We Tested 17 Back Exercises, These Are Best For Growth

The back is such an important part of what makes an impressive physique. But with literally 100’s of different back exercises out there, it’s hard to tell which you should do in your back workout. That’s why we got Betty - our muscle activation measuring machine. Today we’re using her to test the best back exercises on 4 different people. At the end, we’ll use the results to create a perfect back workout you can trust is the best back workout that’ll get you the muscular, powerful looking back you’re after.
Different back exercises will target different back muscles. The two main features of a well-developed back are thickness, and width. Most thickness comes from the mid and upper back muscles. So we put a sensor on the mid-traps. We also put a sensor on the lower traps. The main muscle responsible for widening your back and building is the lats. Because it’s the largest muscle of the upper body, we put 2 sensors on it, one on the upper lats, and one on the lower lats.
Next, let’s cover the details of the experiment that’ll help us find the best back exercises. Subjects: Coach Alex, Raza, Tahnee, and myself. There was no wager this time around. We had to control 3 variables: 1) weight testing, sensor placement, and maximum voluntary contraction. We did 1 set of 5 reps, then took at least 5-minute rest before moving onto the next exercise. We also rotated between horizontal and vertical pulling exercises.
Note that Betty, and EMG research in general, has its limitations. More activation does not always lead to more growth, and there are other variables to consider when determining how well an exercise grows muscle. That said, after averaging the data, I did find some very interesting insights that align with other current research.
First, “overall back builders” to include in your back workout. The first is deadlifts. Your legs are mostly responsible for moving the weight, but all of your upper and lower back muscles have to work hard to keep your body stable as you lift. Although they aren’t taken through their full range of motion and are only contracting isometrically, this is still a powerful stimulus for growth especially because of the heavy weight used and the deep stretch that some of these back muscles experience. The second exercise is bent-over rows. Similar to deadlifts, you’re able to load it relatively heavy and your whole back, including the lower back, is helping you stabilize and move the weight. The overhand grip led to more mid back activation whereas the underhand grip, led to slightly more lats activation primarily in the lower lats.
Next, the best exercises for the mid and upper back. The exercise that came on top was the inverted rows. It led to the highest back activation for both Tahnee and Raza but didn’t do nearly as well for both myself and Alex. So while it is a great bodyweight exercise that I’d highly recommend for most females and beginners, as you get more experienced you’ll want to consider other movements that you can start adding weight to or save this exercise for the tail end of your workout. As for the other exercises that came out on top, wide grip seated cable rows and dumbbell chest supported rows with the elbows flared out and shoulder blades squeezed together at the end, both led to the highest activation after the inverted row. So, when talking about the “best back workout”, these two will definitely make an appearance.
Now, I want to talk about the lower traps. It’s an extremely important yet often overlooked muscle for overall shoulder health and posture. So I’d recommend including at least one lower traps exercise in your routine. And the one that came out on top during our experiment? Incline prone Y raises.
Last but not least, the lats. While lat pulldowns and pull-ups do a pretty good job of activating the lats, one move in particular however led to higher activation than any of those exercises. The lat-focused row.
Let’s put everything we learned into “perfect back workout” that you can start using right away. I’d recommend picking one exercise from each of the categories we went through and then adding in prone Y raises to the end to give the lower traps some extra love.
Sample Back Workout
Bent-Over Barbell Row
Pull-Ups
Dumbbell Chest Supported Row (elbows angled out)
Incline Prone Y-Raises
Click below for a step by step plan training plan that reveals all the best exercises you should do for each and every muscle group:
builtwithscience.com/built-wi...
Download your FREE back workout PDF:
builtwithscience.com/backworkout
Vote for the glutes exercises you think will come out on top:
builtwithscience.com/vote
Click below to subscribe for more videos:
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[@JeremyEthier]

Hope you enjoyed this one! You can download the free back workout routine here: builtwithscience.com/backworkout . Enjoy! See ya next time for glutes 🍑!

