If you have recurring aches and pains in your back, you’re not alone. A review of global studies found that up to 84% of adults worldwide have experienced back pain at some point in their lives. I talked to Pilates instructor and founder of SW4 Pilates, Chiara Boswell, about how Pilates can help you avoid back pain.

“Most of the time, unless it’s a disc problem, back pain is due to lack of movement,” says Boswell. “With sedentary or desk-bound people, they are just not moving their spine enough.”

“I see this every day, but I also see people improving within a few sessions,” Boswell. “Their pain is gone and they are working on their mobility—true mobility takes time.” That’s certainly encouraging. While there’s no one (or even four) Pilates moves that will relieve your back pain, introducing more movement and mobility into your weekly routine will help you see longer-term improvements.

“Moving all the joints makes sure your blood circulates, there as well bringing oxygen to the stiffer joints, muscles, tendons and organs. Together with deep breathing, you develop this flow of movement.”

Pilates For Back Pain

As with anything new, when doing these exercises take it gently, and stop if it hurts. If you’re currently experiencing a flare-up of back pain, it’s best to consult your doctor or physiotherapist before trying new exercises.

1 Cat-cow

Reps 10-15

Start on your hands and knees with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Inhale as you arch your back and lift your head and tailbone towards the ceiling (cow pose), then exhale as you round your spine upward and tuck your chin towards your chest (cat pose).

2 Spine stretch forward

Reps 10-15

Sit on the mat with your legs extended in front of you, feet flexed and hip-width apart. Extend your arms in front of you, palms facing down. Inhale to prepare, then exhale as you drop your head and reach your arms forward, lengthening your spine forward over your legs into a ‘C’ curve. Imagine you are curling forward over a ball. Inhale to return, starting the movement from the base of the spine, returning to the starting position sitting up straight on the mat.

3 Swan

Reps 6

Lie on your front, your hands on the mat under your shoulders with elbows bent and tucked into your sides, looking down at the mat. Inhale as you lift your head and neck off the mat, gaze forward as you start lengthening towards the front of your mat, and exhale as you lift one bit of your chest off the mat at a time. “If your back feels OK you can lift off the mat all the way up to your belly button, making sure you’re still able to breathe deeply and engage your thighs on the mat,” says Boswell.

4 Swimming

Reps 10-15

Lie on your front on the mat with your arms and legs extended. Inhale to prepare, then exhale as you lift your arms, legs, and chest off the ground. Reach your arms and legs away from each other as you pulse them up and down. Inhale to lower back to the start.

In the ’70s, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s chest and back workout was two hours long. For us mere mortals who don’t have that kind of time to spare, we need faster ways to get a great pump and pack on muscle. 

Enter this “Clang ‘N’ Bang” back and biceps workout from six-time CrossFit Games athlete Dan Bailey. It pairs strength work with a circuit to help you build muscle, strength and power in less than an hour.

Watch Bailey’s Instagram Reel to find out which exercises await you, then warm up and give the session a go for yourself.

Dan Bailey’s “Clang ‘N’ Bang” Workout 

Bailey kicks off with one of the best barbell exercises: the bent-over row. This is performed as a five-sets-of-five-reps strength piece, so go as heavy as you can while maintaining proper form. You should be working hard to perform the last rep of each set.

That will get your back and biceps fired up and more than ready for Bailey’s four-move circuit that targets a number of smaller muscles. The two dumbbell curl variations zero in on your biceps, while the rear delt row and face pull recruit muscles across the upper back as well as the posterior deltoids—the rear heads of your deltoids or shoulder muscles, which play a crucial role in stabilizing the joint. 

By performing these exercises as a 10-8-6-4-2 rep circuit, Bailey accumulates as much volume as a longer bodybuilding session in less time. You’ll still complete 30 reps of each exercise but it’s broken up differently. You’ll also rest less than if you did three sets of 10 with 60-second breaks.

The cumulative effect of Bailey’s straight sets-circuit combo is a comprehensive upper back and biceps session that’s wrapped up, by my estimation, in about 40 minutes.

You don’t need to spend hours in the gym to get a great workout. You can build strength and muscle in as little as 30 minutes if you’re savvy about the moves and sequencing. Luckily Sweat app fitness trainer Kelsey Wells has done the hard work for you and created this four-move workout for stronger back and shoulders.

Wells says this workout is designed in the style of her PWR Fusion program—a 12-week strength training plan with three weekly weights sessions and one cardio-focused one—which is available on the Sweat app. 

It’s best to complete the workout at a gym as you’ll need a barbell and a selection of weight plates, two sets of dumbbells (light for the shoulder exercise and medium-heavy weights) and a weights bench. At a push you could do this routine at home with just a pair of adjustable dumbbells, but because you should aim to lift heavy with both the row exercises to build muscle in your back, your dumbbells may not quite be heavy enough.

Make sure to follow a warm-up routine before beginning this workout, and since you’re targeting your shoulders, including a shoulder warm-up as well is wise.

The workout begins with a reverse-grip barbell bent-over row, which is a pull exercise that recruits your lats, rear delts and biceps. Wells has programmed this exercise as a pyramid set, which means in each subsequent set you decrease the number of reps but increase the weight you use. They are a great way to target both muscle size and strength gains in just one sequence, because pyramid sets work in rep ranges associated with both hypertrophy training (8-12 reps) and strength training (2-6 reps). Aim to use a weight that makes the last few reps of each set a challenge.

After the bent-over row, the workout moves on to a muscle-building superset of the Arnold press and one-arm dumbbell row. Perform 12 reps of the Arnold press, then 12 reps of the one-arm row. Rest, then repeat that sequence until you’ve completed four sets. By pairing exercises that work different muscle groups, and performing them back-to-back with no rest in between, you can increase the intensity of your session.

The routine ends with as many curl and press reps as you can squeeze into a minute.

While Wells doesn’t provide rest times, I’d aim to rest for two minutes between the bent-over row sets and for 90 seconds after each superset. However, rest is one of the main training variables you can use to adjust this workout to your level.

A workout focusing on one or two muscle groups is normally best for people who are confident in the gym, have been training for a few years and go to the gym three or four times a week. If you’re newer to lifting weights, less frequent full-body workouts might be best. Try this gym workout plan for beginners which is built on the one set of 20 reps principle.

The cable machine is one of the most underrated pieces of kit to build strength and it’s especially useful for developing muscle in your upper body.

In part that’s because, as on other weights machines, cable machine exercises have different resistance profiles to free-weight exercises, challenging your body in different ways.

The cable machine is also highly adjustable. You can change the attachment and the height of the pulley, and you can work unilaterally, asymmetrically and in different planes of motion. This versatility is what makes it such a gym hero.

If you want to include the cable machine in your next upper-body workout, try this superset demonstrated by personal trainer Alessandra Jovine that will work the muscles in your back and shoulders.

“Training your back muscles is beneficial for a number of reasons,”  says Jovine. “First and foremost it reduces the risk of injuries by stabilizing the spine and improving shoulder stability.”

Increasing muscle mass in your back will also support your core and improve the way you move. Watch Jovine’s Instagram reel to see her demonstrate each exercise.

Jovine’s superset is made up of the straight arm pull-down and face pull. If you don’t have access to a cable machine, you can use a resistance band instead, anchoring it overhead for the pull-down or at head height for the face pulls.

Complete three sets of 8-12 reps of each exercise, selecting a weight that makes the last few reps of the final sets challenging.

There are a few form tips to keep in mind when completing these moves. “Always start with your feet shoulder-width apart and maintain good posture with your chest up and shoulders back,” says Jovine.

“When initiating the pull, engage your lat muscles by pulling your shoulder blades down and back,” says Jovine, “squeezing your shoulder blades together.” Move slowly and with control, maintaining tension in the muscles throughout.

If you found this superset tough going, take a step back and build up to it using this beginner back workout.

If you’re slumping over your desk again and want to bolster your back strength, but don’t have time to make it to the gym, I’ve found a great routine that promises an effective back workout in less than 10 minutes.

It comes from the personal trainer Roxanne Russell and it will boost both your strength and improve your posture. “This workout is great if you sit at a desk all day or find yourself hunching over on your phone,” Russell told Coach. “Your back muscles play a key role in keeping your body upright, your shoulders back and creating good posture.

“I have included bent-over row variations to target all areas of the back. The single-arm rows will also even out any imbalances in the body. Kettlebell cleans have been included in the session as a functional way to work the back muscles.”

“If you want to build muscle in your back I recommend repeating the workout two to three times a week.”

