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Back Workout at the Gym in 2026: The Best Exercises and a Ready-Made Program
In brief: A good back workout at the gym includes both vertical pulls (e.g. the lat pulldown and pull-up) and horizontal pulls (e.g. the seated cable row and bent-over row) in a sensible ratio, 3–5 back exercises per week, and 5–20 working sets for the back muscles per week (Schoenfeld 2017). It's best to train your back twice a week (Schoenfeld 2016; Baz-Valle 2022). The single most important technique factor is a full range of motion: let your shoulder blades move naturally instead of locking them in place.
Back training is part of almost every gym program, yet it's often programmed inefficiently. The most common problems come from thinking of the back as a single muscle. In reality, the back is made up of several muscles that each need a slightly different type of loading to develop optimally. This is worth getting right whether you're a beginner or an experienced lifter — the back is a striking, sizeable muscle group.
In this guide we go through back anatomy from a lifter's perspective, the best back exercises and their technique, a ready-made back program, and what the research actually says about effective back training. Finally, we also tackle myths — such as the claims made about posture, and the idea that the back is the body's biggest muscle group.
Contents
What muscles does back training work? The lats aren't the only one
Important: the back isn't one muscle — it's a collection of several muscles with different jobs. That's why effective back training doesn't come from random rowing movements alone; a program needs exercises that load the different parts of the back evenly.
Common back exercises and the muscles they target:
Muscle | Latin name | Main function | Which exercise loads it |
|---|---|---|---|
Lats (broad back muscle) | Latissimus dorsi | Shoulder extension and adduction | Lat pulldown, pull-up, cable pullover |
Teres major | Teres major | Same as the lats | The same exercises |
Mid and lower trapezius | Trapezius | Scapular retraction and depression | Rows to the chest, vertical pulls |
Rhomboid major | Rhomboideus major | Scapular retraction | Rows to the chest |
Upper trapezius | Trapezius | Scapular elevation | Shrugs |
Rear deltoid | Deltoideus posterior | Horizontal shoulder abduction | Cable reverse flyes, face pull |
Spinal erectors | Erector spinae | Spinal extension and lateral flexion | Deadlift, Romanian deadlift |
Anatomy in brief: The largest shoulder extensor is the latissimus dorsi, assisted by the teres major, the rear deltoid and the long head of the triceps. Retracting the shoulder blades is handled mainly by the mid-trapezius and the rhomboids. These form the two most important movement directions in back training, and it's on that basis that your exercises should be chosen.
The practical conclusion is simple: because the main jobs of the back muscles differ, a program should include both vertical and horizontal pulls in a sensible ratio. If training consists only of vertical pulls, the mid- and lower trapezius and the rhomboids easily end up under-loaded. Conversely, with only horizontal pulls the lats don't get optimal training.
What makes a good back workout?
This is the most important part of the guide. You'll notice that the common advice — "keep your shoulder blades locked" — is simply wrong.
1. Let your shoulder blades move
An unfortunately common cue in rows, for example, is "pull your shoulder blades together and hold them there for the whole rep." This shortens the range of motion at exactly the point that matters most for muscle growth, for the natural movement of the shoulder blades, and for shoulder health.
In rowing movements such as the seated cable row and the bent-over row, the shoulder blades should protract during the braking phase — that is, slide forward. At the end of the pull they retract strongly toward each other. This lets the scapular retractors, such as the mid-trapezius and the rhomboids, work through a full range of motion and get both a good stretch and a strong contraction.
In vertical pulls such as the lat pulldown and the pull-up, the same principle applies: at the top, let the shoulder blades move naturally upward, so the lats can stretch well before you pull down, at which point the shoulder blades move back toward each other.