[@LevysFitness]

Abs!!! Why glutes.

[@majidhussain3896]

Peace, Islam is the truth. Read the Qur'an

[@vishnumohan6984]

@@majidhussain3896 🤣🤣🤣

[@chetanpatteparapu7600]

abs, glutes and legs (including calves)

[@L.I.T.H.I.U.M]

Jeremy, you didn't tell us which exercise came on top for the lower lats specifically?

[@hardley7129]

6:16 Overal best back exercises 8:21 Mid/ Upper back 9:34 Lower traps 10:03 Lats

[@matttzzz2]

He's wearing glasses so you know he's trustworthy

[@balazsvarga5744]

Not all heros wear capes

[@Itselijahbruh]

What about lower back

[@Dimadawai]

@@Itselijahbruh doesn't exist

[@Itselijahbruh]

@@Dimadawai wait how

[@jack06fitzy]

It is just me, or would anyone else want to see him re-do his push/pull/legs… upper/lower… and full body split workouts using his new information as his other videos are a year or more old?

[@askerzie]

This is not new information, EMG based studies have been around for years and Jeremy used data from them

[@owencowell8895]

It's all bullshit anyway.

[@saisahithi805]

Yes please do

[@L.I.T.H.I.U.M]

Just take all the exercises from the individual muscle videos and combine them to make a pull/push one.

[@hebronessan6942]

THIS

[@filiphromis3520]

I like how you showed all the exercises in little boards in the end of the video that way I can just take a SS and always look at the best exercises you guys found, you are a great help and immediately after I started listening to your tips I felt much more growth keep it up cuz I appreciate it man

[@danistevens5799]

Tahnee kicks ass!! Thank you Tahnee!! And thank you to Jeremy and the team for recognizing the under representation of women. Men often underestimate how important their voice is when they speak on that issue but it carries such a strong and positive message so thank you!

[@TwistedTeaFate]

For those with not much time to watch. - 2 Best overall: deadlift, bent-over barbell rows - 3 Best middle/upper back: Cable row (elbows angled out), Dumbbell chest supported row, Wide grip chest supported machine row. - Best lower traps: Incline prone Y-raises - 4 Best lats: Lat focused row (elbows in, lean forward), pull ups, lat pulldown, chin ups.

[@RandomShowerThoughts]

Thanks lol

[@idlannizam74]

For lats, is it better to do wide lat pulldown or normal lat pulldown?

[@heathluke69]

@@idlannizam74 it's all explained at 10:00 on the video - pulls will work the lats, but elbows close to the body will emphasise the lats more, like a close-grip row or pull down 👍

[@NamNguyen-xe1ij]

Love u

[@travisandrews3909]

I haird they are the best workouts

[@jiewang6845]

Dude I've been waiting for this ever since you did it with shoulders. Thanks so much! Already tried some of your previous recommendations and really helps

[@cjwilliamson7480]

I’ve been following you for years and I just wanted to say, I really appreciate you for everything. My fitness journey has been phenomenal with your insights to everything🙏

[@KG-uu5op]

Thank you Tahnee!! I have a chronic illness (EDS) and it’s really important that I strengthen my back. without your participation I would’ve had a much harder time finding information that will keep me out of a wheelchair for longer. Seriously thank you

[@shinrin-yoku-]

Eds here too! Building muscle decreases pain for me!

[@mmikiogt54]

I love this series so much. Such top tier content 💛

[@DragonScytheX]

Thanks tahnee ! Im loving this type of content and how much more fun youre having now

[@eziocutarelli678]

Thanks Tahnee

[@ibrahim_-_-_]

@@eziocutarelli678 damn bruh that pfp is just…😂😂😂

[@travisandrews3909]

So am i

[@ohannasalce7020]

Thanks Tauni!! I’m excited to try these!

[@mozeeyyy]

your work is the best man, thanks for always putting free pdfs of workouts and stuff too🙏🏽

[@richjebs4605]

The information, the editing, the subjects, everything, absolute chef's kiss!