Watch Roxanne Russell’s Back-Strengthening Workout

You’ll need a range of kettlebell weights or an adjustable kettlebell of the sort you’ll find in our selection of the best kettlebells. If you don’t have kettlebells, you can use dumbbells; if you have neither, this back workout at home can be done with resistance bands or just your bodyweight.

Each kettlebell exercise in this routine is performed for 40 seconds and followed by 20 seconds’ rest, and each unilateral exercise is repeated on the other side. 

Once you’ve mastered this routine, we have plenty of back sessions to try, no matter your level or available equipment. This no-kit posture workout is great for releasing tension in your back, while this home back workout requires only a resistance band for one of its moves. If you have dumbbells at home, give this back workout with dumbbells a try.

Those with a gym membership can start with this beginner back workout which, unlike other sessions you’ll find on the internet, doesn’t ask beginners to do a full pull-up. Speaking of which, follow this 28-day pull-up workout plan to gradually develop the strength to complete a set. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger is arguably the biggest name in bodybuilding history, both literally and figuratively. 

Now, the Austrian Oak has shared the two-hour chest and back workout he used to pack on mass during his Mr Olympia golden era. So I (the British twig) decided to give it a go. 

“I want to give a serious warning,” Schwarzenegger writes in his Pump Club newsletter. “If you haven’t been training for a really long time, this isn’t a good idea.”

I’ve been lifting in some form for 10 years, from powerlifting to calisthenics to (most recently) CrossFit. But it all started in my teenage bedroom with some good old-fashioned bodybuilding, so this note of caution served to fire me up for a return to my hypertrophy training roots.

Then I scrolled down and realized what was in store.

Arnold Schwzarzenegger’s Chest And Back Workout

Warm-up: 10 minutes of abs exercises

• 1 Deadlift: Sets 3 Reps 10, 8, 6 Rest 2-3min
• 2A Wide-grip weighted chin-up: Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 0min
• 2B Incline bench press: Sets 4 Reps 15, 12, 8, 6 Rest 2-3min
• 3A Bench press: Sets 4 Reps 15, 12, 8, 6 Rest 0min
• 3B Chin-up: Sets 4 Reps 15 Rest 2-3min
• 4A Dumbbell flye: Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 0min
• 4B Wide-grip bent-over row: Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 2-3min
• 5A Machine pull-over: Sets 4 Reps 15 Rest 0min
• 5B Triceps dip: Sets 4 Reps To failure Rest 0min
• 5C Cable flye: Sets 4 Reps 12-15 Rest 2-3min
• 6A Seated cable row: Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 0min
• 6B One-arm cable row: Sets 4 Reps 10-12 Rest 0min
• 6C Dumbbell pull-over: Sets 4 Reps 15 Rest 2-3min

Four Things I Learned Doing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Chest And Back Workout

1. Effective Bodybuilding Is Hard

I’m used to metcons that reduce me to a sweaty mess on the floor and lifting sessions that leave my muscles quivering, so I thought a lengthy bodybuilding workout with rest periods of two minutes might be an almost relaxing alternative. 

It was not. 

For each set I picked a weight that had me flirting with failure and, combined with doing supersets, this sent the intensity off the charts. Relief, rather than relaxation, is what I felt during the two minutes.

The workout took me about 2½ hours and left me feeling like I’d gone 12 rounds with the Terminator. My fatigued muscles forced me to reduce the last few reps of the final set of dumbbell pull-overs to cluster sets of singles.

The experience made me realize how little intensity I used to put into bodybuilding workouts during college. I’d pat myself on the back for making it into the gym between studying and nights out before hitting three sets of 12 on a couple of my favorite exercises at a fairly comfortable weight. 

For the best results, you need to push yourself. That’s progressive overload 101. 

2. More Volume Means More Pump

In my regular training routine I use the three big lifts (the barbell squat, bench press and deadlift) to build strength and power, focusing on fewer reps, but this workout had chunky sets of up to 15 reps for most exercises. 

This was a new challenge and one which dented my ego. My muscular endurance was found wanting and, to hit the rep goals, I had to strip plates from the bar and lift lighter than I had anticipated. 

But the payback was almost instant when I experienced Schwarzenegger’s fabled “pump”.

3. A Workout Partner Would Have Been Welcome

When I watched the recent three-part Netflix documentary Arnold, my ears pricked up when Schwarzenegger discussed his talent for creating a community. Whether he was pumping iron in rural Austria, in England or on Muscle Beach, he brought together like-minded individuals for support, camaraderie and competition. 

It’s something I can relate to. Training in a CrossFit box, my average session is almost as much a social endeavor as it is a fitness one, including chats with other regulars and moaning about the programming (sorry coach). 

I tackled this two-hour session solo, and by the second half I was in need of a supportive word, or at least the reassurance that someone else was in the same boat as me. If you like lifting alone, all power to you, but my advice would be to rope in a training partner. 

4. It’s Not Completely Doable In Commercial Gyms

I tackled this workout in a commercial gym in the UK, and for the most part I was able to follow it to the letter. However, I did encounter a couple of problems. 

During the supersets, I would finish cranking out bench press reps only to find the pull-up bar I had been using was now taken. I then had to substitute dips for straight bar dips in a power rack because the only dip station was occupied, and machine pull-overs became banded lat pull-downs. 

I also had to run between the cable machines and free weights area during the final tri-set. They were located at opposite ends of the warehouse-sized space. 

Will I Be Back?

“You’ve survived,” Schwarzenegger writes after the final exercise in his chest and back marathon. 

“It took me at least two hours, and then I went back to the gym for another two-hour workout at night. I was a bodybuilding champion, and I had also been a powerlifting champion in Europe. If it feels like too much, stop.”

It’s sound advice. This workout is only for people with extensive experience in the weights room and even this is likely to leave you struggling to give good hugs for a few days. However, it’s also incredibly fun. 

At the end, my T-shirt felt a little bit tighter in all the right places courtesy of an almighty pump, and my muscles had that enjoyable numbness only quality time with a barbell can bring.

My ego quite liked it, and I even allowed myself a glance in one of the gym’s many mirrors as I trudged to the locker room. If you, in common with most people, like the idea of looking good naked then this workout is custom-made to help with that. 

I may even be tempted to include a little more bodybuilding in my weekly routine, although I won’t be leaving CrossFit any time soon. 

As someone who loves to learn and hasn’t always had an impeccable relationship with my body image, CrossFit’s focus on performance suits me perfectly. I work each day to improve the way I move during Olympic lifts, add new skills like handstands and muscle-ups to my repertoire, and build strength. It’s fun, and there are far more things to celebrate than how I look in a mirror.

I definitely recommend trying this workout if you’ve been lifting for a while and want to push yourself, but for your overall approach to training, find what makes you feel good and see how far it can take you.

Want to start with a less taxing session? Try this chest and back workout instead.

If you’re the type of gym-goer who schedules a leg day, or biceps and triceps day, when was the last time you devoted a workout solely to your back? I hope your answer isn’t “never”, because a strong back is important for a number of reasons. Sure, a muscular back looks good, but it also keeps your body healthy, contributing to good posture and lowering the risk of injuring your back.

I complete a back workout in the gym at least once a week, but there are some exercises that I’ve found to be better at firing up my back muscles and helping me to become stronger.

I’ve put them together into this six-move routine for you to try. Pick a weight that makes the last two reps of each set feel hard.

1 Kettlebell gorilla row

Sets 4 Reps 8 each side Rest 1min

Stand over two kettlebells on the floor with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping a slight bend in your knees, push your hips back and take hold of the kettlebells. Staying in this hinge position, engage your back and lift the left kettlebell to your left hip. As you row the kettlebell up, slightly rotate the kettlebell so you can drive your elbow back further. Lower under control, then repeat on the right side. Alternate sides with each rep.

2 One-arm dumbbell row

Sets 4 Reps 8 each side Rest 1min

Hold a dumbbell in your left hand and get into a split stance position with your left leg behind your right. Keeping a slight bend in your knees, hinge forward at your hips and place your right hand on a bench or other sturdy surface in front of you for support. Brace your core and lift the dumbbell to your ribs. Pause, squeeze your back muscles, then lower under control. Do all the reps on one side, then switch.

3 Lat pull-down 

Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 1min

Sit in the machine and take hold of the bar with your palms facing away from your body. Lean back slightly and slowly pull the bar down to your chest, squeezing your lats (the muscles below the shoulder blades that run down your spine). Pause when the bar is aligned with your chest. Return to the start under control. Weights machines differ by gym, so make sure to check the instructions on the equipment you’re using. 

