hoicking yourself above a bar? To find out, we spoke to Fiona Scott, head of physical performance at Performance Herts at the University of Hertfordshire.

“The pull-up is a compound exercise, meaning it involves more than one muscle group,” says Scott. “This is positive news for anyone wanting to get globally strong. It’s a good way to train if you’re short on time too.” 

By using the muscles in your back and arms, this exercise will help build transferable strength that can improve your performance in the barbell bent-over row, a fundamental strength training move. 

But there are more benefits to performing pull-ups than just building muscle. “They can do wonders for your shoulders,” says Scott. “You’re holding your own bodyweight and you’re also moving through a good range of motion. The shoulder can have a lot of problems associated with it because it has such a free range of movement—the more movement a joint has, the more issues can often affect it. 

“In the initial part of the pull-up movement, you should do something called scap-setting. This is bringing the scapula, or shoulder blade, into a favourable position to perform the rest of the movement.” 

Scott warns that many people miss out on this benefit because they don’t start and finish in a dead hang position, so skip the lower portion of the movement. 

“When you’re at a full hang you’re training the muscles around the scapula (which are often weaker due to our hunched posture in everyday life) like the lower traps and rhomboids. You’re also strengthening the rotator cuff muscles, which many people become familiar with through injuries.”

How To Do A Pull-Up

You probably think you know how to do a pull-up, but refining your technique makes it easier to do and helps you get more from it. Here’s Scott’s expert form guide. 

First, grasp the bar with an overhand grip, palms facing forwards, with your hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Depending on the height of the bar, you may need to jump up to grab the bar, or if you’re new to pull-ups, a box or step can help you get into position.

“Start in a dead hang, gripping the bar with your arms fully extended,”says Scott. “Then it’s time for scap-setting: pull your shoulder blades back towards each other and down.”

Brace your core and glutes to keep your legs and torso stable, then begin the movement. “Use your lats to pull yourself upwards—imagine you’re trying to pull your elbows into your jean pockets,” says Scott. “Your end point will depend on your shoulder mobility, but usually you should aim to bring your chin at least above the bar.”

Pull-Ups For Beginners

“It isn’t common for people to just walk up to a bar and do a pull-up straight away,” says Scott. “And, unlike other exercises like the back squat where you can start with bodyweight versions before progressing to a barbell, it’s a difficult movement from the off.”

Fortunately, there are techniques that will help beginners develop the strength required to do a pull-up—and develop quicker than they may expect.

“Most people will need to use regression options,” says Scott. The first thing to do is to learn to hang on to the bar. Build up to being able to do a dead hang for 30 seconds—that shows you can manage your own bodyweight. 

“Next up is practising scap-setting. This is where, in that hang position, you pull yourself up a couple of inches just using your shoulders (your arms should remain straight). The cue I use for that movement is to imagine squeezing a satsuma between your shoulder blades, then relax. If you struggle to do this with your bodyweight, you can also perform this exercise on a lat pull-down machine.”

After you feel comfortable with this, use banded pull-ups and eccentric pull-ups (explained in our sections on variations below) to build strength in your back and biceps. 

Our pull-up workout plan for beginners brings all this together in a four-week schedule. All you need is a pull-up bar, and our guide to the best pull-up bars helps you find one.

Pull-Up Assistance Lifts

Try these supportive machine moves to power up your pull-up prowess.

Lat pull-down

This machine move most closely replicates the muscle actions required to do pull-ups. The wider your hands on the bar, the more you isolate your lats, making each rep harder.

Cable face pull

This works wonders for your pull-up ability by not only improving your hunched-over posture from too much sitting but also making you learn how to retract your shoulder blades properly, which is key to perfect pull-up form. Do three light sets of 15 after your back or shoulders session.

Pull-Up Form Tips

For advice on how to perfect your pull-up technique, we spoke to Alasdair Nicoll, personal trainer and tutor at The Fitness Group, which provides personal training courses.

1. Face Your Chest Up

“Start off with your hands one-hand-width outside of shoulder-width apart,” says Nicoll. “Then extend your spine slightly and have your chest high, facing towards the ceiling, as if you’re looking almost directly up, so there’s a natural slight curve in the upper back.”

2. Don’t Think About Pulling Yourself Up

“Instead of thinking about pulling yourself up, I suggest people think about driving their elbows down into their hips,” says Nicoll. “What’s going to happen is your lat muscles and your upper-back muscles, like the rhomboids and traps, take over.

“Whereas when you think about pulling yourself up, often there’s going to be more strain and stress put through the biceps, which isn’t the goal of the pull-up.

“More engagement in the upper back means much more control of the movement.”

3. Use Tempo

“Be really explosive and powerful on that way up, then have a slight pause at the top position for one second, then on the way down it can be two or three, even four seconds,” says Nicoll. “That way you’re really going to be utilizing that eccentric portion of the exercise, making sure that the back is getting a good stretch all the way through.”

Different Pull-Up Grips

Overhand grip

An overhand grip pull-up is the hardest to do, because it places more of the workload on your lats. The wider your grip, the less help your lats get from other muscles, making a rep harder.

Underhand grip

This grip turns a pull-up into a chin-up, and places more emphasis on your biceps, which makes it more of an arms move than a back one. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart.

Neutral grip

A neutral or palms-facing grip is your strongest hand position because it distributes the workload between multiple muscles. Use it initially to start building strength, or even as your final grip for a drop set.

Pull-Up Challenges

When you become a relative pull-up pro, test your mettle with these challenges.

Russian Special Forces challenge

This test stems from the entrance exam undertaken by new recruits to the Russian Special Forces. It’s not for the faint-hearted. You’ll need to perform 18 complete pull-ups without sacrificing form or technique. If that doesn’t sound tough enough, you’ll have a 10kg weight attached to your body—either in the form of a kettlebell, plate or weighted vest.

Dead hang challenge

Select a weight with which you can perform 15 comfortable pull-ups. That may be your bodyweight alone, or you may be able to add 5-10kg via a weighted vest or dipping belt. Your challenge is to hang at the bottom portion of the lift for 1-2min (depending on fitness level). It’s not as easy as it sounds, and to make it tougher, retract your shoulder blades as if you were about to perform an actual pull-up—and hold that position. This is extremely useful for those looking to quickly gain strength on the pull-up.

The 10-set press-up/pull-up combo

Five pull-ups, straight into 10 press-ups. No rest in between. Ten sets. Ideally perform this at the end of your session for a strength and endurance test. It’s a favourite of Combined Strength coach Andy MacKenzie, and while appearing relatively simple at first glance, will lead to a lung-busting finish.

Pull-Up Variations

We’ve put together 13 variations—from the first-time negative pull-up to the ultra-difficult towel grip pull-up—to help progress your pull-up game. Once you can do a set of six to eight reps, move up the scale. Adding an extra pull-up each week is a good rule of thumb.

1. Banded pull-up

How to do it Loop a resistance band around the pull-up bar and place one foot in the loop. The greater the resistance of the band, the more assistance it will provide. 

Why? “This is a way to reduce the load of a pull-up on your muscles,” says Scott. “The band will help you more at the bottom of the movement and less at the top. This works well for most people because they’re weakest in the first phase of the exercise, pulling from a dead hang, and strongest at the top.”

2. Negative/eccentric pull-up

How to do it “Your starting position should be at the top of a pull-up with your chin above the bar,” says Scott. “To get there, you can jump up or use a box to give you a helping hand. Then, slowly lower yourself down to a dead hang, taking between five and ten seconds.”

Why? “We are stronger in the eccentric portion of the movement. So if we can’t do a pull-up, we can learn to control our body through this range of motion and build strength until we can eventually perform one.”

3. Kipping pull-up

How to do it Exactly the same as the classic move, except you swing your legs to generate the momentum to pull to the top of the move.

Why? Practising with this move will build power in all your major back muscles.

4. Close-grip chin-up

How to do it Take a narrow grip with your hands so that your palms are in front of your face.

Why? This variation increases the involvement of your biceps, reducing the load on your back muscles and making the move slightly easier.

5. Classic pull-up

How to do it Grasp the bar with an overhand grip with your hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Let your body hang straight down with your arms fully extended. Pull up and squeeze your lats until your chin is over the bar, before lowering slowly to the start position without swinging.

Why? Because it's an old-school classic that will work your upper-body like few other exercises.

6. Tarzan pull-up

How to do it Grip the middle of the bar, with both hands almost touching. Pull yourself up and, as you reach the top, twist your body to go up and to the right before lowering and then repeating to the left side.

Why? This requires greater co-ordination during the 'up' move to raise your body to each side, while a strong core is developed to prevent your lower body from swinging.

7. Side-to-side pull-up

How to do it Grip the middle of the bar, with both hands almost touching, as with the Tarzan pull-up, but raise yourself higher, so that your head can clear the bar for each shoulder to touch it on alternate reps. Get good at this tricky move by first focusing on pulling yourself up as high as possible, ideally so that your chest touches the bar. As you get stronger move your head to one side of the bar to get even higher, and alternate sides with each rep.

Why? This variation requires a more explosive “pull” to get you, then keep you, moving to clear the bar. It also means you need greater core control and stability to manage your bodyweight when it’s moving quickly.

8. Pull-up with alternating knee twist

How to do it At the top of the move, draw your knees in to your chest before twisting to the left, then to the right, before lowering slowly to the start.

Why? Your entire core is engaged during the twists, working your abs and obliques, while forcing your muscles to hold you in the 'up' position while you twist.

9. Pull-up with leg raise

How to do it As you reach the top of the move, raise your legs out in front of you until they are parallel to the floor before lowering.

Why? This move will also work your abs and slow down each rep, forcing your back muscles to work harder.

10. Walking pull-up

How to do it With a standard shoulder-width grip, move your legs back and forth in a walking motion as you raise and lower yourself. To “walk” yourself up super-slowly you need to work on your strength. Start with straight pull-ups with knee raises, then fast walking, getting gradually slower.

Why? This is one tough variation, and the slower you raise and lower yourself, the tougher it is. It also requires your core to work harder to keep your leg movement stable.

11. Weighted pull-up

How to do it Secure a weight plate to a belt or place a dumbbell between your legs before performing the move.

Why? If you can do regular pull-ups without too much trouble, the additional weight will shock your muscles into growing bigger and stronger.

12. Round the world

How to do it Pull yourself to the top. As you approach the bar, lift up and to the left before moving across to the right and completing a semi-circle before lowering.

Why? This tough move requires huge strength to hold your body firm while moving sideways and downwards under control.

13. Towel grip pull-up

How to do it Wrap two towels over the bar and grip one with each hand shoulder-width apart. Gripping the towels, pull yourself up to the bar before lowering slowly.