[@mariapena9157]

Thanks Tawny! Love your love…. He always has all the information and great workouts I need

[@user-cp2gu9po8y]

I’ve been following you for years and I just wanted to say, I really appreciate you for everything. My fitness journey has been phenomenal with your insights to everything

[@kellymorrell3508]

Just started training again after almost a year, this time by myself. I really appreciate your videos and your studies!

[@johnkeddy2557]

I bought a program a month ago. It’s a lot.. but I’m easing into it and seeing some great results. I look forward to your videos each week to implement new techniques and exercises. Keep up the good work! Ps thanks Tahnee🎉

[@rajat7109]

Really appreciate the amount of efforts you put into these videos! 💯

[@travisandrews3909]

So have i

[@3ft_Ace]

This dude is a real G for doing all this research and everything else he’s done thank you bro.

[@anonymoususer1378]

I like the added touches of humor and bits of personal life events. Well done and I appreciate what you do my friend!

[@sispyhus]

~Top exercises for back~ Overall back exercises: 01: Deadlift 02: Bent Over Barbell Rows 03: Inverted Row (for beginners) Mid/Upper back: 04: Wide Grip Seated Cable row 05: Dumbell Chest Supported Row Lats: 06: Lat Focus row 07: Lat Pull-down 08: Incline Curl Y raises 09: Pull Ups

[@alessandroc.7514]

Incline Y it’s for low traps

[@travisandrews3909]

Im going to try to workout on them on Monday

[@hessiankyojin]

This is already a full Back Day. Thanks

[@icarusxo]

if i had a 5 day split, and lets say, days that i do overall back is on monday, so then on thursday.. should i do just the mid and lats?

[@bobnewkirk7003]

A quick spreadsheet with the results table would be really helpful for when we want to mix up exercises. Personally I have recently been enjoying the Cable Lat Prayers and am interested in how they stack up against the the more standard seated Lat Pulldown.

[@travisandrews3909]

I enjoy it very much

[@ChuckWortman]

My favorite kind of prayers when I worship at the House of Fitness!

[@BrhnKckgl]

Dude this video is academicly perfect, thank you for your work

[@nathanmontgomery2953]

I love the content all the way through in this video💯very helpful!! Everyone will have there own muscle build but with the different body types and gym experiences you could actually make a full program that’s accurate and not biased based on experiences

[@mgyoutube5109]

Thank you for all the effort done to make the video!

[@thiagomotta777]

I really enjoy this type of videos, keep the great work!

[@aungchannyein8703]

It is obvious that you put so much efforts, I appreciate.

[@lizc2168]

Just watched the back one from 6 yrs ago... you hace come so far.... its so amazing to see your channel grow!! Caught on pre covid.!!

[@VitalityFitnessScience]

That's so cool! Love how you build up the video - everything makes total sense. Well done as always 💪🏼

[@ReLoadXxXxX]

EMG isn't accurate.

[@justrelax6871]

Hey jeremy you are always my distination after getting confused by other fitness influncers I really appreaciate your efforts keep going man 🔥🔥

[@aalonbullard9320]

This information is simply Stellar. I did not know this channel came so far to literally be using live experiments. Its awesome and I want more of it

[@timothybidalen5222]

So much respect for your work!!! Thank you for making those videos :)

[@revealmedia4582]

Ever since he got Betty, he’s become even more awesome

[@DF-kj7uw]

Thank you for including Tahnee. When I watched your other videos, I was hoping to see women included. Great info. Great job! 👍

[@rileycoleman4791]

Thanks Tahnee!!! I LOVE and appreciate when you’re in the videos to help represent us women!

[@jonmitchell2294]

Thank You Thanee. Great video guys.