4 Seated cable row

Sets 4 Reps 15 Rest 1min

You can use a dedicated seated cable row machine for this, or use a cable machine and weights bench. For the latter, set the attachment to your stomach height when seated and use the long bar attachment. Reach forward and hold the bar with your arms extended. Engage your core and pull the bar to your stomach, squeezing your shoulder blades as you do so. Pause, then return to the start under control.

5 Renegade row 

Sets 4 Reps 8 each side Rest 1min

Get into a high plank position, holding a dumbbell in each hand, with shoulders directly above your hands. Brace your core and keep your body as still as possible as you row one dumbbell to your ribs. Pause, then lower under control and repeat on the right side. Alternate sides with each rep.

6 Superman

Sets 4 Reps 15 Rest 1min

Lie face down on the floor with your arms extended in front of you. Lift your arms, legs and upper torso just off the floor—you should feel your back engage. Pause for two seconds, then return to the start. 

A good chest and back workout is a staple of many gym training plans. This session created by Luiz Silva, head of fitness and wellbeing at Castle Royle of The Club Company, is designed to help build strength and size in your upper body.

Knowing that people don’t always have the same amount of time to train each week, Silva has created a workout that can be approached in a few different ways, depending on your available time.

How To Do This Workout

Silva has offered a few ways to complete the workout. The first is to simply work through 3-4 sets of each exercise with a 90-second to two-minute rest in between sets, as detailed below. 

The second, if you don’t have as much time is to do three sets of each move and take a 45-60 second rest between sets.

The final option, when time is even more limited, is to do supersets, which is a great way to squeeze in an upper-body workout when time is tight. Simply pair one chest move and one back move into a combined set, only resting for 60 seconds when you’ve performed a set of each. Silva suggests doing exercises 1 and 4, 2 and 5, and 3 and 6 together, for 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps.

Silva recommends doing the workout two to three times a week.

How To Choose The Right Weight

“Gauge the weight by using the range of repetitions as a guide,” says Silva. “If you can do more than 12 reps, increase the weight, but if you can’t get at least eight reps in, then decrease the weight. 

“Work with a full range of motion—don’t sacrifice a good-quality rep in order to increase the weight. Try to stretch the muscle work slightly before doing the next rep. So if you're doing a bench press, make sure you feel a small stretch across the chest muscles before pushing the bar back up.”

Chest And Back Workout 

1 Dumbbell bench press

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-12 Rest 90-120sec

Lie on a flat bench with both feet on the floor, holding dumbbells by your chest with your elbows bent at 90°. Create a small arch of the lower back—the gap between your back and the bench should be no wider than a flat hand.

Position your elbows just below your shoulder line so there is a small stretch across the chest. Push the weight straight up, but don’t fully extend your elbows. Lower the dumbbells under control back to the start position.

2 Incline dumbbell A-press

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-12 Rest 90-120sec

Set a bench to a 30° incline. Lie back, holding the dumbbells with your palms facing and keeping a bend in your elbows. Position your elbows just below your shoulder line so there is a stretch across your chest. Push the weights up toward the ceiling until the dumbbells meet at the top. Don’t let your elbows extend fully. Lower the dumbbells back to the start position.

3 Cable flye

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-12 Rest 90sec-2min

Stand in the middle of a cable machine, holding two D-handles attached to high pulleys. Your arms should be spread wide with elbows slightly bent and you should face away from the towers. Lean your trunk forward 45-60°. Press the handles forward until they meet in front of your chest. Your hands should draw a rainbow shape with the handles. Return to the start position in a slow and controlled manner.

4 One-arm dumbbell row

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-12 each side Rest 90sec-2min

Hold a dumbbell with your right hand, and place your left hand on a knee-high bench by leaning forward from the hips while keeping your back straight. Your back should be close to horizontal. Pull the dumbbell toward your ribs by lifting your elbow towards the ceiling, making sure to keep it close to your body, and squeeze your right shoulder blade in toward your spine. Lower the weight until your arm is fully extended. Complete the set and then repeat with your left arm.

5 Barbell bent-over row

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-12 each side Rest 90sec-2min

Hold a barbell with your grip wider than shoulder-width apart, and bend forward from your hips until your trunk is close to parallel to the floor. Bend your knees slightly to facilitate the hip hinge. Keep your core muscles braced tightly while holding this position. Your arms should be fully extended.

Pull the bar toward your lower ribs by driving your elbows toward the ceiling. Make sure you squeeze your shoulder blades. Avoid rocking your body to move the bar—if this is happening, use a lighter weight. Lower the bar in a controlled manner until you’re back in the start position.

6 Straight-arm cable pull-down

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-12 each side Rest 90sec-2min

Attach a straight bar to a high pulley and hold it with your hands wider than shoulder-width apart. Hold the bar with your arms straight and lean forward so your trunk is at a 45° angle with your head between your arms. Keep your arms straight as you pull the bar to your thighs, drawing a semi-circle shape. Reverse the move in a controlled manner.

Superset Chest And Back Workout

Push/pull workout splits are a great way of structuring your time in the gym, but another smart way of approaching upper-body workouts is to do antagonistic supersets, a method that pairs exercises which work opposing muscle groups.

That’s the approach taken in this challenging chest and back workout, created by Will Duru, a personal trainer and level 4 strength and conditioning coach.

Duru explains that supersets are a great way to keep muscles under tension for longer. “They also damage more muscle fibres, which later helps to build muscle and increase strength,” he says. “Supersets also burn more calories.”

This gym-based workout is made up of three supersets and a single exercise. You’ll need a barbell, pull-up bar, bench, suspension trainer and a cable machine.

Follow the sets, reps and rest indicated. The reps in the supersets often decrease, so stay focused, and Duru has programmed short rest periods, so be prepared for your muscles to stay fired up.

1A Bench press 

Sets 6 Reps 15, 12, 8, 6, 6, 2 Rest 0sec

Lie on a flat bench underneath a barbell in a rack. Hold the barbell with your hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Driving your shoulder blades into the bench, lift the bar out of the rack, then slowly lower it to the base of your chest. Push your feet into the floor and your back into the bench as you press the barbell back up.

1B Pull-up

Sets 6 Reps 10, 8, 8, 6, 4, 4 Rest 30sec

Hold a pull-up bar with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your palms facing forwards. Pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar. Think about driving the bar towards your chest. Lower under control. 

If a pull-up is too difficult, use a long looped resistance band and perform an assisted pull-up.

2A Dumbbell incline bench press

Sets 5 Reps 15, 12, 8, 6, 6 Rest 0sec

Sit on a bench set at an incline with your feet flat on the floor. Hold dumbbells by the top of your chest with your palms facing forwards. Engage your core and keep your back pressed into the bench as you press the dumbbells overhead. Lower under control. 

2B Bent-over row

Sets 5 Reps 20, 15, 8, 8, 8 Rest 30sec

Stand holding a barbell in front of your thighs with your hands just outside of your legs and your palms facing you. Push your hips back and lower your torso until it’s almost parallel to the floor. Stay in this position as you drive your elbows back, pulling the bar up to your rib cage. Pause, squeeze your shoulder blades, then lower the bar under control. 

3A Press-up

Sets 5 Reps 20, 20, 15, 15, 10 Rest 0sec

Get into a high plank position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Brace your core, then bend your elbows, keeping them close to your body, to slowly lower your torso to the floor. Push up powerfully to the start.

3B TRX row 

Sets 5 Reps 20, 20, 15, 15, 10 Rest 30sec

Stand holding the handles of the TRX (or other suspension trainer) and lean back so your body is in a straight line and your arms are extended. The closer your feet are to the anchor point the harder the exercise will be. Pull your body to the handles until your hands are by your chest. Pause, squeeze your shoulder blades, then slowly extend your arms to lower.

4 Cable flye

Sets 5 Reps 15 Rest 30sec

Attach D-handles to a cable machine’s high pulleys. Stand in the middle in a split stance with one foot in front of the other, holding the handles at shoulder height. Maintaining a slight bend in your elbows, bring the handles in front of your chest. Pause, then return to the start under control.

It is important when performing an exercise to make sure the muscle you are trying to work is really engaged and powering the movement. A statement of the bleeding obvious, we’re sure you’ll agree, and often it is very simple to do. Engaging and feeling the biceps work during a biceps curl is something most people can do intuitively. It can, however, be trickier with back workouts.