Why? Using towels requires great grip strength and builds forearm muscle power, as well as taxing the whole upper back and biceps.

People have a tendency to take their back for granted right up until the moment something goes wrong. We slump for hours at our desks before heading to the gym to work solely on the muscles we can see, like the biceps, chest and abs, not worrying too much about those we can’t. All of this is – you can see where this is going, can’t you? – a huge mistake.

A strong back is the foundation of many of the big lifts you’ll tackle in the gym and key to maintaining good posture in your everyday life. And if you’re motivated by aesthetics as much as practical reasons rest assured that a bigger, broader back is going to make you look dynamite on the beach.

Below you’ll find videos and explanations for the best beginner, intermediate and advanced back exercises as selected by strength and conditioning coach Richard Tidmarsh, founder of Reach Fitness. All the exercises can be scaled to your level by adding or removing weight, so even if you fancy yourself an expert in the gym don’t skip the beginner moves – they’re just as important as the other exercises and well worth mastering first.

Tidmarsh has also given his suggestions for sets and reps for each exercise so you can build them all into the ultimate back workout, should you so desire.

Beginner Back Exercises

I-Y-T

Sets 3 Reps 3-3-3

Holding light dumbbells in each hand, bend forwards by hinging at the hips bend at the hips until your torso is at a roughly 45° angle to the floor, keep your back flat and your shoulder blades squeezed. You should feel tension down your hamstrings. Extend your arms up so you form a letter I, then lower again. Do three reps of I, then extend your arms up and out to form a Y. Do three reps of Y, then three for T. Despite the light weight you’ll feel the burn. If you don’t, you’re doing it wrong.

TRX row

Sets 3 Reps 8

Grab the TRX handles with an overhand grip and walk under them to your desired depth – the further you go, the harder the row. Your body should be straight with your shoulder blades should be pulled down your back, and you shouldn’t use any momentum from your hips. Rotate your wrists as you row so they face the ceiling at the top of the move.

Single-arm kettlebell row

Sets 3 Reps 8 each arm

Bend at your hips until your torso is at a roughly 45° angle to the floor, keep your back flat and your shoulder blades squeezed, engaging your legs to form a strong foundation. Row a kettlebell up past your ribs, keeping your elbow close to your body.

See related 

• Four Back Stretches And Exercises To Prevent Painful Problems
• The Back Workout Routine To Help You Get Stronger
• Superset Back Workouts To Add Major Muscle Quickly

Intermediate Back Exercises

Renegade row

Sets 3 Reps 6 each arm

Get into an elevated press-up position with your hands holding dumbbells. Tilt your pelvis forwards and switch on your glutes to hold a rock-solid plank as you row one dumbbell up past your hips. Repeat on each side with no movement in your body.

Bent-over row

Sets 3 Reps 8

Deadlift a barbell for one rep, then hinge forwards until your torso is at a roughly 45° angle to the floor. With your back ramrod-straight, pull the bar in to your bellybutton with no kick from your legs or hips. Squeeze your back muscles, then lower the bar slowly.

Advanced Back Exercises

Single-arm cable row

Sets 3 Reps 6 each arm

Set a cable to bellybutton height. Step away from the machine holding the cable in one hand. Drop into a squat before pulling the cable back at the same time as you drive back up. Add a body twist (as in the video) when you feel like you have mastered the movement pattern.

Chin-up

Sets 3 Reps 6

With an underhand grip, grasp the bar with your hands shoulder-width apart. Slowly drop to full extension, then pull your chest up to the bar, keeping your elbows in. Lower slowly back to full extension – take three seconds. This exercise can be made easier by using a resistance band for assistance.

More Back Exercises

Pull-up

The pull-up works the lats, traps and rhomboids, and if you want to improve your back strength it’s as good a bodyweight move as you’ll find. That’s on top of the arm and core muscles you’ll be working as well. Grasp the bar in an overhand grip and pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar. Lower slowly back to the start. If you find you can’t do a full pull-up straight away, you can start by just doing the downward section of the move, or use a loop resistance band to provide assistance. This four-week pull-up workout plan uses those techniques plus more assistance moves to help you build up the strength to crank out a set with flawless form.

Bird-dog

Anyone can do this simple bodyweight move that improves your lower back and core strength. Start on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Extend your right arm and left leg in front of and behind you, respectively, then slowly bring them back to the floor and repeat with the opposite limbs. Keep your movements controlled, your hips level and your back straight.

Superman

Another beginner-friendly bodyweight move, the Superman strengthens your glutes and hamstrings along with your upper and lower back. It’s the lower back in particular that benefits, though, making this a useful move for anyone worried about pain in that spot because of their desk-bound lifestyle.

Lie face down on the floor with your arms and legs extended. Then raise both arms and legs at the same time so you’re in a similar pose as Superman himself when he soars through the air. Hold for a beat or two, then lower your limbs back to the start. If the exercise proves too tough at first you can make it easier by lifting fewer limbs – try one arm and one leg at the same time, or just your legs, or just your arms.

Shrug

This simple but effective move targets the traps muscles in your back as well as your shoulders. Stand holding dumbbells by your sides with your palms facing. Shrug your shoulders up to your ears, keeping your arms straight. Pause for a beat, then lower the weights slowly and under control. You can also perform the move with a barbell or kettlebells, depending on what you have to hand.

Deadlift

While the deadlift taxes your hamstrings and glutes hard, it also works all the muscles in your posterior chain which runs down the back of your body. It’s a move that should be in every gym-goer’s workout regime, but it’s important to perform it with good form to avoid risking lower-back problems. Stand over a barbell and hinge at your hips to reach down and grasp the bar with your hands just outside your legs. Keeping your core braced, chest up and back flat, lift the bar by driving your hips forwards, then lower it slowly back to the ground.

Exercises To Help Relieve Back Pain

If you are one of the millions of people in the UK who experience back pain, it might not be wise to go to the gym and immediately start lifting heavy weights with the aim of strengthening your back. Instead, go back to basics and begin with stretches and simple bodyweight exercises. Here are a couple of great options anyone can do.

Thoracic rotation

Lie on your side with your knees and hips bent at 90°, and your arms extended in front of you. Take your top arm up and over, rotating your torso so the arm comes over to point in the other direction and both your shoulders are touching the ground. Hold for a beat, then rotate back over.

Lumbar extension

Yoga aficionados will know this as the cobra pose. Lie face down on the floor with your palms face down in front of you and in line with your elbows, which should be bent at 90°. Push through your palms to raise your chest while keeping your hips in contact with the ground. Raise your torso until you feel the stretch in your lower back.

The list of benefits associated with a strong upper back is long and impressive. Upper-back exercises will help improve your posture – critical in a nation of slouchers who spend so much time hunched over a desk or phone – as well as broadening your back and increasing your strength and power, which will boost your performance in the gym and when playing various sports.

Below you’ll find seven excellent upper-back moves you can add to your gym routine, plus two of the best upper-back workouts that combine several great exercises. The two workouts are short and each can be added to a longer gym session that also targets other areas of the body, but if you are planning on doing both, give yourself two to three days in between to let the back recover.

To balance this focus on your upper back, either rotate in these lower-back workouts or, depending on the equipment you have available, tackle the whole back in one session with this gym-based back workout, back workout with dumbbells or back workout at home. If multiple sets of pull-ups are beyond you right now, build your strength using this beginner back workout and pull-up workout plan.

Upper-Back Exercises

Bent-over row

Many people get into the habit of letting the bench press dominate their workout, but concentrating on your pecs at the expense of your back can lead to a muscle imbalance that not only looks rubbish, but also increases your risk of injury. The bent-over row works the opposite muscle group, the upper back (traps, lats, rhomboids and rear deltoids), as well as your biceps and abs, which help keep your torso stable.

Start with your core braced, your back straight and your shoulder blades retracted. Bend your knees slightly and lean forwards from the hips. Grip the bar with your hands just wider than shoulder-width apart, letting the bar hang at knee level. Pull the bar to your sternum, retracting your shoulder blades to allow the bar to come up to your chest, then lower slowly back to the start.

Don’t shrug your shoulders and round your back if you’re struggling with the weight – this takes the emphasis away from the target muscles. It’s far better to switch to a lighter weight and maintain correct form.

Shrug

Shrugs have a limited range of motion compared with many other lifts, which means that you can go really heavy on the weights to help build big and strong traps, and develop wide shoulders.

Stand holding a heavy dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip (palms facing), keeping your core braced and a natural arch in your back. Shrug your shoulders up towards your ears, keeping your arms straight. Hold for a second at the top position, then slowly lower the weights back to the start. You can also perform shrugs with a heavy barbell using an overhand grip just outside your hips.

One-arm row

Working one arm at a time encourages balanced growth, lessening the risk of injury. Rest your left knee and hand on a bench, and hold a dumbbell in your right hand close to the floor. Keeping your back straight, use your back muscles and biceps to row the weight up to your side, leading with your elbow. Normally you’ll complete all your reps with one arm, then repeat on the other side.

Seated cable row

Hitting your back muscles while seated allows you to go heavier and focus all your efforts on the target muscle groups, resulting in big muscle-mass gains. Sit with a flat back and a slight bend in your knees, using a neutral grip to hold a double-D handle attached to the bottom pulley of a cable machine. Ensure that there is tension in the cable before you begin. Pull the handle to your sternum, keeping upper-body movement to a minimum, and squeeze your shoulders together. Return slowly to the start.

Pull-up

The best bodyweight upper-back exercise going, the pull-up works the lats, traps and rhomboids, as well as challenging your arms and shoulders. It’s a daunting exercise the first time you do it, and you might only manage a couple if you don’t use a resistance band or pull-up machine to support some of your weight, but stick at it and you’ll find that it won’t take long before you can knock out a set of ten pull-ups. You can also use this four-week training plan to build the strength in a more deliberate way.

Jump up and grab the bar in an overhand grip with your hands shoulder-width apart. Let your body hang so your arms are fully extended. Keeping your shoulders back and your core engaged, raise your body until your chin is above the bar. Then slowly lower yourself back to the start.

Reverse flye

This dumbbell move is one of the best exercises for working the side and rear shoulder muscles, and it will also strengthen the shoulder girdle and rotator cuff muscles. These are worth targeting when building your upper back because they can be easy to injure when performing shoulder exercises. The flye will also work wonders for your posture, but to gain these benefits you need to perform the move with perfect form.

Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing. Hinge forwards from your hips, keeping your back straight and letting the weights hang down with a slight bend in your elbows. Maintain that bend as you raise the weights out to the sides until they are level with your shoulders. Pause at the top and squeeze your shoulder blades together, then lower the weights.