[@mahmoud-khaled-abo-elmagd]

what you did in this video is insane i cant imagine the time that is took to be uploaded very awesome and informative video

[@Crossfirev]

And then he didn't release the data 😞

[@jeeeffwazowskithegiantmeet7902]

Hey man, love this series. Just wanted to say thank you for doing all this work to educate us, keep it up 👍 Also, i do my deadlifts on back days (im a powerlifter btw) cause i do squats on leg days and i simply cannot fit those two together without having recovery issues 🤷‍♂️

[@coast8252]

This is gonna really help me with working out in general, I really wish you could do this for Ab/ Core even obliques.

[@aakashfumakiya3543]

Really appreciate the efforts you put for a video! Thanks a lot for such valuable information🙌

[@uzekgame]

Overall back: Deadlifts Bendover rows Reverse bendover rows (more lower lat* activation) T-bar row Mid and upper back: Wide grip seated row Dumbell chest supported row Inverted row (calisthenics/last exercise) Lower traps: Incline prone Y raises Lats: Lat focused row Pull ups Lat pulldowns Edit: typo in lat

[@koleszgdanska7149]

Shame its all about weights

[@justahumanwithamask4089]

​@@koleszgdanska7149Check out the calisthenics youtubers.

[@DrSpooglemon]

Wut in tarnation is a reverse bent-over row?

[@lanasharab1568]

@@DrSpooglemon Bending over rows with the grip reversed

[@DrSpooglemon]

@@lanasharab1568 I wasn't sure if it was a sex position.

[@OutrageIsNow]

The point I’d like to make about the inverted row is that it is one of the easiest movements to progress. You can place your feet on an object to increase the ROM and over time keep increasing the ROM, you can put a weight plate on your chest, and finally you can use rings or TRX straps to turn it into a completely different movement. I’m currently doing rows on a TRX setup with my feet on an 18” box. I love inverted rows. They’re one of my favorite exercises of all time.

[@userunknown1578]

Inverted rows(and all its variations) + pull ups are my favorite back exercises.

[@JokerxDragon]

Yeah nobody should sleep on inverted rows. Before I was able to get in to a gym and start using free weights, inverted rows did all of my back building and it built a solid base.

[@monstergonads11]

Awesome video man. Really helpful and informative as well as entertaining.

[@23Wardah]

Great series of videos! Glad I came across your channel. Keep it up!!

[@EJ_Red]

Great series, Jeremy, this is a really splendid way to show growth in individual muscles or in muscle groups! And thanks to Tahnee and F to your your wrist strap! As for deadlifts, I actually do a Upper-Lower Body split so I just include it in my Lower Body days, which happens to be my leg days.

[@nonfictionone]

push day / pull day is better ;-> with legs as part of that or split out

[@EJ_Red]

@@nonfictionone I was actually debating between a Upper-Lower and PPL split back in August when I was updating my workout schedule, I just chose Upper-Lower because it seemed better for my usual schedule since I exercise late at night.

[@afriking]

Goat for uploading this. My back workout has always been mid and doesn't look that good compared to the rest of my body. Gonna see some crazy results in a couple of months hopefully

[@llean3679]

Bro follow Ryan jewers and jpg coaching they are way ahead of this you will get jacked.

[@llean3679]

Split back into two days upper back focus and lat focused.Both of these guys have pull workouts and everything else.

[@end6617]

How’s it goin man?

[@nealrutgerskid]

Thank you. I was to let you know how beneficial your videos have been to society at large. Giving these scientific based advice for free is cherry on top.

[@Lukassfx2005]

Thank you verry much jeremy for doing this for our information🙏🏼❤️

[@sieniol92]

Thanks Tahnee and of course Jeremy, who puts so much effort and energy into his work which is beneficial for us :)

[@travisandrews3909]

He does put in so much effort

[@Hear2Help]

I have done standing Y exercises with 10 lb weights but never the prone Y's until I hit the gym tonight! also, I am going to lighten up the weights, lean forward, keeping the elbows tucked in and do those lat rows! very impressive! Thanks, and thanks Tahnee for your help! OH, I do the dead lifts on both back and leg days, with upper body days in between

[@sydp18]

Wow This helps me pick the right exercises for my back biceps workout(pull day) Thanks Jeremy keep up the good work brother

[@christiantus]

Thank you man your videos sooo high quality

[@ncw1142]

Yo , these Betty Series or soo helpful and entertaining. Would love to see one for the quads. Thanks Tahnee! 😄

[@alphagorilla8653]

@Ryan Humiston did these videos too and he has done the quads already. Look it up !