This is where a “pre-exhaust” workout can help.

“If we’re trying to target the lats, and we are unable to ‘feel’ them in movements and bring internal focus to this muscle, then using a single-joint isolation exercise will help switch the muscle on and improve the mind-muscle connection,” says Eddie Baruta, global head of gym floor execution at Ultimate Performance. “This will make the muscle more usable and ‘feelable’ on bigger, heavier compounds.

“This is what’s known as a ‘pre-exhaust’ and it’s a hypertrophy technique that is especially effective for those who have trouble recruiting or feeling the intended muscles.

“Here is a pre-exhaust back workout I love. If you’ve been struggling with your back training, this workout will provide the change in pace you might need.”

Pre-Exhaust Back Workout

The workout is made up of three supersets. In a superset you perform one set of exercise A, followed immediately by a set of exercise B. Once you’ve completed all reps of both, rest as indicated. Repeat that sequence until all the sets are completed, then move on to the next superset.

The tempo, or speed at which you perform the exercise, is also listed. If you haven’t come across this technique before, it’s explained in our guide to tempo training with weights.

1A Straight-arm pull-down

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-10 Tempo 3010 Rest 0sec

Attach the wide bar to the top pulley of a cable machine and hold it with your palms facing down. Stand back from the machine so your arms are fully extended. Keep your arms straight as you use your lats to pull the bar down to your thighs. Raise your arms back to the starting position, keeping them straight and controlling the weight on the way up.

1B Wide lat pull-down

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-10 Tempo 2012 Rest 2min

Move your hands to the ends of the bar and sit facing the cable machine. Pull the bar down to your chest, squeezing your lats at the bottom of the move, then control the bar’s rise.

2A One-arm dumbbell arc row

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-10 Tempo 3010 Rest 0sec

Place one knee and hand on a bench and lean over with your back straight. Grab a dumbbell with the other hand and bend your elbow slightly. Keep your arm in this position, maintaining the slight bend in the elbow, as you lift the dumbbell up and back towards your hip. Lower under control. Do your reps on one side, then do exercise 2B on that same side. Swap sides the next time you do this superset.

2B One-arm dumbbell row

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-10 Tempo 2012 Rest 2min

Starting in the same position as the arc row, perform a standard row by raising the weight to your chest, bending the elbow as you draw it up and past your torso. Make sure you feel the muscles on your back lifting the weight, rather than your arms.

3A Reverse dumbbell flye

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-10 Tempo 2012 Rest 0sec

Stand holding dumbbells. Hinge forwards at your hips, keeping your back straight and letting the weights hang below your chest. Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, lift both weights out to the sides under they are at shoulder height, then lower slowly.

3B Seated ropes row to neck

Sets 3-4 Reps 8-10 Tempo 2012 Rest 2min

Attach the rope handle to the seated cable row machine, or to the lowest pulley on a cable machine, and sit down holding the ends of the rope, far enough away so there’s a little tension in the cable. Pull the handle up and towards your neck, squeezing your shoulders together, then return to the starting position under control.

The best back workouts almost always contain bent-over rows and other row exercises, which are just about the best back exercises you can do. Which means we expected to see them when we asked Aaron Cook, personal trainer and PT manager at Gymbox, to share a back workout with dumbbells.

Sure enough, there are rows in the workout, but Cook has also introduced us to some interesting variations we’ve not come across before, and we can’t wait to hit the gym and try this session ourselves.

“You will be using supersets to try to maximise intensity and minimise time,” says Cook. “The supersets combine a compound movement with an isolation movement.”

As you'll know if you've read our guide to common gym slang, superset means doing two exercises back to back with no or very little rest, a compound movement is an exercise that works multiple muscle groups and joints at once, and isolation movement means focusing on one muscle group or joint with the exercise. 

The combination of exercises Cook has selected means you’ll be working all the key muscle groups in your back from multiple angles.

“We will be working within the ten-to-20 rep range on most movements for muscular endurance and hypertrophy,” says Cook. “However, if you have heavier weights and want strength-based training, then drop the rep ranges down to five to eight and increase the amount of sets by one or two.”

If you’re in need of weights to use for the workout, check out our round-up of the best dumbbells to find a suitable set.

Back Workout With Dumbbells

1A Bent-over supinated row

Sets 3 Reps 10-12

Hold dumbbells by your thighs. Hinge at your hips to lower your torso into a bent-over position with your chest parallel to the floor and back straight. Turn your palms to face away from you. Initiate the movement by squeezing your shoulder blades together and down, then draw your elbows up and past your torso until your hands are by your pockets. Pause for a second, and then slowly lower.

1B Hang dumbbell snatch

Sets 3 Reps 12-20

Stand with your feet just wider than shoulder-width apart, holding the dumbbells between your thighs. Dip down and sit back slightly, then use your legs to drive up, generating the momentum to lift the dumbbells overhead.

2A Alternating gorilla row

Sets 3 Reps 10 each side 

Place your dumbbells on the floor, then stand with your feet outside of your dumbbells. Hinge forwards at the hips and bend your knees, moving low enough to take hold of the dumbbells (if you are unable to do this, prop the dumbbells up on a weight plate or similar). Keeping a flat back, pull one dumbbell in to your hip without rotating your chest. Pause, then lower slowly to the floor. Alternate sides with each rep.

2B Dumbbell pull-over

Sets 3 Rep 10-15

Set your shoulders and upper back on a chair, sofa or bench with your hips held high in a glute bridge position, and both hands holding one dumbbell over your chest or face, with a slight bend in your elbows. Lower the dumbbell behind your head, keeping your elbows slightly bent. When you feel a good stretch under your armpits in the lats, raise the dumbbell back to the starting position.

3A Knee-supported single-arm wide row 

Sets 3 Reps 10 each side

Holding a dumbbell in your left hand, rest your right knee and right hand on a chair, sofa or bench with your back flat and hips square. Lift the dumbbell, but instead of drawing the dumbbell in to your hip, flare your elbow out wide. The wide elbow now targets the rear deltoid, rhomboid and mid-trap muscles differently. Do all your reps on one side before switching.

3C Bent-over rear delt flye

Sets 3 Reps 12-15

Hold dumbbells down by your thighs. Hinge at your hips to lower your torso into a bent-over position with your chest parallel to the floor and back straight. Lift the dumbbells out to the sides, keeping your arms as straight as possible. Hold for two seconds at the top of the move, then lower slowly. Try to avoid using momentum.

4A Renegade row

Sets 3 Reps 20

Start in a high plank position, holding dumbbells resting on the floor. Keep your hips and shoulders square as you raise one dumbbell towards your torso, keeping the other arm locked out for support. The goal is to avoid dropping or rotating the hips. If you want to make this harder you can add a press-up after every rep.

4B Weighted arch hold

Reps 3 Time 15sec

Lie face down on the floor with your legs and arms extended, holding a light dumbbell in front of your head. Squeeze your bum, abs, quads and shoulders to raise your legs and arms off the floor, creating a long, tight arch position. The goal is tension, not range of motion, so be tight and long, not loose and high.

Gym-goers of all experience levels are often guilty of neglecting their back. It’s not the most exciting part of the body to train compared with glamour muscles like the biceps and abs, and it can be harder to target effectively.

However, including back exercises in your training is important because a strong back contributes to your ability to perform other exercises safely, and training your back can help you avoid the aches and pains that come from increasingly sedentary lives.

To complement our collection of the best back workouts we asked Eudoxie Mutomobo-Cartier, personal trainer at Gymbox, to supply a back workout for beginners.

1 Lat pull-down

Sets 3 Reps 10-12 Rest 90sec

“My favourite back exercise for a beginner in the gym,” says Mutomobo-Cartier.

“You can use the wide-grip bar, which is straight, or the V-shaped bar. If you use the straight bar, you will mostly be training your traps (trapezius) and rhomboids, which are your mid-back muscles, as well as your lats and triceps.

“Start with your arms extended, holding on to the bar, and slide yourself into the seat, ensuring the padding is above your knee. Pull the bar down to your chest past the chin.

“Using the V-shaped bar will allow you to recruit your latissimus dorsi and biceps more. This variation is often better for beginners as most of my clients find the technique slightly easier.”

2 Bent-over row

Sets 3 Reps 10-12 Rest 90sec

“This exercise is great for your core strength and spine stability,” says Mutomobo-Cartier. “Stand holding dumbbells, then hinge at your hips and push your bum back as far as you can, keeping a slight bend in your knees. Keep your chest up and shoulders back. Take one second to pull the dumbbells in to your waist, then take two seconds to slowly release and extend your arms.”