Renegade row

Add some core work to your quest for a stronger upper back with this combination of a plank and a row. Hexagonal dumbbells are ideal for the renegade row, because the starting position involves adopting a high plank position holding dumbbells resting on the floor. Make sure you form a straight line from your neck to your ankles and don’t let your hips sag, buck or rotate as you lift one weight to your shoulder, supporting yourself on the other arm. Lower the weight back to the floor and then row the other dumbbell up.

Upper-Back Workout 1

1 Dumbbell Romanian deadlift

Sets 4 Reps 8

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. Hold dumbbells by your thighs. Keeping your back straight, bend forward at the hips and allow the weights to slide down your shins. Bend your knees slightly as you lower.

Why If you keep good form with shoulder blades retracted, stand up fully at the top of the movement and contract your back, this is a huge compound move that hits the trapezius and central upper back muscles.

2 Wide grip pull-up

Sets 3 Reps up to 10

Hold an overhead bar with your hands twice shoulder-width apart and palms facing forwards. Let your body hang straight down, then squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull your chest up towards the bar. Lower yourself all the way down before repeating. Do as many reps as you can up to ten.

Why This is a tough exercise that can humble regular gym-goers because the wide grip places a massive emphasis on your underworked upper back muscles. But stick with it and you’ll soon build enough new back muscle strength to do the ten full reps.

3 Standing unilateral low-cable row

Sets 3 Reps 6 each side

Stand at a cable stack with the pulley set to a low position and hold the handle with your palm facing inwards. Start with one leg slightly ahead of the other, bending your knees. Keep your torso square-on to the stack and then pull the handle in a straight line. Your hand should end up by your abs.

Why Not only will this exercise iron out any strength imbalances in the sides of your back, but your core will also have to counteract the effort on the non-working side. This will improve rotational stability in your upper spine.

Upper-Back Workout 2

1 Close-grip seated row

Sets 4 Reps 8

Sit at a seated row cable machine and select a weight that you can do 10 reps with. Begin with knees bent, torso upright and shoulders back. Hold the double D-handles with straight arms in front of your upper abdomen. Brace your core, then pull the handle in to your upper abdomen without moving your torso.

Why Pulling a weight towards you on a horizontal plane is the most direct way to fire up all the large upper-back muscles. Doing it sitting down takes the lower back out of the equation. Go slow and steady and not too heavy at first – you can increase the weight once you perfect the form.

2 Upright row

Sets 3 Reps 8

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a barbell by your hips with palms facing inwards and hands in a close grip. Squeeze your shoulder blades together, brace your core and pull the bar directly upwards, taking care not to roll your shoulders forwards.

Why This exercise targets the traps in the reverse movement to the pull-up to balance the muscle strength along the opposite plane of motion. It also recruits the front and mid-shoulder muscles, allowing you to move more weight and increase growth potential.

3 Unilateral hammer-grip pull-down

Sets 3 Reps 6 each side

Hold a D-handle with a neutral grip, palm facing down. Lean back slightly, locking your shoulders and lower back into position. Brace your core and pull the handle straight down to the side of your ribcage. Pause, then lower the weight under control and repeat six times before switching sides.

Why Isolating the upper lats on each side of the back will balance out your weaker side and allow you to focus your dwindling energy at the end of the workout. The different grip will hit the muscle from a new angle, forcing it to adapt to the training stimulus.

Back stretch

This will ensure your lifts are not thrown off-balance. Kneel in front of a Swiss ball and place your right hand on top of the ball. Then lean forward, bending at the hips, until you feel the stretch in your lats beneath your armpits. Hold the position for 10 to 20 seconds unless you are about to exercise, in which case hold for three to five seconds. Then repeat the stretch with your left arm. Alternate, doing five stretches on each side.

People who are into physique training like to talk about achieving the V-shaped torso, and if that’s on your to-do list you’re going to want to dedicate some time to working your latissimus dorsi – AKA your lats – because bulking them up will leave you with a broad, powerful-looking back. Even if this is the first time you’ve heard the phrase V-shaped torso, what we’re about to tell you next should still make you want to keep reading. The lats are responsible for a huge range of movements and a strong set of lats promote good posture – and who doesn’t want to improve their posture?

Unsure where to start? We’ve got your back. Here are a few of our favourite lats exercises.

Pull-up

Nothing works your lats quite as well as a proper pull-up and, unlike with some moves on this list, you don’t have to pay as much attention to keeping your back straight because gravity will take care of that for you. Just don’t beat yourself up if you struggle when you’re starting out – pull-ups are hard.

Hang from a pull-up bar with your arms extended, hands shoulder-width apart and your palms facing away from you. Brace your core and slowly pull yourself up (keeping your back straight, of course) until your neck is above the bar. Pause, then lower in an equally controlled manner until your arms are straight again.

Lat pull-down

Remember when we said pull-ups are hard? This pull-up-like exercise can help you build up to them. There are no prizes for guessing which muscles the lat pull-down works, but there are definitely rewards for those who do it.

Sit in the lat pull-down machine with your legs beneath the padding. Grasp the bar with both arms extended, keeping your back straight. Slowly pull the bar down towards your chest, pause, then allow the bar to rise again under control – the release is just as important as the pulling phase.

Medicine ball slam

This mean medicine ball exercise is ideal if you want to both work on your lats and release some pent-up anger.

Place a medicine ball – 12kg is our recommendation, but go lighter if you need to on the ground in front of you. Squat down to pick it up, making sure you keep your back straight. Lift the ball above your head with your arms extended. Once there, slam the ball down onto the ground as hard as you can.

Reverse-grip barbell bent-over row

If the hanging and the slamming weren’t taking your fancy, rowing might be the exercise for you. Stand in front of a barbell with your feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in the knees. Making sure your back is straight throughout, bend forwards – hinging at the hips – until your torso is nearly parallel to the ground. Grasp the barbell with an underhand grip, palms facing away from you, and hold it around shin height. Pull the barbell in towards your stomach, keeping your elbows tight to your body, until the bar touches your sternum, then lower slowly.

See related

• The Best Back Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• Superset Back Workouts To Add Major Muscle Quickly
• Build Up The Strength To Do A Set Of Pull-Ups With This Plan

Dumbbell pull-over

If after all the pulling, slamming and rowing you feel like you need a little lie-down, finish your session with this move. Take care when selecting a weight and if in doubt go lighter. You’re going to be holding that weight above that gorgeous mug of yours.

Lie with your head and back flat on a bench, and your feet flat on the ground, holding one dumbbell in both hands with your arms extended above your chest. Keeping your arms extended, lower the dumbbell behind your head until it’s roughly level with your head, then bring it back up to above your chest. If you start to feel discomfort in your shoulders, don’t lower the weight any further; instead, go and work on your shoulder mobility and/or pick a lighter dumbbell.

Landmine row

Another great row to add to your repertoire, the landmine allows you to put the squeeze on your lats by attacking them from an angle the barbell or dumbbell row can’t manage. Take the weight plates off one end of a barbell and secure it by wedging it in a corner (or a dedicated landmine holder, if your gym has one). Load up the other end of the bar and straddle it, holding the weight in both hands in front of you. Lean forward so your torso is at a 45° angle to the floor and row the bar up to your chest by drawing your elbows back and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Lower it slowly.

Deadlift

While the deadlift is primarily known for strengthening the hamstrings and glutes, it’s also a move that will work the lats. Set up with a barbell on the floor just in front of your shins. Bend down and grasp the bar using an overhand grip with your hands just outside your legs. Keeping a flat back, lift the bar by driving your hips forwards and come up to standing. Lower the bar slowly and carefully – make sure you don’t start rounding your back here.

While there’s no way to guarantee that you’ll never suffer from back pain, there are several things you can do to reduce the risk that you’ll be affected by this all-too-common affliction. Some you probably already know – spending hours over a keyboard in a suboptimal position is not great for your back or neck, especially when you then spend the intervening hours hunched over your phone.

Good posture whatever you’re doing goes a long way towards improving your chances of avoiding back pain, but you should also consider regular stretching and mobility work. This is not only a preventative measure, either – stretching and exercising your back can help you manage any existing pain.

If you’re not sure what to do in the way of back stretches, we’ve got you covered. We asked David McGinness, who has worked as lead physiotherapist of Virgin Active’s Beyond Movement service, for his advice on some effective back exercises that are well worth adding to your next workout. You’ll find those exercises below, but first we asked McGinness for more information about back pain and how stretching can help prevent and manage it.

How common is back pain?

“Spinal pain, for example lower back or neck pain, makes up around 80% of all the complaints we see here,” says McGinness.

“The most common type of back pain I see is discogenic lower back pain – pain related to an injury of the vertebral discs. This is usually caused by a combination of posture and exercise, and can come on from a sudden movement – for example a deadlift, picking something up off the floor – or gradually [because of] consistently poor sitting posture. This is generally characterised by pain in the mornings and pain when bending over, for example when you put on your shoes or socks.

“The second most common is facet joint irritation/inflammation. These are the joints that connect one vertebra to the next. This is generally a little more acute and aggravated by bending the back or rotating the back.”

Another common back issue, especially in those who regularly exercise, is muscle strain. And don’t rule out the possibility of having a few of these problems at once, if you’re really unlucky.

How can stretching help?

Before we go on to detail the exercises, here’s exactly how they’re going to help.

“These exercises are quite versatile,” says McGinness. “I commonly use them for acute episodes of lower and middle back pain, but they are also quite useful for maintaining good spinal health and alignment.”

“They can be especially useful for those aching back pains that come on from sitting for long periods, although they can be useful for sciatica – that is, leg pain, tingling or numbness that originates from the nerves in the back. It is best to be seen by your physiotherapist or physician before commencing [with these exercises] to ensure that they are the best thing for you.”

As with pretty much all exercise, if you experience pain when doing the stretches, stop and get checked out by a physio to ensuring you’re not compounding any major issues.

See related

• How To Prevent And Treat Back Pain
• Three Easy Neck Exercises To Help Prevent Neck Pain
• The Best Back Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• Mobility Exercises to Improve How you Move

Back Stretches And Exercises

1 Thoracic rotation

Sets 1-2 Reps 8-10 each side

“With this move we are attempting to mobilise the joints in the middle of your back,” says McGinness.

“The thoracic spine can become stiff, especially in people doing office-based work. This immobility leads to compensation in the upper and lower part of the back, causing an overload in the region.”

Lie down on your side. Bring your hips and knees up so both are at 90°. Hold your arms straight out to one side with your palms together. Lift your top hand up and over, exhaling as you do, rotating your torso until the arm is pointing straight out to the opposite side with your shoulders flat on the ground – or as close as you can get. Hold the position for a second or two, then while breathing in, bring your arm back over to the starting position. Move your head so it follows your hand as it moves. Do all the reps on one side before switching to the other.

