If you ask 100 women what physical feature they find most attractive in a man, 99 of them will say a V-shaped torso, with broad shoulders and a slim waist. But the most important part of this form is building a strong back: Muscular lats will build a strong V-shape more than any other muscle group. Here are some great back exercises that will get you there.
Pull Ups – The King of Back Exercises
When it comes to exercises that really work your back muscles, there’s nothing better than the humble pull-up. Pull-ups not only target your back muscles, but also your biceps and forearms. Basically, this makes bicep and forearm curls pointless as long as pull-ups remain an important part of your exercise routine.
With pull ups, you grab a bar overhead, lift yourself up so your chin is level with the bar, and lower yourself back down. If you had gym class in high school, you’ve no doubt already done hundreds of these. But don’t let that fact fool you: pull-ups will strengthen your back more than any other exercise.
inverted rows
A lot of guys like to row at an angle to aim behind their backs. This is problematic for a couple of reasons. First, if you’re doing dumbbell rows, you’re only doing one side at a time, which is a waste of time when you could be doing both sides. But if you do a bent-over barbell row, you put an enormous amount of stress on your lower back and do a lot of long-term damage.
The best solution is to make inverted rows. With this exercise, you place a barbell on a rack and hang from it with your arms while keeping your legs extended in front of you and your body straight as an arrow. Then you proceed to get on the bar and go down again in a kind of “inverted push-up”. This exercise will prevent back strain from barbell rows and will get the job done faster than dumbbell rows.
the best of the rest
Pull-ups and inverted rows are the best exercises for the back. But you might want to try a few more if you’re interested. Rope climbs require a little more equipment and space than most people, but they’re also a really awesome workout. And of course, rowing a boat or rowing machine will work your back too.
These good back exercises will help you build lat muscles.