3 One-arm dumbbell row

Sets 3 Reps 10-12 each side Rest 90sec

“The single-arm row is a unilateral exercise and it requires a strong core and abdominal stability,” says Mutomobo-Cartier. “You will mostly be training your lats and biceps.

“Place your right knee and right palm on a bench with your upper body parallel with the bench. With your left arm, pick up a dumbbell from the floor with a neutral grip (palm facing your body), holding it with your arm extended. Raise the dumbbell to your torso, then lower under control.”

4 Assisted pull-up or chin-up

Sets 2 Reps As many as possible Rest 90sec

“The assisted pull-up machine is perfect for beginners who want to get stronger and work towards lifting their own body weight,” says Mutomobo-Cartier. “I recommend starting with being assisted using 50-60% of your bodyweight.

“For chin-ups your grip will be a little more narrow and will face towards you, and a pull-up grip means your hands will be placed wider facing away.

“Start by stepping or kneeling on the pad of the assisted machine. Extend your body so

you’re hanging in a stretched position, then attempt to pull yourself up. For chin-ups, ideally your chin should go over the bar. If you do pull-ups, ideally you want your elbows in line with your shoulders at the top of the movement.

“If pull-ups or chin-ups are too hard, start with dumbbell Y-raises. Lie face down on a bench set to an incline with your arms extended in front of you while holding light dumbbells – I suggest going as light as 1-4kg. Lift both arms as high as you can, then slowly lower them. Your feet can come off the floor too. This will train the mid back and rear delts. Do two sets of 15 raises.”

Many of us have a selection of favoured home exercises that provide a testing workout for most parts of the body, but the back is often not included in that, for the simple reason that it’s a bit trickier to target without weights to row.

Trickier, but not impossible. In this workout created by Jo McLelland, co-founder and head trainer at London gym Body Society, you’ll give your back an effective workout using just bodyweight moves and one resistance band row. It’s worth doing, because the benefits you’ll get as a result are considerable.

“Regularly training the back can lead to a reduction in back pain, improved mobility and posture, says Watson. “By developing strength here, there will be an improvement in the body’s ability to complete day-to-day activities.”

Home Back Workout

1 Cat-cow pose

Sets 1 Reps 10-15

“This is a great way to warm up the spine, and improve balance and posture,” says Watson. “Additionally, this pose can help prevent back pain when practised on a regular basis.”

Get on all fours with your back horizontal and hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly below your hips. Inhale through your nose. As you exhale, slowly arch your back, allowing your belly to sink towards the floor. Inhale and round your spine, pushing your belly towards your spine and pulling your pelvic floor up towards your navel. Keep your head neutral – don’t force the chin to the chest.

2 Standing T

Sets 1 Reps 15-20

Stand with your feet hip-width apart with a slight lean forwards, hinging at the hips. Raise your hands out to the sides to create a T shape, thumbs pointing up. You can increase the difficulty using 2kg dumbbells if you have them.

3 Standing Y

Sets 1 Reps 15-20

Set up in the same way as with the standing T – stand with your feet hip-width apart with a slight lean forwards, hinging at the hips – but form the letter Y by moving your arms out and further up, at about 45° to your head. Again, you can use 2kg weights to increase the difficulty.

4 Seated banded row

Sets 1 Reps 15-20

Sit on the floor and place a resistance band – a strap or long loop – around your feet. Bend your knees slightly, sit tall and hold the band by your knees. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and draw your arms back until the band meets your upper ribs. Hold at this tension point for one to two seconds. Slowly return to the starting position.

See related 

• The Best Resistance Bands: Plus, Black Friday 2021 Deals On The Best Resistance Bands
• This Beginner Pilates Workout Will Improve Your Posture
• The Ultimate Home Workout Plan

5 Wall angel

“This exercise helps improve your shoulder and upper-back mobility,” says Watson, “and builds strength in the glutes, lower back and core.”

Stand with your back against a wall and your feet shoulder-width apart. Walk your feet away from the wall and slide your back down until there is a 90° bend at both your hips and knees. Bring your elbows and the backs of your hands up to the wall, so your elbows are level with your shoulders and your hands are at head height. From here slide your arms up and down the wall.

6 Alternating Superman

Sets 1 Reps 3 each side

“This is a good exercise to improve lower-back and core strength,” says Watson.

Lie face down with your arms extended forward past your head. Inhale and lift the opposing arm and leg about 15cm off the ground, and hold for three to five seconds. Exhale and relax. Repeat with the opposite arm and leg.

7 High plank

Sets 1 Time 15sec

Start on your hands and knees with your hands directly under your shoulders. Step one leg back at a time with your feet slightly wider than hip-distance apart. Keep your core tight and don’t let your hips dip to the floor because this will put pressure on your back.

As your core gets stronger, work up in 15-second increments to holding this position for up to two minutes. You can also increase the difficulty by adding shoulder taps. Lift one hand and tap it on the opposite shoulder, then repeat on the other side, keeping your body as still as possible.

Your back muscles are crucial for a healthy, pain-free posture. Along with your core, they help keep everything in alignment. But with increasingly sedentary lifestyles, they might not be as strong as they once were.

To bolster your back, we asked Tom Eastham, a former London Irish RFC strength and conditioning coach, for an effective home back workout anyone can do – with or without equipment.

Along with this workout, Eastham recommends finding time to hang out as a good way to keep your back and posture in good shape. “Hanging is one of the best ways to stretch out your thoracic spine – a critical factor in improving your overall back health,” he says.

If you don’t have a pull-up bar at home, a local park may have a purpose-built outdoor gym with a set of pull-up bars to have a go on – but even if not there should be plenty of places to hang out, such as a sturdy branch, climbing frame or even football goalposts. “Just be creative,” Eastham says.

Home Back Workout

Counterintuitively, this five-move back workout begins with a press-up variation. The scapula press-up will release tightness in the shoulder blades that can build up from hours spent hunched over your work. Next up is a door frame hang that releases tension in the upper back.

The remaining three moves are dumbbell exercises, but if you don’t have a pair, we have included an alternative move that can be done with a resistance band or, failing that, your own bodyweight and a bit of invention.

All three variations will still help you achieve an effective workout, so long as you challenge yourself by increasing the number of sets or reps, reducing the rest periods or slowing the tempo of each exercise.

“Tempo – or the speed of movement in each rep – is an underutilized part of training,” says Eastham. “It becomes even more important when dealing with minimal weights and equipment.” So go slow to make the most of this posture-fixing back workout.

1 Scapula press-up

Sets 2 Reps 10-15 Rest 30sec

Hold the top of a press-up position and, keeping your arms straight and core braced throughout, focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together, then slightly arching your upper back to spread them apart. Keep the reps slow and controlled.

2 Door frame hang

Sets 2 Time 30sec Rest 30sec

Now you’ve created space through your shoulder blades, target the rest of your mid to upper back. You will need a sturdy door frame. Grip the top of the frame and, keeping your feet on the floor, let your body hang heavy so you feel a gentle stretch through your upper back. If you can get a good grip, and you’re confident the frame can take the weight, lift your feet off the floor for a dead hang. To progress this further, you can shrug your shoulders up and down – called scapula pull-ups – to build strength in your upper back.

3 Single-arm row

Sets 3 Reps 10-12 each side Rest 60sec

If you have dumbbells, now’s the time to pick them up. Place your feet wide apart and one hand on a chair in front of you so you have a stable base. Hold one dumbbell and, keeping your back flat, row the weight up to your armpit, then back down under control.

Resistance band alternative: Banded single-arm row Stand in the middle of the band and pick up both ends with your hands. Hinge forwards at your hips, keep your back flat and row the band up to your armpit and back down, on one side and then the other.

Bodyweight alternative: Single-arm bedsheet row No kit? Instead jam a bed sheet or towel in the top of your door frame, close the door to hold it in place and give it a tug to make sure it is secure. You’ve just created a makeshift suspension trainer. Stand close to the door, grab the sheet with one hand and carefully lean back to use your bodyweight as resistance. Pull yourself up with one hand, keeping your elbow tight to your body, then lower under control.

4 Bent-over row

Sets 3 Reps 10-12 Rest 60sec

Hold dumbbells by your sides with your palms facing each other. Engage your core and hinge forwards at your hips, sticking your bum out slightly to flatten and protect your back. Retract your shoulder blades to engage your upper back muscles, then raise the weights to your ribs, pause, and lower under control.