There's a clear anatomical basis for this. The latissimus dorsi attaches to the pelvis, the thoracic and lower-back area, and partly to the scapula and on to the humerus. When the scapula is allowed to move, the distance between the attachment points increases and the muscle stretches more. The same phenomenon shows up in the bottom position of rows: letting the shoulder blades protract increases the stretch on both the lats and the scapular retractors. When you try this, you'll notice the movement feels more natural and more effective.
2. Include both vertical and horizontal pulls every week
The back's main jobs split into two movement directions. Vertical pulls emphasize the lats, while horizontal pulls load the mid-trapezius, lower trapezius and rhomboids more.
If a program only has one pulling direction, some of the back muscles get less training stimulus. That's why every training program should include at least one vertical and one horizontal pull each week — and ideally more exercises than that.
3. A controlled execution
One of the most common mistakes in back training is shortening the range of motion and using momentum from the rest of the body to move the weight. When your torso swings in a bent-over row or a pull-up, load shifts away from the target muscles.
Keep the movement controlled and use as long a range of motion as possible. That way the back does more of the work and every rep produces a better effect on the back muscles, safely.
Back exercises: which are the best?
Exercises should be chosen based on the target muscle, an optimal resistance curve and a long range of motion. Some of the best exercises include the lat pulldown, the seated cable row and the cable pullover. Below is a selection of the best back exercises, grouped by what they target.
Best exercises | Main target | Key technique point |
|---|---|---|
Lat pulldown (pronated grip), pull-up, single-arm lat pulldown | Lats, teres major, lower trapezius | Let the shoulder blades rise at the top, pull to the chest |
Seated cable row, chest-supported row, dumbbell bent-over row | Mid- and lower trapezius, rhomboids, rear delt | Shoulder blades apart on the lowering phase, tightly together on the contraction. Back straight. |
Cable pullover | Lats, teres major | Arms straight, lean forward in the stretch phase |
Face pull, reverse pec deck, cable reverse flyes | Rear delt | Focus on squeezing the rear delt at the end of the movement. |
Wide-grip shrug | Upper trapezius | Shoulders straight up |
Deadlift, Romanian deadlift, back extension | Spinal erectors | Keep the back extended throughout the movement |
Notes on the exercises
Rows, such as the seated cable row, are not good exercises for the lats. In a rowing movement the elbow doesn't rise above the line of the shoulder, so the lats' range of motion stays small — the lat's range is roughly halved. For this reason lat growth and "back width" come primarily from vertical pulls such as the lat pulldown.
The rear delts easily get overlooked. If the rear delts are a goal, they're best trained with an exercise that has load in the stretched position. The face pull or cable reverse flyes, for example, work better for this than a standing dumbbell version, where the resistance only peaks at the end position of the movement.
The cable pullover is worth doing. It's a less common but really good exercise that loads the lats without the biceps limiting the effort. Done on a cable while leaning forward (in the stretch phase), the movement loads the back considerably better and through a long range of motion. During the pull-down phase, stand up straight — in other words, alternate between these two positions during the movement to get the maximum benefit.
How to do the key back exercises correctly
Lat pulldown — build a big latissimus dorsi
Take a pronated grip slightly wider than shoulder width. A very wide grip isn't necessary, as it shortens the range of motion.
Sit down so that your thighs are firmly under the pad.
Start from a full stretch: arms straight and shoulder blades up.
Pull your elbows down and imagine pulling them in toward your sides. Pull the bar to your chest. Your shoulder blades move down at the same time.
Return the bar under control the whole way back up and let your shoulder blades rise again.
The most common mistake is a short range of motion at the top, plus leaning back too much in the bottom phase. If your torso tilts clearly backward, the movement turns more into a horizontal rowing movement. A small backward lean is fine, though.
Seated cable row — build big rhomboids
Focus on keeping your upper body upright. A slight forward and backward lean during the movement is fine. Just make sure your lower back stays tight and straight.
Pull your elbows toward your sides, and the handle toward your navel.
In the bottom position, let your shoulder blades move — that is, protract forward.