[@SEAKPhotog]

What happened to posting all the results like you did for the chest study? That was crazy useful in helping pick potentially useful movements, especially for those old guys among us who may have some mobility/joint issues.

[@grimgamer24]

Same here. I deadlift twice a week (Once conventional, once RDL) so until my split is done bent over rows aren't an option for me as my lower back would already be heavily fatigued and be the limiting factor. I went to his blog to hopefully find the full breakdown of all the exercises and its corresponding EMG data and it wasn't there

[@SEAKPhotog]

@Andrew Plummer it's definitely disappointing, that's for sure.

[@birinderwarraich1179]

Among us

[@dmitryhrybov1049]

Please post the data Jeremy!

[@HalfMooN458]

Thank you for the PDF. I really appreciate it.

[@shiva.19]

Holy Damn Dude. This is why I you are the OG of Fitness KZbinrs. Keep the momentum of the series. we want this for each muscle grp.

[@zaydabduloomar5623]

Thank you Tahnee!!

[@josephheath5650]

Excellent, you showed me what I already knew. Thanks again sir.

[@akeleshm]

Love!! Was waiting for this

[@zachimran6936]

Thanks Tahnee

[@dyehenslevinkelevra7308]

God bless you, Jeremy. You cannot imagine how many guys you've saved from injury and steroids. I write to you from Goainia, a little town I am volunteering in Brazil, they use rebars lodged into concrete cans or logs to train on wooden apparatuses. Your vids are helping me show these kids how to not injure themselves as their ticket out of poverty is usually fighting and athletics.

[@travisandrews3909]

I totally agree 👍

[@stickykeys7413]

Presented so nicely, thank you

[@ramseyabdul1873]

This channel is so educational. I love it here❤

[@exhausttimeline7112]

Thanks for starting this series with BETTY ...do help us with content with all important muscle part of our body !!

[@alphagorilla8653]

@Ryan Humiston did it with almost all the other muscles look it up!

[@alphadavi1960]

I've always done deadlifts on back day( first exercise) I find it to be great to warm up and prepare your back( I do higher reps lower weight)

[@difoss3650]

thanks tahnee and team for this amazing information

[@Tcash401]

Great video! Id love to see a similar video testing activation depending on tempo variation

[@RiceLoverCao]

Top 3 exercises for each back muscle Best Overall: 01: Deadlift 02: Bent Over Barbell Rows (Wide Overhand/Narrow Underhand Grips) Mid/Upper Back: 01: Cable Row (Elbows Angled Out) 02: Dumbell Chest Supported Row (Elbows Angled Out) 03: Machine Chest Supported Row (Elbows Angled Out) Lower Traps: 01: Incline Prone Y Raises Lats: 01: Lat focused row (elbows in, lean forward) 02: Pull Ups 03: Lat Pulldowns 04: Chin Ups

[@hessiankyojin]

Where is Inverted Row?

[@Malitubee]

You are the effin goat

[@lezhebokzhratobok]

Thanks Tahnee!I am so grateful to you guys for female representing,its exciting! Waiting for leg routins

[@kokopulla]

Very informative video, thank you jeremy!

[@unwantedman1082]

Thanks tahnee!!! This is a good video, so helpful!

[@instrong]

Oh man I wush I found your channel earlier You really changed my life, thanks to your content i started working out, also I was working in food delivery for a year, and thanks to u finally made a channel about fitness, now feel like I'm where I should be, working hard and hope one day my 100 subs will become 100k and I'll quit delivery! Best wishes from Ukraine man, keep it up!

[@ouss]

Thanks Tahnee 💫

[@kajetan3497]

The best video about back, THANKS BROO

[@biro1347]

thank you for this video!

