I Ranked Every Back Exercise (Best To Worst)

What are the

best

and

worst

back

exercise

s for muscle growth? Well, in this video I will rank 20 of the most popular moves in a list of levels from S for Super to F for Fail and at the end I will crown one

exercise

as the

best

of the best by elevating it to the S plus level and one as the

worst

of the worse demoting you to level F hell and to make sure your favorite

back

exercise doesn't end up in level F you will need to take three boxes one you need to give a big stretch with high tension if you don't give me a good stretch or you don't provide high tension va at an F level no exceptions two it needs to feel good this means it doesn't cause pain and has a gentle resistance profile giving a good pump and a good mind-muscle connection it wouldn't hurt any of the three it should have a simple progression if you can't add weight or reps easily over time is being knocked down ok let's get the worst out of the way Renegade Rows – these are not good for building muscle first, they don't provide a good stretch because you will be solid against the floor, they don't offer maximum stress to your back because other muscles have to work very hard just to maintain balance. which makes it difficult to get a good back movement, sorry the Renegade rowers are in level F, this is because the Renegade row tries to combine two exercises in one, a plank and a dumbbell row, the planks They are good for your core and rows are great for your when you put them together you end up diluting the amount of stress your back receives and the same goes for other two-in-one combination exercises like the dumbbell row plus curl or the dumbbell row plus press or the dumbbell row plus kickback, this is because The smallest muscle of the pair will always be much weaker than your back, so it will always give first.

This leaves your back totally UNstimulated. These exercises will burn some calories and grow the weaker muscle of the pair, but they are not. Not good Back builders,

every

one goes to level F. Well, what about the deadlift? Well, I'm a big fan of the deadlift. I think it is one of the best exercises for developing total body strength. However, when we look at the criteria for the S. Builder level, it doesn't score very well, it doesn't stretch the lats and mid-back much, it also doesn't take the lats and traps through an active range of motion, so any voltage they receive is isometric and I don't know. about you, but deadlifts don't give me a great back pump and while they are easy to overload, you can always add some weight or a few reps, usually because your hamstrings and glutes are getting stronger, not necessarily your back as a builder back, the deadlift is.

Going to level C, I won't put it at level D or F just because it will strengthen your spinal erectors and thicken your lower back, but as a pure back hypertrophy exercise, I think there are much better options now if This were a lower body day, I would probably put the deadlift at level A or B, especially if done with a well-controlled negative and since the rack pull above is basically just a deadlift with less range of movement, it will go on level D. except that it often damages gym equipment. Pork plates and unless your name is bro, it feels pretty terrible, I'm going to go ahead and move it to level F.

Okay, you're probably ready for some better exercises, so let's start with the wide grip pull. The top offers high tension throughout the range of motion and a deep stretch at the bottom, it feels good and you should get a good back pump, however pull-ups have a tricky resistance profile, they feel very easy on the back. bottom and very hard at the bottom. Also, these don't create the softest feeling and he said they are great for progression as you can easily add a rep into each workout or add some load with a weight belt. They also look great and I really respect the strength of pull-ups.

Pull-ups with a wide grip. They go at a neutral grip pull-up level and have all the benefits of wide grip pull-ups with a little more emphasis on the lats. They also go to a pull-up level with a palms-up grip, they transfer some tension back to the biceps, so while they're in it's still a great upper body exercise. I'm putting them in level B for the back, specifically the following pull downs, we have wide grip, lat pull downs, neutral grip, laap, pull downs and one arm half kneeling, lap downs, wide grip, lat pull downs, they offer a great stretch in your lats, they provide smooth, even tension throughout the range of motion, they feel great, plus you can sit up which is nice and stable, and you get a fantastic combination of lat and mid trap activation and You can easily overload them by increasing the weight of the pin, the wide grip pull down is our first exercise awarded to the S level.