Pull your elbows back. Squeeze your shoulder blades tightly together at the end.
Brake under control and let your shoulder blades travel far into the stretch.
The most common mistake is the torso rising on every rep. If the angle of your upper body changes during the pull, the weight is too heavy.
Pull-up
Start the movement by gripping the bar with an underhand or overhand grip and pulling yourself up to hang from it. In the starting position your shoulder blades may be actively (not fully relaxed) up, because that is precisely the stretch position.
Pull yourself up toward the ceiling so that your chin passes above the bar.
Lower yourself back down under control, braking to the bottom position and a good stretch for the lats.
If you can't do a pull-up yet, effective ways to progress are an assisted machine, resistance-band assistance and negative reps, where you jump to the top position and lower yourself slowly under control. The lat pulldown is also a good substitute exercise.
How many exercises and sets for back training?
Research shows that a suitable number of working sets per week falls between 5 and 20 for most people (Schoenfeld 2017). In addition, a muscle group develops best when it's loaded at least twice a week (Schoenfeld 2016; Baz-Valle 2022). Note that the upper end of the set range isn't a target. More volume isn't automatically better, and too high a total load worsens set quality and recovery. The right amount is found by tracking whether your working weights and reps are progressing. Read more about what a good gym program takes into account.
Practical recommendations for the back:
3–5 back exercises per week. Fewer leaves out one function entirely; more is rarely needed until your weekly volume is already high.
1–3 back exercises in a single session.
Two back sessions per week — that is, the week's sets split across two days.
Rep ranges follow the same logic as for other muscle groups:
1–6 reps: strength-focused
6–15 reps: muscle growth — the bulk of the work is best built around this
12–20 reps: works well for some isolation exercises and especially for the rear delts.
You shouldn't do all your exercises in the same rep range; within a week it's worth loading the back across different rep ranges too, ensuring you activate different fiber types over the course of the week.
Set numbers are individual and often land between 5 and 20 sets per week depending on the person, their life situation and their training background. So you can't say "if you're an intermediate lifter, you should do this many sets per week": the number of sets is a far more individual variable, one that should also adapt to fit you ever better as your training progresses.
A ready-made back workout you can do right away
A workable back program is built from four pieces:
A vertical pull – lat pulldown, pull-up or cable pullover
A horizontal pull – some row variation
Isolation for the rear delts – face pull, reverse pec deck
Enough volume – 5–20 sets per week.
Below are example back workouts you can drop straight into your program. They're built on a base where the back is trained twice a week. Start with a 5–10 minute warm-up, including 1–2 warm-up sets.
Here the back portion of the program is split across two sessions. This fits a full-body program or an upper/lower split — so these aren't pure "back days"; in that case the volume and exercise count would be higher. If you train with a push-pull-legs program, for example, you can add 1–2 exercises to it.
Back workout 1, fits a full-body program or an upper/lower split:
Exercise and key technique points | Sets × reps | Target muscle |
|---|---|---|
Lat pulldown (pronated grip) | 3×6–10 | Lats |
Seated cable row | 4×7–10 | Mid- and lower trapezius, rhomboids, rear delt |
Face pull | 4×12–15 | Rear delt |
Back workout 2, fits a full-body program or an upper/lower split:
Exercise and key technique points | Sets × reps | Target muscle |
|---|---|---|
Chest-supported row | 4×10–12 | Rhomboids, trapezius, rear delt |
Pull-up or underhand-grip lat pulldown | 2×6–10 | Lats, biceps |
Cable pullover | 3×10–15 | Lats |
Rear delts on a machine | 3×10–15 | Rear delt |
The weekly volume then comes to 8 sets for the lats, 8 sets for the upper back and 7 sets for the rear delts.
Keep 2–3 minute rests on the big exercises and 1–2 minutes on isolation work; longer rests are also fine if you don't feel sufficiently recovered in the stated time. The spinal erectors get enough stimulus from the deadlifts and Romanian deadlifts in your leg training, so a separate back extension usually isn't needed. These programs also fit as part of a 3-way split routine, though in that case you could add one or two more exercises.