Lumbar extension

Set 2-3 Reps 8-10

“Known as the cobra stretch in yoga, this one’s good for discogenic lower back pain – where you feel pain bending down when you’re putting on your shoes in the morning,” McGinness explains.

Lie face down on the floor with your hands palm down in line with your shoulders, fingers facing forward and elbows bent at a 90° angle. Keep your elbows tucked in as you press your palms into the floor and raise first your head, and then your chest, keeping your pelvis in contact with the ground as you do. Raise your chest and straighten your arms until you feel a good stretch in the lower back – you don’t have to completely straighten your arms. If your hips start to raise off the ground you’ve found the right stopping point. You should find you can raise your chest a little higher as you work through the eight to ten reps of each set.

Plank

The first two moves should help achieve a greater range of movement in the back and adding the plank to your routine helps you to control that additional movement.

Make sure your posture is perfect to get the full benefits of the plank. Your weight should be supported by the balls of your feet and your elbows, and your back and hips should be aligned to form a straight line from shoulders to ankles. Fix your gaze about 45° in front of you to help engage the muscles in your mid-back and neck. How long you hold it is up to you, but there’s no point continuing if your form isn’t spot on.

“My clients start anywhere from ten to 15 seconds, up to three minutes,” says McGinness. “When you start to feel like you’re losing control, or shaking too much, stop and reset.”

Glute Bridge

Set 3 Reps 12

“This combines gluteal activation with core activation,” says McGinness.

“It’s great for everyone from office-based workers right up to ultramarathon runners. This exercise primes your body for exercise, and helps to prevent what I like to call ‘lazy bum syndrome’.”

Lie face up with your knees bent so your feet are flat on the ground. Raise your toes off the floor, squeeze your bum and drive through your heels to lift your hips until your knees, hips and shoulders form a straight line. Hold the raised position for a couple of seconds, then slowly lower your hips back to the start.

“You should feel your bum as the primary driver,” says McGinness. “If you’re feeling it in your thighs or lower back, reset and start again.”

The inverted row is a great back exercise, working the lats as well as several stabiliser muscles, and acting as a natural complement to chest-focused moves like press-ups and the bench press. It’s also a great pulling exercise that will help you build the strength needed to rattle out a set of pull-ups, if that’s something you’re working towards.

If you choose to do your inverted rows on a suspension trainer like the TRX, then you get all of the above and more, because the instability involved in pulling your body up using ropes rather than a bar means that your core has to work harder throughout the exercise to maintain your body position.

How To Do The TRX Row

Set up your suspension trainer so the handles hang at chest height. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding the handles with your palms facing each other. Lean back until your arms are extended, taking your weight. The position of your feet will determine how difficult the exercise is: moving them forwards towards or even past the anchor point increases how much you lean back and makes the move harder, and stepping backwards makes it easier.

Pull your chest up between your hands, keeping your elbows close to your body and squeezing your shoulder blades together behind you. Pause at the top of the move, then slowly lower until your arms are extended again.

See related

• The Best Suspension Trainers Of 2021: TRX, Decathlon And More
• The Beginner’s Guide To TRX Training
• The Best TRX Exercises

Throughout the exercise it’s imperative to maintain your body position. You should form a straight line from your head to your heels, and only your arms and shoulders should move as you pull yourself up and lower again. Given the unstable nature of the suspension trainer, staying in position will be particularly taxing for your core muscles.

There are three common mistakes to avoid with this move. The first is jabbing your chin out towards the handles rather than lifting your chest to it. The second is letting your hips sag, which is usually an indication that you need to make the move easier by bringing your feet back a little. Finally, thrusting your hips forwards as you row up. Swerve all these and you’ll get a brawnier back and stronger core in double-quick time.

The human body is really good at moving, but it goes to pot when you ask it to stay still for most of the day. Not great news for those of us with sedentary office-based jobs, and it’s one of the main reasons backaches are as common as colds.

If you’re struggling with back pain, the Kaia app might be able to help. It offers convenient, supplementary treatment for people who have seen a GP about their back problems and been diagnosed with non-specific back pain. The app takes three types of treatment you might receive at a medical centre – physical therapeutic exercises, pain education concentrating on back pain, and coping strategies like mindfulness techniques and progressive muscle relaxation – and puts them on your smartphone.

To give you a taste of what’s on offer, the team at Kaia pulled together these ten exercises, focusing on movements you can do sitting or standing to make them more office appropriate. “There’s more movement in the exercises in the app,” says Kaia training specialist Lukas Offinger. “Seated movements are mostly there for patients with acute pain. You can expect many more movements in the standing, all fours, on your knees, or on your back and prone positions.

“These ten exercises are all pretty easy to do, although you should take care to perform them slowly and under control. Don’t rush through because they are easy, but really pay attention to the video and try to copy them as well as possible.”

Take some time to learn and master the routine, then make it a regular part of your working day. It only takes a little over five minutes and, as Offinger explains, “your whole body gets a brief relief from what you’re doing all the time – sitting.”

1 Raise elbows

Reps 20

Sit in a chair and hug yourself, putting your right hand on your left shoulder and vice versa. Your elbows should be stacked in front of your chest. Raise your elbows as far as is comfortable, then lower them again. “Never go through the pain or force it,” says Offinger. “None of these are performance exercises – they are supposed to make you feel better.”

2 Leg move

Time 20sec each leg

Sit in a chair and bend forwards, placing both hands on one leg just below your knee. Slide your hands down slowly towards your ankle and back up again. Continue until the time is up, then switch legs.

3 Hands up

Time 30sec

Sit in a chair and put your hands on the top of your head with your elbows out to either side. Gently bend your upper body to one side, then the other, continuing until the time is up. Your buttocks should stay on the chair throughout.

4 Leg to body

Time 20sec hold each leg

Sit in a chair, lift one leg and hug it towards your chest. Hold until the time is up, then switch legs. “A lot of people with back pain feel better when they do this lying on their back,” says Offinger. Try that if you work from home or you’re the big kahuna in the office.

5 Raise hips

Time 20sec

Ignore the name: in fact you sit in a chair and move your hips forwards and backwards, which to an observer will look like you’re raising your body. “It’s the Michael Jackson move,” says Offinger. “Move your hips forwards and backwards like a dancer – it’s a really slight movement.”

See related

• How To Prevent And Treat Back Pain
• Four Back Stretches And Exercises To Prevent Painful Problems
• Simple Ways To Improve Your Desk Posture
• The Best Health And Fitness Apps

6 Elbow twist

Time 20sec

Sit in a chair and hug yourself, putting your right hand on your left shoulder and vice versa. Your elbows should be stacked in front of your chest. Twist your body to rotate your elbows to one side and then the other slowly. “It’s not dangerous, but most people with low back pain will feel this quickly,” says Offinger. “Remember to never move through the pain.”

7 Move hips

Time 20sec

Sit in a chair and rock your hips from one side to the other. The opposite buttock to the side you’re leaning towards should leave the seat.

8 Rotate arms

Time 20sec

Stand with your upper arms pinned to your sides, elbows bent at 90°, lower arms in front of you parallel to the floor and hands facing up. Keeping your upper arms tight to your body, rotate your lower arms so they’re out to the sides. Hold that position until the time is up.

“This is a great move if you’ve been sitting for hours with your shoulders forward,” says Offinger. “It activates your scapula and is great for your posture. You feel like you’re getting taller.”

9 Upper rotation

Time 30sec

Stand with your upper arms out to the sides, perpendicular to your torso, elbows bent at 90°, lower arms pointing towards the ceiling and hands facing forwards. Rotate your torso from one side to the other.

“This is similar to the elbow twist, but here you can rotate your hips as well and go a little bit further,” says Offinger.

10 Hip circles

Time 20sec

Stand and move your hips in a circle. This is likely to be a familiar movement, so beware getting carried away. “Make sure to move very slowly,” says Offinger. “Go as far as you can, but only as far as feels good.”

Download Kaia from App Store and Google Play | Three months for £32.99, free trial available

Most people plan their gym routines around the big lifts. That means squats, deadlifts, bench presses and the like, along with exercises that hit the muscles they want to show off, like biceps curls and crunches. However, when mapping out your week of workouts, it’s important to find room for supporting exercises that will boost your performance in these big lifts. Exercises like the back extension.

While the primary purpose of the back extension is to work the muscles in your lower back, it also hits your hamstrings and glutes, making it a useful exercise for anyone looking to improve in the deadlift. That’s especially true if you use a back extension bench and add some weight.

There are a few ways to perform the back extension, but the two most common are lying on the floor and using the back extension bench. Both will strengthen your lower back muscles, which will benefit your posture and help counter any problems you have in that area owing to long office hours spent at a desk. If you experience any lower back pain while performing the back extension, stop and get your form checked straight away, because you can exacerbate problems by pushing through the pain.

See related

• The Best Back Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer

How To Do The Back Extension

For the lying back extension, lie on your front and bring your hands up to your temples with your elbows out to the sides. Then engage your glutes and core and lift your shoulders and chest up off the floor. Squeeze your shoulder blades together, then lower back to the start.

If you’re using a back extension bench the first thing to do is set up the pads so you can lie forward with freedom to bend at the waist. The bench should be set at a 45° angle – this will allow for a greater range of movement than a flat bench. Ensure your feet are secure against the pads, then bend forwards, keeping your back flat. Fold forwards until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, then slowly bring your torso back up.

Do you spend a lot of time in the gym working on your chest with bench presses or press-ups? Do you struggle with pull-ups? If your answer to either of those questions is yes, you need the inverted row in your life – and frankly even if your answer to both was no, it’s still an exercise worth knowing about.

That’s because the inverted row is one of the best all-round back exercises you can do, and it complements pressing exercises by balancing your gains across the muscles used. You don’t want to end up lopsided, right?

As a pulling exercise that uses your bodyweight, it also works as a stepping stone to the pull-up. So if you’re finding that your pull-up sets end after two or three reps, try spending a few weeks doing inverted rows to build up your strength.

You’ll also build muscle mass with the move, even without adding any extra resistance into the equation. Researchers measuring muscle activation in three different back exercises – the inverted row, the barbell bent-over row and the one-arm cable row – found that the greatest contractions in the upper back and lats came during the inverted row, according to the Journal Of Strength And Conditioning Research. The inverted row also produced the lowest load on the lumbar spine, so you can use it as your go-to back builder with less risk of hurting your lower back.