Neutral grip pull downs have the same advantages as wide grip pull downs, except they emphasize the lats over the traps. mediums, especially if you think about moving your elbows down. They also come in here half kneeling with one arm in their lap. The Downs are advertised as being so optimal online, so let's see how they stretch high. You can easily add one rep each week and then some weight as you get stronger. There is a little less stability here than on a pull-up machine. However, you can overcome that by leaning against your knee or against a bench, as well as being able to concentrate on one. boy at a time is great for preventing asymmetries, so while I'm tempted to put them on a level, I'm going to be lenient and put them on a level too, now the cross body movement is a twist in the same movement. where you rotate your torso 90° to run the cable across your body, this will further increase the stretch in your lats.

However, I find that despite the incredible stretch, many people find the movement a little uncomfortable, especially at first. so I'm going to leave them at one level. Well, let's cover some of the most popular rowing variations first. The barbell row stretches the back quite well and offers high tension. However, because it is not the most stable exercise, the tension will disperse. to other stabilizing muscles like the calves, glutes and lower back just for balance, this is no big deal, your back will still suffer and you can still overload this movement from week to week, but I don't think it's the best variation rowing and I don't even think it's the best variation of the barbell row, so the standard barbell row goes to level B.

The Yates row is basically just a barbell row with a more upright stance and with a more relaxed technique, Of course, it is named after the bodybuilding legend and six. -time Mr Olympia Dorian Yates, while the more relaxed form will help you carry more weight, it doesn't actually guarantee more tension on the back muscles due to the drive coming from the hips and the more upright posture actually reduces the stretch of the dorsal and middle trapezius muscles. Sorry Dorian, row eight is level C, the penl row is essentially the opposite of row eight, instead of going straighter you lean over more, this is good because it puts your lats under a greater degree of stretch and tension, it also allows for a more consistent progression since your form is tighter, so assuming you do them with a controlled negative, I think they belong at level B, although you could easily push them up a level if we take into account the development of strength, they are simply not stable enough as a pure hypertrophy exercise for my taste, so they will remain at level B.

The deficit penl row is a penl row where you stand on something like a protective plate, this will give you allows you to go deeper into the negative meaning, more stretching in your lats. I'm going to put them on a level, okay. The Meadows row named after the late great John Meadows, who is someone who taught me a lot, so let's see it stretches your back tremendously, absolutely destroys your mid back with super high tension and as long as you lean against your knee you will be nice and stable, the mid back pump you will get from these is unmatched and as a bonus you can work each side individually, this is definitely a personal favorite and easily belongs in the s tier for me.

The inverted row is basically an upside-down row where you pull your own body instead of pulling any weight. They offer a pretty amazing stretch in the bottom and I can't lie, they feel great too. If you set it up correctly you should feel nice and locked in and you should be able to feel a strong mind-muscle connection with your back, however they are being knocked down to progress, whereas you can have a training partner carry some weight on your lap, this also makes the movement feel really uncomfortable for me at least and then without the weight you're forced to do super high reps which is fine but not optimal once you get over 30 or 40 reps so which despite some positives, I'm going to put inverted rows in level one arm dumbbell rows C. the zombie corpse from the graveyard of exercises , I have never heard any other physical therapist or exercise scientist express concerns about this.

I've been making them myself and with clients for over a decade without a single problem, so let's see that they offer a great stretch to your lats at the bottom and feel nice, soft and stable. The main problem is that once your back becomes strong enough, you can maximize the dumbbell support in your gym, which usually stops. at 100lbs, so they'll be knocked down a bit to progress, but I'll still put them on a level. The Croc row is basically just a dumbbell row with a more relaxed shape, so now you use some momentum from your legs and some momentum on the positive side.