[@lucashenriques4242]

I really think it's very smart to add deadlifts, specially rdl's on your back day, because you can add maybe 3 or 4 sets of leg curls and you get done with the hamstrings, like start with your rows/pulldowns go to rdl's (will still use your back) and since u already doing rdls just add some leg curls and u're done. And on your leg day you can focus more on quads and since you dont need to train hams on that day you have more time to maybe add the calvs, shoulders, abs, etc.. that's just my opinion

[@alaaal-shakarchi8902]

Great work and presentation. it's highly appreciated by people who are looking for scientific based exercises that'll yield best results

[@M4PAT]

Bro what an incredible and insightful video man. Subbed!

[@AsaiaPalacios]

Thanks for the female-subject representation in this fitness research, Jeremy 💪🏼 (Gracias Tahnee!!)

[@WyteChinpira]

The fact your using actual science machines shows how authentic your content really is.

[@Roel93]

Definitely going to try out that forward leaning row next session!

[@nieinner5968]

Thank Tahnee. Great stuff.

[@multipastilan]

9:09 Mid/Upper Back = Seated Row (Wide Grip) 9:52 Lower Traps = Incline Y Prone Raises 10:17 Lats = Lat Focus Row

[@bivekbiswakarma2099]

Thank you so much everyone for you effort ❤

[@lafawarz4990]

It seems you have done good research into what makes up a good statistics experiment. That's very commendable, and keep up the great work man!

[@ReactiveDogDiaries]

Thank you Tahnee! I loved that it is female included ❤

[@iqcuber5125]

i personally do deadlifts on back days because i just feel like there are better exercises for muscle growth in legs

[@gwapogirider5289]

Thanks Tahnee!😁

[@frank22gimble]

Thank you guys for the in-demand work you’re doing. Any reason you chose not to post the data tables this time? I appreciated getting to check them out for the chest exercises.

[@doctorartphd6463]

Tahnee, you were great.... Nice having you with us. You both make a great team !! Excellent video with good info. Thank you, both.

[@theknightsgaming9898]

5:14 what a pose sirrr😂😂😂

[@thats_mr_b_]

What was the results or ranking for DB pull over or straight arm cable pull down ? Awesome stuff, between you and Ryan doing these test I’m reducing my routine.

[@Biggaaronn]

This is a really dope series. Id like to take a deeper look at the data. Im really interested in specific part of lay activation

[@videogazer801]

Tahnee kicks azz!! Thanks for helping with this research. 💪

[@mantequillas1278]

Damn glad to know I've been doing all these exercises. And I usually do put deadlifts on leg days, but I seperate legs and back by a day in between. I do legs push pull rest and it's been worming our great for me. It's an 8 day week but I really need that day of rest in between.

[@Rafael_T_Freitas]

Hello, first of all congratulation for your videos! Could you show the list (ranking) for each muscle region as you did for shoulders and chest? This way we can check if our preferred exercises were considered and their positions in the list. For example: reverse pec dec machine for upper back.

[@hanaanbhatti7825]

Yeah I was hoping for this too

[@starperez1161]

I am also hoping for this!!

[@JungseHandbalance]

Thank you so much Jeremy.

[@dutchmisfit]

I do deadlifts on core day along with primarily lower back training. But I toss in pull-ups and push-ups wheverever I can in any workout because I think they're amazing exercises that people really shouldn't underestimate.

[@lukazashovski]

The deadlift is indeed good at activating your back muscles, however once again, they are mostly used to stabilize your back during the movement. Thus is including them in your leg-workout beneficial for your back muscles over a longer period of time. I wouldn't replace them with, for example, bent over rows, since that exercise IS mainly focused on activating your back muscles. Great job on the video, Jeremy. Hope to see more content like this.

[@Hosein_Persian]

Yup , Deadlift is terrible for back hypertrophy … High Activity comes from stabilizing and using really heavy weight . It’s overrated