Resistance band alternative: Banded bent-over row As with the single-arm row, stand on the resistance band, hinge forwards at the hips and flatten your back. Row the band up to your armpit with both hands simultaneously, then back down. Make it harder with one-and-a-half reps. For each rep row all the way up, halfway down, back up, then all the way down.

Bodyweight alternative: Table row Again this one requires a bit of invention – and sturdy furniture. Lie under your most rock-solid table and hold one side with an overhand grip, shoulder-width apart. Lift your body so only your heels are touching the floor and your arms are extended. Keeping your body in a straight line, pull your chest towards the table, then down under control. Be careful the table doesn’t tip.

5 Reverse flye

Sets 3 Reps 10-12 Rest 60sec

This one will require lighter dumbbells than the previous moves. Hold the weights together with arms straight, engage your core, hinge forwards at your hips and flatten your back. With your body almost parallel to the floor, raise the weights to the sides, squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top of the lift, then lower back to the start under control.

Resistance band alternative: Banded pull-apart Stand holding the band in front of your chest with your hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. You can go for either an overhand or underhand grip. Retract your shoulder blades and pull the band apart, moving your hands laterally to create tension in your upper back, then control them back to the start.

Bodyweight alternative: Towel pull-apart It’s not perfect, but a towel should provide a bit of give if you don’t have a band. Hold the towel with hands wide apart and focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together with small pulses. You’ll still feel it in the muscles if you’re doing it right – it might just take a few extra reps to feel the burn.

More Home Workouts

• Home Workouts And Workout Plans For All Levels
• This Home Triceps Workout Builds Your Upper Arms
• Use This Biceps Workout At Home To Boost Your Pulling Power

Next time you’re in the gym, look around and take note of the muscles most people are working. The chances are that the majority will be training their chest, arms or abs, known as the “mirror muscles” – because you can see them in the mirror as you lift and lower the weight.

Then, if you do find anyone working on their posterior chain – the muscles on the back of the body – we’re willing to wager that they’re focusing on the upper back and hamstrings, entirely neglecting the lower-back muscles in between. This is a mistake, because the best back workouts will include lower-back exercises.

If you want to build all-over strength, you need to spend some time on your lower-back muscles. Strengthening these will help you perform all kinds of lifts in the gym, as well as reducing the risk of suffering from non-specific lower-back pain in general life.

How To Do These Lower-Back Workouts

Below you’ll find two lower-back workouts to tackle. They should be done with a gap of two to three days between them to allow time for your muscles to recover and adapt. The workouts are fairly short so they can be added into a larger session that also works other parts of the body. 

How To Warm Up

Given that you’ll be targeting the lower back, a part of the body that’s notorious for its susceptibility to injury, it’s vital to get in a proper warm-up before you start flinging heavy weights around.

Start with a series of dynamic stretches that will engage muscles all over the body. If you’re not sure what that involves, here’s a great seven-move gym warm-up routine. Then move on to some moves that enlist the muscles you’re about to use in your workout proper. The simplest way to do this is to run through a round of the exercises you’re going to do using a light weight, or even no weight at all. With some moves that’ll be harder than others, but often you can do an assisted version – for example, pull-ups using a resistance band – to help make the move easier as you ready your muscles.

How To Warm Up

1 Good morning

Sets 3 Reps 10

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your lower back in a neutral, non-rounded position. Hold a light barbell across the top of your shoulders. Slowly bend over at the hips, keeping your lower back in a neutral position until your torso is almost level with the floor. Return and repeat.

Why This multi-muscle move will fire up the backs of your thighs while working your lower back and promoting new muscle growth. You do it at the start of the workout because that’s when you have the most energy.

2 Superman

Sets 3 Time 10-20 seconds

Lie on the floor with your arms and legs stretched out. Brace your core, then raise your arms, head and shoulders off the floor in a “flying” position. Hold this pose for 10-20 seconds.

Why This is an isometric hold, which will improve your muscular stamina and train the small muscles around your spine. The nerve terminals in these muscles sense when your back is moving and activate to counter this movement, which stabilises your spine. This also prompts the larger lower back muscles to fire.

3 Gym ball back extension

Sets 2 Reps 10

Lie on a gym ball with your abdomen resting on the ball and your feet pressed against a wall for support. Put your fingertips by the side of your head, raise your elbows and brace your core. Then lift your shoulders and chest off the ball. Pause, then return and repeat.

Why This is a simple lower back exercise that concentrates the effort in the top section of the erector spinae, nearest to the shoulders. It will increase strength and promote new muscle growth.

Lower-Back Workout 2

This workout builds on the previous one and will help to stabilise your body, improve your posture and injury-proof your midsection. It’s important to remember that these are two separate workouts and are not to be done in one session – and leave at least three days between workouts for recovery.

1 Back extension

Sets 3 Reps 8-12

Lie on a back extension bench facing the floor with your heels hooked behind in a retaining bar. Start with your hands across your chest or behind your head. Keeping your shoulders back, bend at the hips and lower yourself as far as is comfortable. Pause at the bottom to control your weight, then lift yourself up again by engaging your back muscles until your body is in a straight line from neck to ankles.

Why Adding resistance (a weight plate) to this classic exercise will increase the level of fatigue in your lower-back muscles and encourage the growth of new muscle tissue.

2 Trap bar deadlift

Sets 3 Reps 8-12

Load a trap bar, also known as a hex bar, with your preferred weight. Stand in the centre and grasp both handles while keeping your head and chest up. Lower your hips to a comfortable position, then drive through your heels and extending your hips and knees on the way back up. Avoid rounding your back.

Why The trap bar has been proven to limit the pressure on the spine caused by pulling from behind a bar, as in the traditional barbell deadlift. This is also a beginner-friendly variation, as the trap bar’s configuration helps to keep the torso in an upright position with far fewer technical requirements.

3 Knee roll

Sets 3 Reps 8-10 each side

Lie on your back with your knees bent and pressed together. Keep your upper body still with your arms out wide for stability. Roll both your knees to one side along with your pelvis, keeping both shoulders flat on the floor. Hold the stretch for one deep breath, then return to the starting position.

Why: This exercise stretches and mobilises the spine. It can also be used for relief from lower back pain, and can be performed at the start or end of any workout to assist healthy movement in the lower back area.

Only joking about the corner to curl up in afterwards, of course – it will hurt too much to curl up, at least if the session we tried at this new boutique gym is anything to go by. It felt like someone had loaded our coat with bricks when we put it on to leave.

That’s down to The Tone Room founder Sanjay Patel’s focus on free-weight workouts that zero in on body parts. “Most HIIT gyms will do upper body, lower body but we target areas like chest and back, or legs and bum,” explains Patel. “And because there’s not much space in here there’s no cardio – it’s all weight training done at a really high pace so you get a sweat session as well as a strength session.”

If you’re intrigued, but don’t live close enough to the West Hampstead studio in London to try a six-person max class or one-on-one session, get a taste with this chest and back session Patel shared with us.

Warm-up

Neutral-grip press-up

Reps 10

Get on all fours, hands underneath your shoulders holding parallette bars, legs straight and feet together resting your weight on your toes. Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your heels. Lower your chest towards the floor, keeping your elbows tucked in to your body, then press back up powerfully.

Renegade row

Reps 10 each side

Get into the top of a press-up, hands underneath your shoulders and gripping dumbbells with palms facing. Brace your body, then raise one of the dumbbells, supporting yourself on the other arm. Row the weight up until your upper arm is slightly higher than your torso, then slowly lower it back to the ground.

Walking plank

Reps 10

Start in a standard plank position, resting on your forearms with your body forming a straight line from shoulders to feet. Push up from the ground, one arm at a time, into the elevated press-up position, all while maintaining your rigid plank form. Reverse the move back to the starting position.

AMRAP Workout

This workout consists of two circuits, with each circuit done three times. Do all of the exercises in circuit one before resting for 1min. Repeat the circuit two more times, then move on to circuit two, following the same format. AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) means perform as many repetitions of each move as you can in the time allowed.

1A Press-up

Time 1min Rest 0sec

Get on all fours, hands underneath your shoulders, legs straight and feet together resting your weight on your toes. Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your heels. Lower your chest towards the floor, keeping your elbows tucked in to your body, then press back up powerfully.

1B Wide-grip pull-up

Time 1min Rest 0sec

Hold a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, hands wider than shoulder-width apart. Brace your core, then pull yourself up until your lower chest touches the bar. Lower until your arms are straight again.