When you master the inverted row, not only will you feel your lats grow over time into a wondrous pair of wings, but the smaller muscle groups that help stabilise you – such as the rhomboids, mid-traps and infraspinatus – are all stimulated too. The result is a bigger, functionally strong back.

How To Do The Inverted Row

The first step is to select what you are going to hang from and row up to. In the gym, set up a Smith machine with a bar just out of reach when you’re lying on the ground; alternatively you can use TRX ropes (see the variations below) or gym rings.

Outside of the gym you’ll often find a suitable parallel bar in your local park, or you can even use a bike rack if you’ve taken your workout to the streets. At home it is possible to do inverted rows using a table, but it’s really important to make sure that table is sturdy and heavy enough that you can row from it without pulling it over on top of you. A better choice is a telescopic pull-up bar set in a door frame at the appropriate height.

Once your bar is set up, lie beneath it and grab it with both hands in an overhand grip (palms facing away from you). Brace your abs so your body forms a straight line from your head to your heels. Pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar, then lower slowly. If you’re struggling to get through your reps, move your feet closer to the bar and lift yourself up at a higher angle. Having your feet flat on the ground with a bend in the knees will halve the resistance involved and make the row easier.

Inverted Row Form Tips

Posture is key, so it’s important to avoid these three common mistakes:

1. The Chin Jab: You’re aiming to get your chest to the bar, not thrust your chin towards it and leave your body behind.

2. The Hip Sag: Dropping from the waist suggests your core isn’t up to the full inverted row, so start with your legs bent and your feet flat on the ground.

3. The Hip Thrust: The aim is to keep your body straight and move your chest to the bar, not fire your hips out like Bruno Mars.

Related

• How To Do The One-Arm Dumbbell Row
• How To Do The Upright Row
• How To Do A Renegade Row
• How To Do The Pendlay Row

Inverted Row Variations

Inverted row with legs raised

Once you’re comfortable with the standard movement, progress by elevating your legs on a box or flat bench to add extra range of motion. This works wonders for tapping into hard-to-work muscle fibres. Want to make it even harder? Rest your heels on a Bosu ball – this recruits more stabilising muscle fibres thanks to the unstable surface.

TRX inverted row

Using TRX ropes, or any suspension trainer, ups the ante because you are pulling against an unstable fixture, which means your core has to work harder to stabilise your body as you move. Most gyms now have TRX ropes, or gym rings that you can attach to a bar – simply adjust the handles so they’re just out of reach when you are lying on the ground beneath them.

Grab the handles with with your palms facing each other and form a straight plank position with just your heels touching the ground. Give more support to your lower back by making your core as tight as possible before a set. Do this by bracing yourself as if you were about to be punched in the stomach. Pull your chest up so it’s in line with your hands, keeping your body straight, then lower.

As with the standard inverted row, moving your feet closer to the handles makes the exercise easier, and moving them further away or resting them on an elevated surface or Bosu ball makes it harder.

Superset TRX rows with TRX press-ups with your feet in the handles (or with your hands in them to make it harder) and you’ll transform your torso. Do ten rows, rest 30 seconds, then do ten press-ups and rest for 60 seconds, completing three to five supersets in total.

Single-arm inverted row

Half the arms means twice the fun. Well, maybe fun isn’t the right word – twice the challenge is more appropriate. The single-arm version of the exercise not only makes it tougher on your back muscles, but also introduces an extra test for your core strength, because you’ll be working to resist rotating your body during the exercise and keep your torso in position.

Hold the bar with one hand and row your chest up towards it, the lower slowly back down. It’s best to keep your legs fairly close to the bar when you first try this variation, because it’s even harder than you might imagine. Move your legs further away throughout the set once you can gauge your single-arm strength.

Single-arm rotational inverted row

With the standard single-arm inverted row you work to resist rotation, but with this variation you embrace it. This row is best performed with a suspension trainer. Row your chest up towards the handle with one hand, then rotate the other hand towards the floor and turn your chest as you come back down so you end up in a side plank position hanging from the handle. Twist your body back around as you row your chest towards the handle again. Rotating down and back up increases the challenge to your core and hits the obliques particularly hard.

If you’re looking to start strength training in the gym your thoughts might naturally drift towards using heavy free weights. However, you shouldn’t underestimate the effectiveness of using a cable machine for your strength exercises, because the way it creates a constant level of tension throughout the movement is a nifty trick that even free weights can’t match.

The cable row is one of the best cable exercises around and very neatly demonstrates the edge this machine has over free weights, because throughout the row movement you work against the same level of resistance so the muscles enlisted by the exercise are worked evenly. Chief among these are your lats, but your rear delts and erector spinae are also targeted, along with your biceps and forearms.

Adding cable rows, and indeed any kind of row, to your regular workout routine is also a wise move if you’re consistently doing pressing exercises. If you bench press frequently, for example, but don’t pay equivalent attention to your back you can build up muscle imbalances that will not only put you at risk of injuries, but also cause your lifting progress to stall. There are few different common versions of the cable row, but the one to start with is the seated cable row. Here’s how to do it.

How To Do The Cable Row

This exercise is most commonly performed using a V-grip attachment. The V-grip attachment is ideal for the inner back muscles such as the rhomboids and mid-traps, but different handles offer a variety of benefits. A wide-grip curved bar targets the rear delts and outer lats more, whereas an underhand EZ-bar will recruit the biceps to a greater extent.

Set the pulley at the lowest rung on the machine. Place your feet on the pads available, if there are no pads, find a step and place that in front of the machine before placing your feet on it.

Begin by having your arms completely outstretched as this move targets the lats and this position best engages the area. Keep your head, back and spine neutrally aligned, with your chest elevated and core engaged. With a small bend in your knees, pull the attachment in towards your body to just below the naval, initiating the move by driving your elbows towards your hips, keeping the elbows in. As the attachment reaches your torso, squeeze your lats and shoulder blades, holding the contraction for 1-2sec. Reverse to the start and repeat for desired number of reps.

See related

• The Best Back Exercises For All Levels Of Gym-Goer
• Superset Back Workouts To Add Major Muscle Quickly
• How To Do The Cable Cross-Over

Common Mistakes To Avoid

Don’t let your technique suffer. Leaning too far forwards reduces the amount of tension on the target muscles.

Always keep your back straight. Any rounding will only risk injury.

Cable Row Variations

One-arm cable row

Swap out the V-grip for a handle you can hold in one hand to force one side of the body to do all of the work. This is a great way to ensure that your stronger side isn’t doing the bulk of the work, which will just entrench those strength imbalances in your body. Keep one hand by your side as you hold the handle in the other, with your arm outstretched in front of you. Pull the handle to just below your navel, not allowing your torso to rotate, then let the handle return to the starting position under control. Resisting the rotation in the exercise also works your core harder than in the two-arm cable row.

Seated face pull

The face pull is another great cable machine exercise that will bulk up your back and shoulders. It’s usually done while standing, but the seated version of the exercise allows you to perform the move with more weight. Set up a cable machine with a double-rope handle on the high attachment. Hold the attachment in both hands with an overhand grip and your arms outstretched in front of you. Pull the handle towards you so the two rope handles go either side of your face, then return to the starting position, maintaining tension in the cable.

There are a clutch of barbell exercises that offer quite staggering benefits to those who master them and the bent-over row belongs squarely in that pantheon. It’s a back exercise that you’ll find in any good push/pull workout plan or upper-body workout because it allows you to shift serious weight, and the bent-over position recruits more muscle groups to perform the movement.

But you’ll only enjoy those benefits if you perform the movement correctly, so here’s our comprehensive guide to the barbell row – benefits, form guide, variations and more – with expert advice from Wahoo Sports Science’s NASM-certified strength coach Jeff Hoobler.

Barbell Bent-Over Row Benefits

The barbell row, along with other compound lifts like the overhead press, barbell squat and deadlift, mirror fundamental movements in sport. That means strengthening the muscles that power the action can translate to improved performance on the field. “Whether it’s rugby, American football or soccer, these lifts can help,” says Hoobler. “Even in endurance sports, where folks say these lifts don’t have a place, they are actually quite important from a structural integrity point of view – being able to maintain posture.”

That benefit for your posture has applications off the field of play as well. If you have a desk job you may find your shoulders internally rotate, which results in tight pecs and a stiff neck, as well as weakness in the lower back. It’s a problem that’s aggravated if you add further stress on the chest and shoulders with endless pressing exercises. Adding the bent-over row to your weights session helps balance out your upper-body muscles.

How To Do The Barbell Bent-Over Row

Here’s a tip for getting into the starting position you won’t find in other form guides. “Start it from a rack if you can,” says Hoobler. Set the rack to around knee height and perform a rack pull so you’re standing straight, holding the barbell in front of your thighs with an overhand grip and hands shoulder-width apart. The next part of the set-up is essentially a Romanian deadlift. “Keep your chest up, back straight, and unlock your hips, sending them backwards to hinge your torso forwards slightly. Your knees should soften a little bit more than they do during a Romanian deadlift,” says Hoobler. 

“Your back should form anywhere between a 30-45° angle [with the floor]; hinge at the hips to the point where you can’t maintain a neutral spine – that’s where you stop. If you get any rounding of the back, you get out of there. If you’re rounding your back, it’s going to put strain on your lower back that could cause injury.

“Then it’s time to perform the row. Hold the bar close to your knees, pull it straight to your bellybutton, then control it straight back down to the starting position.”

Barbell Bent-Over Row Form Tips

Think elbows

Once you’re set up for the bent-over-row – leaning forward a bit, bar in hands – think about pulling your elbows behind you, not pulling the bar up. It’ll help to activate your lats and keep everything tight.

Pause at the top

Most trainers will tell you that if you can’t stop at the top of each rep, you’ve picked a weight that’s too heavy. Touch the bar to your sternum, pause, and squeeze your shoulderblades together at the top of each rep. You’ll build better posture that way.

Stay strong

Many people will round their back and jerk the bar towards their midline using momentum, particularly towards the end of their set as they tire. “As your lats and traps fatigue, you’re going to be searching for other muscles to assist with the movement,” says Hoobler. “Make sure you keep a slow, steady pull upward rather than jerking or using your legs to initiate the lift.” 

Barbell Bent-Over Row Variations

Reverse-grip bent-over row

By reversing the grip, you place more of a load on your lats and lower traps.

Dumbbell bent-over row

An excellent variation on the bent-over row is to sub out the barbell for a set of dumbbells. Having two weights requires a little more coordination, and, more importantly, stops you relying too much on the stronger side of your body for the entire row. Opting for dumbbells instead will help you balance out your strength on each side. Start with the dumbbells just below your knees and allow your wrists to turn naturally during the movement.