I'm not normally a fan of loose technique, however, when you're leaning against the bench, the momentum here is actually more controlled and consistent than normal. Plus, the push leans pretty well toward your back's natural strength curve, giving you some assistance getting through the tougher top half of the range while also offering a good stretch at the bottom. I may get some flack for this from technical junkies, but I'm putting Croc rowers on a level of, well, standalone rowers, probably the most epic. Exercise, especially if you look like Ronnie Coleman, but the problem is that I don't love them, they give your lats a good stretch and the stress on your back will be high.

I just find them annoying. Balance can be a problem. Once you get pretty strong and the other end of the bar often comes up, if you don't have a landmine attachment, you can progress well by adding reps or loading, but they knock you down in the feel-good department. I'm thinking C level, but I'll go ahead and put them in B level for Ronnie. Now checkerboard rows give you all the positive aspects of the free-standing tar row, but with a much more stable and secure feeling of having your chest supported. In order for you to focus all the tension on your back, these are an absolute staple and should be 100% included in your bodybuilding routine.

If you don't have a machine with a chest support, you can do dumbbell Helm rows where you rest your chest against the back of an incline bench, you can do this as a ripped row or any machine that helps you engage your back the best. Anyway, either way, chest support rows go in tiers, I'm sure cable rows are another one of your personal favorites, they may actually be the best exercise I know for Feeling a deep stretch in my lats, especially when I lean forward on the negative side, they also give me a crazy lat pump and you can always increase the reps or weight from week to week.

These go in various levels and also change to a wide grip. It will shift some emphasis to the middle traps, especially if you squeeze your shoulder blades together, but that's not a bad thing if that's what you're trying to target and wide-grip cable rows have the same benefits as narrow-grip cable rows, so they also belong. At the s level, speaking of the middle back, the rope face pull is a very popular option. Give your mid-back a good stretch as long as you spread your shoulder blades in the negative direction and you should be able to feel a strong mind-muscle connection throughout your body.

In the middle back, the problem is that they are a little unstable when done the conventional way because the cable is always trying to pull your body forward and therefore a lot of that tension is simply lost when trying ofmaintain balance, for this reason, the standard front rope pull is However, if you go to level B, if you modify the exercise to do it either lying on the floor or sitting, you will eliminate that balance requirement and can overload them by applying much more tension directly to your back, so I'm going to go ahead and put both variations on one level.

They are close to being an S level, but just looking at the other exercises in the S level so far, I don't think the facelifts are that amazing, they are definitely still an exercise. It's worth including for sure though, the cable pullover or lat prayer offers a great stretch on your lats whenever you lean forward into the negative and you should be able to feel a strong mind-muscle connection with your lats. It is better to make them for higher levels. reps so they don't get overloaded as easily as some of the compound exercises we've covered, but you can always add a rep here and there and the amazing mind-muscle connection and deep stretch make up for it in my opinion, that being said it's pretty common.

People may feel like their triceps take over for this exercise, but once you master the movement and learn to activate your lats by simply pushing your elbows down, I think they are a great way to get more lat isolation. volume without causing total body fatigue, so I'm going to put cable sentences on a level. Now the LP dumbbell pullover is the same basic movement, except with the dumbbell you have a lot more tension on the lats at the bottom and very little tension. At the top now this isn't so bad because the stretch is probably the most anabolic part of the range of motion anyway as long as you cut the top.

At the end of the range of motion I would also put them on a level as well If I had to crown just one exercise as the best of the best, I think I'd choose a chest-supported row, it's like that. good for destroying both the lats and the middle back and there are many effective ways to do it and if I had to choose one exercise as the worst of the worst it would probably be the Renegade row as a hypertrophy exercise, there is just not enough stability to maximize tension and if you are looking to use all this information with a science based program that you can just go to the gym and execute, I highly recommend that you choose my 10 week pure bodybuilding program, the program became extremely high. praise from other experts in the field and it's easily my highest rated program yet, so I'll put a link here off the top of my head and don't forget to leave me a thumbs up if you enjoyed the video, subscribe if you haven't already and the I'll see

every

one here in the next one.