1C Diamond press-up

Time 1min Rest 0sec

Start in a press-up position, but with your thumbs and index fingers touching to form a diamond. Keeping your hips up and core braced, bend your elbows to lower your chest towards the floor. Push down through your hands to return to the start.

1D Chin-up

Time 1min Rest 1min

Hold a pull-up bar with hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing you. Brace your core, then pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar. Lower until your arms are straight again.

2A Floor press

Time 1min Rest 0sec

Lie flat on your back on the floor, holding a dumbbell in each hand above your chest with straight arms. Lower the weights towards your chest, then press them back up powerfully to return to the start.

2B Medicine ball renegade row – right arm

Time 1min Rest 0sec

Get into the top of a press-up, hands underneath your shoulders, gripping a dumbbell in your right hand and with your left hand on a medicine ball. Brace your body, then raise the dumbbell, pressing down on the medicine ball with the other arm to support yourself. Row the weight up until your upper arm is slightly higher than your torso, then slowly lower it back to the ground.

2C Medicine ball renegade row – left arm

Time 1min Rest 0sec

Repeat the above but switch arms.

2D Narrow-grip pull-up

Hold a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, hands closer than shoulder-width apart. Brace your core, then pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar. Lower until your arms are straight again.

Time 1min Rest 1min

1 Pull-up

Sets 4 Reps 8-12 Rest 2min

Grasp a pull-up bar with an overhand grip that’s slightly wider than shoulder width. Hang with arms straight, pointing your legs slightly in front of you. Pull up till your elbows touch your ribs and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Pause and lower slowly back to a dead hang.

2 Pull-down

Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 90sec

Grasp the bar with a wide grip. Pull through your elbows until you’re able to squeeze both your lats and your shoulder blades together. Slowly raise the bar again until your arms are extended and back in the starting position.

3A Long-arm pull-down

Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 0sec

Place the cable arm at the top and select the rope attachment. Hold the rope with arms straight so they are at a 45˚ angle to your body and stand back with your feet just outside shoulder-width apart. Engaging your lats, pull the weight down in a smooth arc until your hands are between your legs. Return slowly to the starting position.

3B Seated cable row

Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 90sec

Hold the handle with your palms facing down and a slight bend in your knees so they don’t lock out. Keeping your chest up, retract your shoulder blades and create a slight arch in your lower back. Then pull through your elbows until they reach your sides and your palms are facing inwards.

4A Face pull

Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 0sec

Hold a rope attachment at upper chest height with your palms facing down. Keeping your chest up, retract your shoulder blades and pull the rope towards your face while imagining you’re trying to pull the rope apart. Pause in the fully contracted position and squeeze your rear delts and upper back. Then return to the starting position.

4B Inverted row

Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 90sec

Lie under the bar which should be set just above where you can reach from the ground. Grasp the bar with an overhand grip and contract your abs, trying to keep your body straight from shoulders to feet. Pull yourself up to the bar until your chest touches it. Pause for a second, then slowly lower back to the starting position.

Back Workout Tips

Set your scapulae

“Scapular flying, where the shoulder blade seems to come away from the back, can be a problem when doing pull-ups because it can lead you into a neck-straining position,” says Ben Scott, a former professional cricketer turned performance and fat loss specialist . “Set your shoulder blades before you start by moving them as if trying to slot them into your back pocket. This should give you retraction and depression that frees up the use of the traps.”

Train your grip

“A lot of people overlook the benefits of working on grip strength,” says Scott. “A stronger grip will actually boost your overall performance and increase your ability to pull more weight. Pull-ups are a fantastic functional movement and the number one reason for failure is the grip. Use straps when you absolutely need to, but save them for the last set so you’re training your grip the rest of the time.”

Go full range

“I’ll often see people load up too much weight on back moves, so that the main bulk of the lifting is done right at the beginning of the movement and momentum carries them through until halfway through the eccentric phase,” says Scott. “Use a weight that allows you to work to the proper tempo through the full range, and aim to hold your chest to the bar for two seconds at the end of every pull-up, to check that you can.”

Minimum effort, maximum results. That’s the dream combo when it comes to working out, especially if you’re battling waning enthusiasm for getting a sweat on and those healthy New Year resolutions are a distant, taunting memory. This plan, used by the England rugby league squad to cut fat and build lean muscle in a short pre-season window, delivers on both counts.

“In each 45-minute session you’ll get through a high number of reps and cycle between muscle-stimulating heavy lifts and pulse-quickening light bodyweight drills,” says performance coach Brendan Chaplin, who created these two streamlined workouts. “So long as you’re strict on keeping your rest periods short, body fat will have nowhere to hide.” In total these sessions will eat up less than 1% of your week – freeing up more time to convince your boss that you should apply a similar low-effort, big-results balance to your day job.

How it Works

“To build lean muscle, first you need to break it down,” says Chaplin. “This plan uses a high volume of exercises, time under tension and reps to failure that’ll stress your muscle fibres and tissue enough that they’ll have no option but to grow back stronger.”

Directions

There’s an easy option and a slightly harder one. The first is to do these two workouts once a week. The second is to do three workouts, in a 1-2-1 then 2-1-2 format, week by week. Either way, keep increasing the weight you lift or the number of reps to keep your body challenged, your muscles growing and body fat plummeting.

Tri-Sets Explained

In these workouts you perform moves A, B and C back to back with minimal rest between them. Each move works a different muscle group, so it can rest while your respiratory system is still being taxed to keep you burning calories.

Density Sets Explained

Density sets are high-rep, low-rest barrages that’ll stimulate a huge amount of muscle building and fat burning. Pick a timeframe and do as many reps as you can, resting as little as possible. Try them with anything from press-ups to goblet squats – one of our favourites is to do as many back squats with your bodyweight on the bar as you can in three minutes. But prepare for the lactic acid to burn and the DOMS to be savage. Some light exercise (the same moves with a very light weight) the next day will speed up recovery.

Workout 1

Pack on strength and size with these action-packed exercises

1A Dumbbell bench press

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Sets 4 Reps 6-8

Lie on a flat bench, holding dumbbells with an overhand grip either side of your chest. Drive your feet hard into the floor and press the weights straight up, then lower them slowly to the start position.

1B One-arm row

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Sets 4 Reps 6-8 each side

Support your knee on the bench and plant the other leg wide for balance. Keeping a natural arch in your back and your core braced, lift the weight to the side of your chest, making sure your elbow is tucked in. Pause and return slowly. Complete all reps on one side, then the other.

1C Lying leg raise

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Sets 4 Reps 12 Rest 60 seconds

Lie on your back, holding the bench firmly with your hands. Keeping your legs together and straight, raise them, contracting your core to lift your lower back slightly off the bench. From here, keep your core engaged and lower your legs slowly until they’re just off the bench.

2A Pull-over

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Sets 3 Reps 8

Lie on your back holding the dumbbells together above you. Keeping your core engaged and arms straight, lower the weights beyond your head until you feel a stretch in your chest, then return to the start.

2B Eccentric biceps curl

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Sets 3 Reps 12

Hold dumbbells by your sides with your palms facing forwards. Curl the weights up to your chest, using momentum if needed. The weights should be slightly heavier than you would use for strict-form reps. Squeeze your biceps hard, then lower them slowly, taking five seconds to reach the starting position.

2C Reverse lunge

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Sets 3 Reps 8 each side Rest 60 seconds

Holding dumbbells in each hand, take a big step backwards. Make sure you’re balanced, then lower your back knee until it’s just off the floor. Keep your back upright and your front knee in line with your front foot. Return to the start and keep alternating legs.

Finisher: Density set

Do as many rounds as possible in five minutes

3A Spider-Man press-up

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Reps 5 each side  

Start in the top of a press-up position. Bend your arms to lower your chest until it’s just off the floor and, as you do, bring one knee out towards your elbow, then return to the start. Alternate sides.

3B Dumbbell lunge and reach

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Reps 5 each side

Stand holding dumbbells by your sides. Keeping your arms straight throughout, take a big step forwards into a lunge and touch the dumbbells to the floor just ahead of your front foot. Powerfully drive back up with your front leg to return to the start.

3C Barbell overhead lunge

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Reps 5 each side

Hold a light barbell overhead with your hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Keep your glutes and core engaged so your torso is solid, then lunge forwards. Alternate sides. Always be sure to find your balance as you plant your foot before dropping into the lunge.