One-arm dumbbell row

This beginner row targets one arm at a time and is a good stepping stone to the full bent-over row if you’re struggling with the exercise. Put your right hand and knee on a bench, hold a dumbbell in your left hand and let it hang straight down, with your palm facing in. Row the dumbbell up, squeezing your shoulder blade in, then slowly lower it. Do all reps on one arm, then switch to the other side.

Once you’ve got the hang of the one-arm dumbbell row on a bench, you can increase the difficulty of the movement by supporting your body on a gym ball instead. This unstable surface will challenge your core muscle to keep your steady while you complete the movement, which should give you a stronger base when you attempt the barbell version.

Incline row

If you want to ensure you’re not rounding your back during your rows, try this variation. Set up the bench at a 45° angle and lie chest down on it holding a dumbbell in each hand, letting the weights hang down towards the floor. Row the weights up to your chest and squeeze your shoulder blades together, then lower them again. Make sure your chest stays in contact with the bench throughout so your torso remains in the correct position.

Pendlay row

This tougher take on the standard barbell row takes its name from Glenn Pendlay, the weightlifting coach who championed it. With the Pendlay row, you bend over so your back is parallel to the ground and lower the barbell all the way to the ground with each rep. Otherwise the form points are the same – overhand grip, shoulders squeezed together at the top of the rep, core braced. You will need to reduce the amount of weight you use with the Pendlay row because of the extra challenge involved in lifting the barbell from the ground with each rep.

There’s a particular type of exercise you should rely on to build a stronger back: rows. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of variations of this fundamental back exercise. 

The king of rows is the bent-over barbell row and it fully deserves its preeminent status thanks to the massive back-boosting benefits it provides. However, you could argue that the one-arm dumbbell row is even better for your back. That’s because using one arm at a time allows you to focus your efforts on the lats, rhomboids and other back muscles called upon by this pull exercise.

Using dumbbells instead of a barbell also prevents you from relying on one side of your body to do the bulk of the work, and can highlight any strength imbalances that you need to work on. The one-arm row also allows for a greater range of motion than the barbell bent-over row, enabling you to target more accessory muscles around the scapula. 

To help you master this move, we spoke to experienced strength and conditioning coach and sports scientist Ryan Horton of Horton Barbell. Read on for an expert guide on how to perfect your one-arm dumbbell row form, along with its chief benefits and the common pitfalls to avoid. 

How To Do The One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Common Form Mistakes

The one-arm row is not a complex exercise, so don’t overcomplicate it. “Assume a solid base, keep your core tight, grab a dumbbell and row. If you follow that instruction, 95% of the time it’s going to be spot-on,” says Horton. That said, there are a few common mistakes that can creep in and undermine your progress. 

1. Starting Wrong

Rounding your back and positioning your feet too close to your center of gravity is a typical error Horton sees all too often. “If your set-up position is garbage—your back is rounded, your feet are too close together—you’re going to be all hunched up and off-balance,” he says. 

Instead, focus on setting up with a solid platform. “Remember to maintain a wide base with your feet, a flat back, a tight core and keep everything square. Get that right and the row, for the most part, will take care of itself.”

2. Flaring Your Elbows

Another common mistake is to flare your elbows out to the side when performing a one-arm dumbbell row. Instead, keep your elbow tucked into your body.

“If you get into a proper set-up position, keep your elbow tight to your body and use a weight that’s heavy enough to be challenging, then when you row towards the top of your stomach you’re naturally going to use the correct range of motion,” says Horton. 

3. Twisting Your Torso

The final pitfall is overly rotating or twisting your upper back at the top of each rep and shifting the focus of the exercise away from the target muscle groups. 

“You’re not starting a lawnmower,” says Horton. “Don’t twist your torso and turn as you row. Keep everything tight and your back flat to work the right muscle the right way.”

Benefits Of The One-Arm Dumbbell Row

To the untrained eye the good morning exercise looks like a chiropractor’s nightmare. You bend over with a barbell balanced across your shoulders, then snap back to standing. You may have even winced at that description.

However, when done with solid spinal alignment and perfect form, the good morning can be a great move for improving your back health. It strengthens your lower-back muscles and core while helping to lightly stretch and bolster your hamstrings, making it a money move for office workers, weightlifters, sportsmen and marathon runners alike.

The way to reap the benefits and avoid doing yourself a mischief is to keep the movement slow, the form strict and the weight light. It’s even worth performing the exercise without weight or just with a resistance band at first. Make sure you get the form consistently perfect right through the set before progressing to using a barbell with plates – that way you shouldn’t strain your back.

How To Do The Good Morning Exercise

For the bodyweight version of the good morning stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands placed behind your head. Stand upright, brace your core and pull your shoulders back. Take a breath and hinge forwards from your hips, not your waist, allowing a slight bend in your knees but keeping your back flat. Lean forwards until you feel a slight stretch in your hamstrings (but don’t go beyond horizontal), then, as you exhale, reverse the move to stand up straight.

To incorporate a resistance band into the move, stand on a large looped band with both feet and bring the other side of the loop over your head so it rests on your shoulders.

When you progress to using a light barbell rest it across the back of your shoulders, not your neck. Hold the bar in place with both hands and perform the exercise as in the bodyweight version. Keep a tight grip on the bar, pulling it into the soft muscle of your shoulders as you lean forwards so it doesn’t put pressure on your neck.

Whatever version of the good morning you are doing, make sure you avoid craning your neck to look forwards as you lean forwards. Instead, keep a neutral spine by looking forwards as you stand and towards the floor as you lower. Push your hips back to maintain balance and drive them forwards to initiate the force needed to return to standing.

All rows are great for developing pulling strength and building your back muscles, consequently improving your posture. And if you’re someone with a taste for the bench press, you’ll also find that adding rows to your routine will help balance your upper body.

There are plenty of rows to choose from, but only one is named after its creator. Weightlifting coach Glenn Pendlay wasn’t looking to create his own exercise – he just believed he had a better way of performing the barbell row.

Nowadays it’s a variation in its own right and one with specific benefits that differ from those of the barbell row. To help you master the Pendlay row, we called on NSCA-accredited strength and conditioning coach Andrew Reay, who spoke to us on behalf of sports coach booking platform Sport Session.

Benefits Of The Pendlay Row

The bent-over row is a fantastic back-building exercise, both in terms of strength and size. However, inexperienced lifters can often use momentum to bounce out of the bottom of the lift and propel the bar towards their midline. The Pendlay row, with its dead stop at the bottom of each rep, doesn’t allow for this. 

“It improves the ability of the muscles to create the force needed to move the weight,” says Reay. “When you’re bent over, you get a little bit of stretch and recoil from the tendons. When you drop the bar you take that out, so you’re just using pure muscle to get the bar moving.

“The Pendlay row only really works the concentric portion of the lift – the acceleration of the bar – so you don’t need to control it back down again. This means you can lift a bit heavier and you can reset yourself after each rep, so you can be a bit more aggressive with the pull from the floor.

“The Pendlay row can just give you a slightly different stimulus as well. If you’ve been doing bent-over rows for a long time and feel like you’ve hit a plateau, try tweaking the weight, position and exercise for a time to break through this.”

How To Do The Pendlay Row

“Get yourself into a bent-over row position, hinged at the hips with your knees slightly bent and a neutral spine,” says Reay. Your back should be at a 20-30° angle to the floor. “Put the bar on the floor in front of you, underneath your shoulders when you’re bent over, and see if you can grip it while maintaining that position.” Use an overhand grip (with your palms facing you) and hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.

Reay says taller people may struggle to hold their back flat in the starting position of the Pendlay row, when the bar is on the floor. “If you are a little bit taller, or if you watch your form and see that you can’t keep your back in a fairly neutral position, you might just want to raise the bar a bit.” You can do this by placing either end of the bar on some short lifting blocks or weight plates. 

From there, brace your core, retract your shoulder blades and explosively pull the bar towards your stomach, rather than directly upwards. “It should arc slightly towards your legs,” says Reay, “starting underneath your shoulders and finishing further towards your bellybutton.”

Pendlay Row Variations

Barbell row

The original big-muscle move, barbell or bent-over rows require constant tension. This means you have to lift a lighter weight, but the exercise is great for hypertrophy training, maximising your time under tension and fatiguing the targeted muscles. 

The set-up is slightly different, requiring either a deadlift or rack pull so you can stand holding the barbell in front of your thighs. From there perform a Romanian deadlift, hinging forwards at the hips until your back is anywhere between 30-45° to the floor. From there, row the barbell to your bellybutton, then lower under control.

One-arm dumbbell row 

This variation switches the type of free weight used for a slightly larger range of motion, and uses a weights bench to help you maintain a solid back position which can be especially helpful for beginners. It is also a unilateral movement, using one side of your body at a time. This is a good way to highlight and address muscle imbalances. 

Place your left knee and left hand on the bench and hold a dumbbell in your right hand with a neutral gip. Retract your shoulder blade, then lift the dumbbell to your body. The weight should start beneath your shoulder, and end pulled in to your stomach. 

About Our Expert

Spending all day sitting at a desk is a shortcut to all kinds of health issues. The symptoms of slouching are commonly felt in your lower back, but pain will also work its way up into your shoulders if you don’t fix that poor posture.

The band pull-apart is an excellent way to do just that. It’s an easy exercise that can be done anywhere, even in front of the TV in the evening, and working it into your daily routine will do plenty to combat the problems your desk-bound lifestyle is causing your upper back and shoulders.

After a few weeks, your shoulders will be happier than ever before, and keeping up a band pull-apart routine should make it more comfortable to maintain better posture at your desk. Having a stronger upper back should also reduce any neck pain you might have from slouching over a screen.

How To Do The Band Pull-Apart

Stand up straight and hold an exercise band out in front of you at around chest height. Your hands should be shoulder width apart. Then pull the band apart, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Then return to the starting position. Try to get through 30 a day. You can change the resistance of your band if it’s too easy or hard.

Band Pull-Apart Variations

Three-level band pull-apart

If you’re using the band pull-apart to activate your muscles ahead of a workout it’s worth doing the exercise at several different heights to ensure all your back and shoulder muscles are worked by the move. Start with a band pull-apart done at just above head height, then move down the standard band pull-apart position at the top of your chest and then go lower with the band around the bottom of your rib cage for a final set.

Diagonal band pull-apart

This is another great warm-up move before any upper body workout, especially if you’re going to be doing a lot of shoulder exercises. Hold the band so one hand is above your shoulder and the other is around the level of your stomach, then pull them apart diagonally. Do a full set of diagonal pull-aparts in that position, then reverse the positioning of your hands for another set.