Workout 2

Go heavy with the weights and high with the reps to keep progressing

1A Barbell lunge

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Sets 4 Reps 6-8 each side

Holding the bar on the back of your shoulders, with your chest up and core braced, take a big step forwards and lower into a lunge so your back knee is just off the floor. Drive up with your front foot to return to the start. Alternate sides with each rep.

1B Dumbbell push press

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Sets 4 Reps 8

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding dumbbells at shoulder height. Lower into a quarter squat, then drive up powerfully, using the momentum to press the dumbbells overhead, keeping your core and glutes strong to protect your back.

1C Narrow-grip press-up

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Sets 4 Reps 10

Perform a standard press-up but with your hands narrower than shoulder-width. Keep your elbows tucked close to your body to target your triceps and pecs more than your shoulders.

2A Sumo deadlift

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Sets 3 Reps 6

Stand with your feet wide apart. Keeping your chest up, bend your legs and grab the barbell with hands narrower than shoulder-width apart. Keep your core braced as you drive through your heels to raise the weight, pushing your hips forwards to stand tall, then reverse the move to the start.

2B Body saw

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Sets 3 Reps 15

Get into a plank position, supporting your weight on your feet and forearms. Keeping your body in line and feet together, slowly rock your body forwards and backwards. Squeeze your abs and glutes to help you keep your hips up.

2C Chin-up

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Sets 3 Reps To Failure

Hold a chin-up bar with an underhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart. Brace your core and pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar, keeping your elbows tucked in close to your body, then lower under control.

Finisher: Density set

Do as many rounds as possible in five minutes

3A Divebomber press-up

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Reps 10

Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, hips high and head tucked in so your spine remains neutral. Keeping your legs straight, bend your arms to bring your head towards the floor, then push through and up, arching your back but keeping your waist off the floor. Reverse the move back to the start.

3B Dumbbell high pull

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Reps 10

In the bottom of a squat, hold dumbbells in front of your shins with straight arms. Drive up explosively to stand and use the momentum to draw the weights up to chest height, keeping your elbows high and rising onto the balls of your feet.

3C Kettlebell swing

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Reps 10

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and push the kettlebell off your body to start the swing. As you lower, hinge at the hips by pushing your gluten back. When you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, drive your hips forward, allowing the kettle bell to rise to head height.

Brendan Chaplin has worked in pro rugby, MMA, tennis and cycling and is managing director of Strength and Conditioning Education, the UK’s leading developer of aspiring fitness professionals.

Photography: Danny Bird

Model: Lee McLaughlin@WAthletic. McLaughlin wears Be An Athlete Vest, available 2016, baaclothing.com; Zara basic plush trousers, £20, zara.com; Adidas Supernova Glide, £74, adidas.co.uk.

An abs regime is all very well, but if it’s the perfect V-shaped torso to hang your favourite suit off that you’re after, then your shoulders and pecs need some attention soo.

“If you’re looking to add mass quickly, multi-angular tri-sets are a great way to build muscle,” says fitness transformation specialist Rich Phillipps, this plan’s creator. “Focusing on your back, shoulders, chest and arms will add the necessary width for that desirable V-shaped torso, so you’ll be ready to impress at your next formal occasion.”

How it works

A strong V-shape torso is built on three training pillars: time under tension, high volume and maximum recruitment of muscle fibres. Tri-sets, where you do three exercises back to back with minimal rest, deliver all three. “This workout uses a wide variety of exercises, rep ranges and tempos to hit your upper body muscles from every angle,” says Phillipps. The result will be a body that Greek tailors would dream of fitting – or at least one that turns a few heads in black tie.

The Workout

Do five sets, resting 2-3 minutes between each tri-set.

1 Dumbbell incline bench press

Reps 10 Tempo 3010

Lie on a bench set at a 45° angle, holding dumbbells at chest height. Powerfully press the dumbbells straight overhead. Gently touch them together before lowering slowly, then repeat.

2 Dumbbell bench press

Reps 6 Tempo 4010

Lie on a flat bench holding dumbbells with an overhand grip either side of your chest. Drive your feet hard into the floor to generate more power and press the weights straight up. Lower them slowly back to the start position.

3 Dumbbell flye

Reps 12 each side Tempo 2220

Lie on a flat bench holding light dumbbells to either side with your arms slightly bent. Bring the weights above your chest, keeping the bend in your arms and pressing them hard together, then lower to the start.

4 Pull-up

Reps 8 Tempo 3010

Grasp a bar with an overhand grip so your palms are facing away from you and your hands are double shoulder-width apart. Contract your upper back muscles to help pull your torso towards the bar. When your chin is above it, lower under control.

5 Wide-grip bent-over row

Reps 8 Tempo 4010

Holding the bar with an overhand grip double shoulder-width apart, bend your knees a little and hinge forward from the hips. Keep your back slightly concave and your shoulder blades back throughout. Pull the weight up to your lower sternum, then lower slowly.

6 Single-arm row

Reps 12 Tempo 3010

Support your knee on the bench, planting the other leg wide for balance. Keep a natural arch in your back and your core braced. Keeping your elbow tucked in, lift the weight to the side of your chest then lower slowly. Complete all reps on one side, then the other.

THE COACH

Michael DiSanto was part of the winning crew in the 2014 Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race. He’s vice-president of the Oxford University Boat Club, has represented the US at the World Rowing Championships and previously captained the Harvard University crew team.

THE GOAL

‘This workout is aimed at strengthening the areas of the body that cope with the greatest amount of load during the rowing stroke,’ says DiSanto. ‘That is the muscles and joints from just below the shoulders all the way down to the lower back. Targeting this region will help not only to prevent injuries, but also to improve technique, both on the water and on the machine.’

Looking for a plan to smash your 2k row time? Check out our ultimate 2k rowing plan.

THE WORKOUT

‘The first three exercises are whole-body compound lifts that build a foundation of strength and power,’ says DiSanto. ‘The second three are bodyweight moves that develop your core stability. Do this routine two or three times a week to complement your rowing sessions. To ensure progression with this plan you should adjust the weight you lift and reps every three weeks. Start with a weight that allows you to complete three sets of eight reps for all the moves. As you progress, add weight and reduce the reps for the compound lifts every three weeks but increase the reps for the bodyweight moves. If you continue after nine weeks, return to eight reps for the compound lifts – ideally with more weight than at the start – and increase the reps for the bodyweight moves to 20.’

Dumbbell snatch

Hold a dumbbell on the floor with knees bent. Drive through your heels, push your hips forwards powerfully and lift it. Use the momentum to bring it overhead so you can ‘catch’ it with your arm straight and legs bent, then stand. Return the weight to the floor.

Week 1-3 Sets 3 Reps 8 each side

Week 4-6 Sets 3 Reps 5 each side

Week 7-9 Sets 3 Reps 3 each side

Front squat

Rest the bar across your upper chest with your hands holding it in place and your elbows as high as you can get them or your arms crossed. Keeping your chest up and back straight, squat down until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor, then drive back up.

Week 1-3 Sets 3 Reps 8

Week 4-6 Sets 3 Reps 5

Week 7-9 Sets 3 Reps 3

Deadlift

Hold the bar with a shoulder-width grip, with your arms straight and legs bent. Keeping your chest up and your back straight, drive through your heels and pull the bar up your legs, pushing your hips forwards to stand tall.

Week 1-3 Sets 3 Reps 8

Week 4-6 Sets 3 Reps 5

Week 7-9 Sets 3 Reps 3

TRX Y-T

With feet together, lean back so the TRX supports you. Using your delts and upper back, bring your hands up and out so you create a Y shape, then reverse the move. To create a T bring your hands out to your sides. Complete all the reps for Y then all the reps for T.

Week 1-3 Sets 3 Reps 8 of each

Week 4-6 Sets 3 Reps 12 of each

Week 7-9 Sets 3 Reps 16 of each

Side plank with leg raise

With the side of one foot and your forearm supporting your weight on the floor, hold your body in a straight line. Keeping your leg straight, raise your top foot and hold it there for three seconds, then lower. Complete all the reps, then switch sides.

Week 1-3 Sets 3 Reps 8 each side

Week 4-6 Sets 3 Reps 12 each side

Week 7-9 Sets 3 Reps 16 each side

Diagonal toe touch

Lie on your back with your arms and legs stretched out. Raise your left leg and right arm off the ground and bend at the hips so you touch your hand to your foot. Return to the start. Alternate sides, keeping the movement controlled.

Week 1-3 Sets 3 Reps 8 each side

Week 4-6 Sets 3 Reps 12 each side

Week 7-9 Sets 3 Reps 16 each side