Resistance Bands

No home gym is complete without a set of resistance bands, which are cheap, portable and have a variety of uses. You can use them for strength sessions, to help rehab any injured areas, and to warm up before a weights workout. A set with three to five bands of different resistances won’t cost you more than £15 and you’ll never run out of different ways to use them, especially if you check out our round-up of the best resistance band exercises for all levels of gym-goer.

Considering he is the greatest superhero of them all, it is unsurprising to learn that Superman has not one, but two, exercises named after him. Unfortunately neither of these exercises – the Superman and the Superman plank – will give you the ability to fly, or shoot lasers from your eyes, or any of the other really cool things Superman can do. But they will give you a stronger core. Just like, presumably, Superman has.

The Superman should be part of the workout schedule of anyone worried about lower back pain, which should be just about anyone who works at a desk most of the time. As well as strengthening your lower and upper back, this move also works your glutes and hamstrings, and increases your core strength. It’s a good counterpart to the many core exercises that focus on the abs, like sit-ups and leg raises.

Of course the other major benefit of the Superman is that once you you adopt the required position, you can imagine you are Kal-El himself, soaring high above the surface of the Earth, rather than lying on a sweaty gym mat under fluorescent leisure-centre lights.

See related

• Back Workouts To Build A Broader, Stronger Back
• Four Back Stretches And Exercises To Prevent Painful Problems

How To Do The Superman

Lie face down on a mat, with your legs straight and your arms outstretched in front of you. Raise both your arms and legs at the same time so that they are 10-15cm off the floor, forming a bowl shape with your body. Hold this position for a few seconds (imagine you’re flying at this stage, it will help the time pass), then lower back to the starting position. You should feel your lower back, glutes and hamstrings working in the hold position.

While performing the Superman make sure that your head is in a neutral position in line with your spine. If you feel like you’re straining your neck, stop and get your form checked out by a trainer if possible.

If the full Superman feels too tough the first time you do it, you can build up to it by raising fewer limbs. Try raising your right arm and your left leg at the same time and then vice versa, and continue alternating, or lifting just your arms or your legs. For a harder variation, try raising only the limbs on one side of the body – this will also help highlight any imbalance in your core muscles.

Too much of anything is bad. Even green vegetables will probably do some damage if you chow down on them for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

So it is no surprise to learn that the inordinate amount of time people spend using phones can cause a health problem. In this case, the issue is called “text neck” and according to Mr Bob Chatterjee, Harley Street Spine and Highgate Private Hospital consultant spinal surgeon, text neck is on the rise.

“I am starting to see a lot more patients, mainly business professionals, who are suffering from chronic pain and headache-like symptoms, which is often referred pain from the neck and shoulders as a result of using the phone in such a way that compromises their spine,” says Chatterjee.

See related 

• 5 Stretches And Exercises That Will Feel Amazing After A Day At The Office

Text neck is a repetitive stress injury where someone has their head bowed for prolonged periods of time looking at a smartphone or tilting to one side when making calls.

“The cranium is the heaviest part of the body. The head should be in line with the spine, not slightly forward or to the side as is the case when using a phone,” says Chatterjee. (Did you just adjust how you’re sitting? Because we did.)

As well as a sore neck and headaches, other symptoms which could suggest you are suffering from a nasty bout of text neck include stiffness across the shoulders and numbness or pain in your upper limbs.

To help avoid text neck, here are five steps recommended by Harley Street Spine.

1. Try to alternate the way you use your phone. If you tend to use it on the left-hand side, try using it on the right every other time.

2. Refrain at all times from holding the phone to your ear using only your shoulder. This is the fastest route to poor posture.

3. Carry the hands-free earphones provided with most phones at all times and use them whenever you can. Alternatively, use the loudspeaker feature (when appropriate – on public transport is not appropriate).

4. Frequently stretch, moving your head away from your shoulder, tilting it in the opposite direction to the side you use your phone most. You can also have a massage to speed up the healing process.

5. Pull your shoulder back and down to avoid tension in your neck and the space between your shoulders. This will also help to improve posture.

Speaking of stretching, if you are in need of some advice on how to improve your posture, check out these restorative back stretches.

The high pull may look similar to the upright row, but it is an entirely different beast. In fact, this compound exercise has much more in common with Olympic lifts than with the upright row. 

That’s because the high pull incorporates all your major muscle groups, including the posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, back) to initiate and stabilize the movement. It also hits the upper, mid and lower traps in your back, rather than just working the upper traps–prioritizing these can make your posture look hunched. 

On top of all that, the high pull is one of the best shoulder exercises. It is a brilliant movement for targeting your rear delts and a great tool for improving the stability of your most mobile joint.   

Finding another movement that targets all these areas is difficult, and that’s what sets this exercise apart. It’s a great exercise to add to your training, but it’s also easy to get wrong. Here’s everything you need to know about the high pull.

High Pull Benefits

The high pull engages many different muscle groups in a dynamic manner, making it a great exercise for increasing co-ordination and developing functional movement patterns. This will come in handy when you perform compound exercises with a heavy barbell, such as deadlifts and bent-over rows. The high pull is popular with powerlifters because it helps them master more complex movements. “Going straight into a full clean is hard, so people often begin their powerlifting journey with the high pull. It’s a nice entry into the Olympic lifts,” says Raynsford.  

High pulls are also great for maintaining good posture. If you spend a significant amount of time in front of a screen, you are at a higher risk of developing rounded shoulders and tight chest muscles. This can lead to your delts being internally rotated, which places significant stress on the rest of the shoulder girdle. “It’s a nice exercise to get fully extended into that upright position,” says Raynsford. However, if you’ve already developed postural problems, the high pull may not be your best option. “As it’s quite explosive, it can easily go wrong,” he warns. 

Similarly with shoulder health, the high pull can be a double-edged sword. “Is a high pull going to correct issues in your shoulder? It depends on what those issues are,” says Don Saladino, a celebrity personal trainer and a Lumen ambassador. “For example, the high pull is a great movement if you need to work on your rear delts. However, this exercise is not for beginners. It adds power and strength to your shoulders, but it can also strain them.” 

High Pull Risks

The high pull offers many benefits, but this exercise is not for everyone. “Even though it’s not a highly advanced movement, but rather a prerequisite to more advanced exercises like a snatch or a clean, I would not recommend it for beginners,” says Saladino. “To put it simply, the high pull can mess them up.”  

To start with, it requires impeccable form. “The high pull is a movement where you can easily start in a poor position and use a completely wrong set of muscles,” says Cody Mooney, a former CrossFit Games athlete and the director of performance for the mobility and recovery app pliability. 

You also won’t be able to complete the high pull with good form unless you have sufficient mobility in your upper body. “When you start this exercise with poor posture, with shoulders internally rotated and tight pecs, you’re not going to set your shoulder position right,” says Mooney. “You will execute this movement by overusing your traps. You’ll be digging yourself deeper and deeper into poor posture. But if you have mobility, you can loosen your back and get your shoulders back and down. You can still engage your traps, but you’ll also work your front delts and lats. You’ll be able to get into that good posture and maintain it throughout the exercise.”

Your lower body also needs a good degree of mobility. “Because the high pull is an explosive movement and needs to be initiated from the lower body, make sure you know how to do a hip hinge properly,” says Saladino. Without a good range of movement in your hips, you are bound to put excessive strain on your upper body. “In that case, the risk of an injury outweighs the reward,” says Saladino. 

The takeaway? Master your basics before attempting the high pull. Even if you’re a seasoned gym-goer, be mindful of the strength and mobility needed to perform this exercise safely. “Before you attempt the high pull, consider booking a one-off session with a personal trainer or strength and conditioning coach to understand what kind of groundwork you may need to do,” says Raynsford. 

High Pull Vs Upright Row

At a glance, the high pull and the upright row look similar. However, they work on vastly different principles. “If you’re doing the high pull correctly, it’s almost like a vertical jump. It’s a ballistic exercise,” says Saladino. “The upright row focuses instead on creating tension in the muscle, so it’s more of a bodybuilding exercise.” 

The upright row and the high pull also differ in terms of muscle engagement. “The upright row is focused on isolating the shoulders and upper back muscles, while the high pull is more about working several big muscle groups at once,” says Mooney. As such, picking the right exercise will largely depend on your fitness goals. If you’re hoping to develop power and full-body co-ordination, choose the high pull. But if building strength and muscle mass is at the top of your priority list, you may get better results from the upright row.  

In addition, the upright row tends to be less demanding on the lower body than the high pull. There won’t be any need to work on your hip mobility or master the triple extension, and you can focus entirely on your upper body. As a result, it may be a better option for beginners or those who struggle with range of motion. 

How To Do A Barbell High Pull

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding the barbell just in front of your thighs. Your grip placement should fall about a hand’s width outside of each leg. Keeping your glutes and abs engaged, push your hips back and bend your knees slightly, then push through your heels and extend your ankles, knees and hips to pull the bar upwards in one controlled movement, keeping it close to your body. As the bar rises, shrug your shoulders to pull the bar as high as possible. Slowly lower back to the start position.

Pay attention to the positioning of your lower body. “The biggest issue we see with the high pull is when athletes try to lift the bar off using their upper body, turning this exercise into an upward row,” says Raynsford. “Make sure you maintain triple extension through your lower body, ensuring your ankles, knees and hips work together and extend simultaneously. Once you’ve nailed that, more power will come from your lower body. The momentum will carry the weight upwards, so it’s just a little bit of work through the upper body to finish the movement off.”

Getting enough momentum is important, but don’t overdo it. “If you want to lift really heavy weights, make sure that you use your traps, rhomboids and delts to finish the movement,” says Raynsford. “If you fully rely on momentum, you can end up hyperextending through the lower back.” 

High Pull Form Tips

1. Pick The Right Weight  

Why Lifting too heavy can lead to strain and injury, but going too light may be counterproductive. “When the barbell is too light, you won’t feel like you need to use your legs, because you’ll be able to lift the weight quite easily,” says Raynsford.

How “Take the weight you use for an upright row and increase it by roughly 20%, but make sure you’re still able to get that triple extension through the lower body,” says Raynsford. If you need to go on your toes at the end of the movement, or feel like you’re pulling with your chest, reduce the load. 

2. Go Slow On The Way Down

Why Lowering the bar in a slow, controlled manner increases the intensity without the need to rack up the load, but that’s not all. “The heavier the weight is, the harder it is to move it properly,” says Mooney. “Slowing yourself down will help you focus on your form and movement patterns, as well as build strength and stability in your upper body.”

How Lower the bar on a count of five, keeping an even pace throughout the descent. 

3. Pull From A Rack

Why “When you’re pulling from a rack you have to be really forceful to initiate the movement,” says Saladino. “It’s a good training tool to increase muscle engagement.” 

How Use a power rack, blocks or even stacks of weight plates to set the bar at knee height. With each repetition, pull the bar up and then put it back down on the rack.  

About Our Experts

Back pain is one of the most common chronic conditions suffered by people in the UK and around eight in ten people will suffer from some form of back pain during their lifetime. Even if it never becomes serious enough to leave you bed-bound, chronic back pain is a heavy burden to live with, so any measure that reduces the risk is worth taking. Especially if that measure is exercise, because there’s really no downside to being a bit more active.

Regular exercise and stretching has long been recommended as a method of preventing chronic back pain from developing, and a new analysis of research has shown that the effect of exercise can be considerable.

A review of 36 studies on a total of 158,475 people published in the British Journal Of Sports Medicine found that being moderately active reduced the risk of developing chronic back pain by 14%, while being highly active reduced it by 16%.

Any kind of sport or intentional exercise, as well as walking and climbing stairs, were counted as physical activity in the study. To be considered as active people had to exercise at least once or twice a week for 30 to 60 minutes or more.

While the research showed that exercise could cut the risk of chronic back pain, it did find that it had no effect on short-term back issues or severe pain that causes hospitalisation or disability. Chronic pain was defined as lasting for three months or longer, or pain felt on 30 days or more during the previous 12 months.

Low-impact exercises like walking and swimming are good starting points if you’re planning on getting active to avoid back pain, along with yoga and Pilates, which can increase your flexibility and mobility. If you are especially wary of back pain it might be worth avoiding sports that involve a lot of twisting like tennis or golf.

Fixing your posture can also help prevent back pain developing. If you’re someone who slouches at a desk all day check out our guide to perfect posture, which might save you a lot of grief in the future.

How the back works

Made from vertebral bones that are stacked like building blocks with discs between them, the back is the foundation for every movement. Vertebral shape varies from the base of the spine to the neck, which means different movements are controlled by different parts of the spine.
 
The spinal cord runs from the head down through the middle of the vertebrae to the base of the spine, with nerves exiting through small holes between the vertebrae. Your spinal nerves are what gives the arms and legs the ability to feel and move.
 
Certain back conditions can damage these crucial structures so if you have back pain you MUST see a physiotherapist or doctor before following any of the advice below to ensure you do not aggravate your condition.

COMMON CAUSES OF BACK PAIN

1) Lumbar instability

Most people focus on training the big external muscles of the lower back and abdomen such as the rectus abdominis (six-pack), and the obliques (the diagonal muscles at the sides of your six-pack). That’s fine if the deep back muscles providing support for them are just as strong. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case and is why they are often the first part of your back to get damaged when you workout. It’s therefore essential to train the deep stabilisers.

Try this exercise before workouts:

• Lie on your back on the floor with your hips and knees bent and your feet on the ground.
• Put one hand on your upper stomach and focus on breathing from there. Put the other hand on your lower abdomen, then contract your pelvic floor muscles.
• Gently contract your lower abdominal muscles while keeping your upper abdominals relaxed.
• Repeat 30 times.

2) Exercise technique and posture

The second most common cause of back pain is poor exercise technique and posture.

Follow these pointers to get your technique right:

• During exercises that involve flexion, such as deadlifts, make sure your back is in extension throughout (stick your tail bone out a bit) and the flexion is purely occurring at the hip joints and knees.
• When doing rotational work, ensure your spine is in extension.
• When sitting in a chair, ensure your lower back is supported by a towel or cushion in neutral, ie slightly extended with your knees and hips slightly bent.

3) Stiffness in the thoracic spine

This part of the spine – in your middle back – can become stiff due to sitting and standing with your upper back slumped forwards.  

Do this daily exercise:

• Shuffle your bottom to the right of the chair and reach around to your right to grab the back of the chair with both hands. 
• Pull gently until you feel a gentle stretch in the middle of your back. Now do the same on the left. 
• Repeat ten times on each side three or four times a day.

This exercise pairs well with former elite-level Olympic weightlifter turned coach Mike Causer's shoulder mobility exercises.

YTWL may look like a strange acronym but think more along the lines of the "YMCA" dance – your arms will form the shape of the letters Y, T, W and L.

For this exercise, do 10 reps each of the four different movements. You don’t put the weights down until all 40 reps are completed. Each move is done lying face down on an incline bench, keeping your feet on the floor for support. Only your arm position changes. Hold the position at the top of each move for one second before lowering and aim for a slow and steady tempo.

“Working your back through a range of mobility will develop lower trap and rhomboid strength,” says Causer. “It’s great for all those muscles that help with posture.”

If that sounds good, you’ll no doubt be interested our selection of the best traps exercises and you can use this back workout at home to improve your posture.

YTWL part 1: Y

• Retract your shoulder blades but keep your neck neutral and hold the weights with a neutral grip (palms facing in).
• Keeping your arms straight, raise the weights diagonally out in front of you, as if making a ‘Y’ shape.  Repeat for 10 reps.

YTWL part 2: T

• With arms straight down, hold the dumbbells with palms facing forwards.
• Bring your arms up until they are parallel with the floor, so your body makes a ‘T’ shape. Repeat for 10 reps.

YTWL part 3: W

• Hold the weights with a neutral grip and arms bent.
• Raise and twist your arms so, with your head, they form a ‘W’ shape. Repeat for 10 reps.

YTWL part 3: L

• With your upper arms pointing out and parallel with the floor, but your forearms pointing down, hold the weights with a neutral grip.
• Rotate your shoulders so your elbows stay in the same place and bring the weights up as far as you can, forming an ‘L’ shape with each arm. Repeat for 10 reps.

Whenever gym balls come into play, your core is in for a tough time. Thanks to the the instability they create, pretty much any exercise – and hence any workout – becomes that little bit more challenging when some part of you is resting on a gym ball.

The gym ball back extension is one of the best bodyweight exercises you can do for your lower back. Read on for a full guide to the benefits of this back exercise and how to do it.

Gym Ball Back Extension Benefits

The gym ball back extension primarily works the muscles in your lower and middle back, though the glutes and hamstrings are also recruited. It also stretches your abs and it’s a great exercise to add into your core workouts since it works the back of your body while stretching out the front.

The back extension exercise is typically performed on a stable base, but the benefits of using a gym ball are that stabiliser muscles around the body will be engaged to keep you from toppling off the ball during the move. 

The back extension is a good lower-back exercise for improving your posture and combating the common back problems that blight desk workers, but you need to get your form right or you can do more harm than good.

How To Do The Gym Ball Back Extension

Drape yourself over the gym ball so your hips and stomach are resting on it, with your feet on the floor behind you and your legs extended. You can set the ball up so your feet are against a wall or under a bench to create more stability, which might be handy when first learning the exercise. 

Place your hands by your temples. Lift your torso to form a straight line from your feet to your feet. Be careful not to overextend – you shouldn’t feel pain in your lower back during the exercise. Lower back to the start slowly.

If you’re struggling with the exercise then it’s worth perfecting the standard back extension first, or using the back extension machine in a gym. The latter securely locks your feet in place and you lean your lower body against a flat bench. You can also do back extension on the floor. With all variations of the move, make sure you don’t extend yourself too far and cause pain in your lower back.

Even when it’s not one of the cooler superheroes – and let’s face it Aquaman isn’t, even with the very cool Jason Momoa on board – it’s always a little bit more exciting to name an exercise after a hero: see the Superman exercise, or the Superman plank, or the Spider-Man press-up. That’s why we’re calling this move the Aquaman, and not the swimmer, and it’s one of the best lower-back exercises you’re probably not doing.

That’s especially the case if you’re someone who worries about lower-back pain, either because you already experience it or you fear it arising because of many hours spent sitting at a desk each week. The Aquaman can help you strengthen your lower back and reduce your risk of pain developing, which really is quite heroic.

Benefits Of The Aquaman Exercise

It’s probably worth starting by saying that doing the Aquaman exercise is not going to make you look like Jason Momoa. Or any other version of Aquaman. It’s not the kind of glamour move that features heavily in celebrity workouts done by A-listers with extraordinary bodies – but we wouldn’t be surprised to learn they were doing it on the sly, because everyone benefits from having a stronger core.

The Aquaman exercise principally benefits the lower-back muscles and your glutes, and you’ll be able to tell that while doing it because they’re the muscles that will start burning after a few reps. It’s also good for your shoulders and hamstrings, and helps to improve your coordination too.

How To Do The Aquaman

Lie on your front with your legs straight and arms stretched out in front of you. Keeping your legs and arms extended, engage your glutes and lift your left arm and right leg until you feel the stretch in your hamstring and lower back. Hold for a beat at the top of the movement, then lower both limbs and raise the opposite ones. 

Once you become adept at the Aquaman you can increase the difficulty by holding light weights in each hand, which will also challenge your shoulder muscles more.

It’s often people who work at a desk that are concerned about the risk of developing back pain. That’s valid, but really everyone should be considering their lower back and how they can protect it.

The best back exercises, like the dorsal raise, can help. Strengthening your lower back muscles with moves like this one will not only reduce the risk of injury in that area, but also increase your core strength. This creates the foundation needed to tackle heavy weights exercises in the gym, and functional strength that will benefit you throughout your daily life.

You don’t need any equipment for the dorsal raise, and it’s a move people of all fitness levels can slip into their workout routine easily. Here’s how to do it.

Dorsal Raise Benefits

The dorsal raise is a core exercise that strengthens the muscles in your lower back in particular, and there are also benefits for the glutes. Done correctly, the dorsal raise can help to improve your posture in general, and reduce the risk of suffering from lower back pain.

How To Do The Dorsal Raise

Lie face down on the floor with your hands at your temples and your shoulders relaxed. Take a deep breath in, lifting your chest off the floor using your lower back muscles and glutes. Hold briefly, then, while breathing out, slowly lower back to the floor. 

Make sure you don’t arch your neck back during the raise. Keep looking forwards, and don’t “throw” your shoulders back to aid the movement. Move slowly and with control at all times to maximise the benefits. The other key form tip is not to overextend your back. You don’t have to raise as far as you possibly can – just lift until you feel it in your lower back muscles, and then lower. 

Keep your feet on the floor when first doing the move, and once you are adept at it you can increase the move’s difficulty by raising your feet. You can also stretch your arms out in front of you, or even hold a light weight, to intensify the challenge when doing the dorsal raise.

Variation: Dorsal raise with shoulder rotation

This version changes the position of your shoulders, making the muscles in your upper back work harder.

Lie face down on the floor with your arms held out to the sides so your body forms a T-shape. As you lift your chest off the mat, rotate your hands backwards so your thumbs point towards the ceiling, and squeeze your shoulder blades together.