Note: These are examples, not programs individualized for you. The right number of sets and exercises depends on your total load and recovery, and the same program can be too light for one person and too much for another.
How do you progress in back training?
Without progression the back won't develop, no matter how good the exercises are. One common way to progress is rep progression, for example: keep the weight the same and add reps until the top of the target range is met in all sets. After that, increase the weight and start again from the lower end.
In the pull-up, progression works a little differently. First you build reps with your own bodyweight, and once, say, 3 sets × 10 reps succeeds, you add weight with a belt or a vest. In the assisted version you go the opposite way: the amount of assistance is reduced gradually.
Remember that differences between machines and small changes in technique cause variation in results. That's why it's worth comparing the results of the same exercise on the same machine and with the same grip.
If your weights stop increasing, first check that you're training with a suitable volume, that your recovery is in order, and that you've chosen suitable back exercises for your training.
Back training at the gym for women — is it any different?
No, it isn't. The physiological basics of muscle growth and strength are very similar regardless of sex, so exercise selection, rep ranges and set numbers follow the same principles. That said, women often tolerate volume better than men and can do more work per session, which is explained, for example, by a different ratio of muscle fiber types. A separate "women's back workout" doesn't exist.
In practice, the differences come down to three things.
Starting level in upper-body movements. Relative upper-body strength is on average lower in women, so the pull-up often can't be done with bodyweight at first. This is neither a problem nor an obstacle. The lat pulldown, assisted pull-ups and negative reps are perfectly workable options, and the pull-up can be brought in later. Being able to do pull-ups is also a great training goal for many women. Upper-body strength also develops relatively quickly in women in the early stages of training.
Goals. The most commonly mentioned back-training goals for women are posture, endurance and health of the neck and shoulder area, and a stronger shoulder line — as well as, of course, muscle growth and a more athletic look. All of these come from the same exercises as muscle growth and strength in general.
The worry about "getting wide." Muscle-mass gain is slow in both men and women, and the back muscles grow at the same pace as the others. Back training doesn't accidentally make anyone massive. In practice, a well-trained upper back makes the body look better and more capable.
If the goal is toning up, what's decisive is energy balance, not exercise selection. More on the topic: a toning gym program.
Back training and posture — what do we actually know?
Back training is often justified by posture, and the justification is usually presented as a chain: desk work tightens the chest muscles, the upper back weakens, the shoulders roll forward, and this leads to neck and shoulder pain. Back training is said to break the chain.
This is a common explanation to hear, and there's certainly some truth to it. The research behind it, however, is thinner than is usually implied. It's true that prolonged sitting can increase the risk of lower-back pain, among other things, but regular movement and strength training reduce it. The link between posture and pain has turned out to be weak. Posture varies a great deal between people, and much of that variation is completely symptom-free.
That doesn't mean back training isn't useful — and good posture does look good, too. On the contrary: strength training for the upper back and neck-shoulder area reduces pain in office workers, and there's reasonably good research evidence for this (Andersen et al. 2008). The benefit comes from the muscles getting stronger and tolerating load better.
The practical conclusion is the same either way: it's worth training your back regularly, and for posture in particular, emphasizing horizontal rows. Back training doesn't "fix posture" mechanically, though — that requires a more conscious change in habits, since posture is largely a neural matter.
If your upper back has been under-trained for a long time, the most sensible addition to your program is a row variation through a full range of motion and an exercise for the rear delts. Both are already included in the programs above.
Back training at home
The back is the hardest upper-body muscle group to train without equipment, because nearly all effective exercises require pulling against something. At home, the following work best.
Exercise | Equipment | Sets × reps |
|---|---|---|
Pull-up or negative pull-up | Pull-up bar | 3–4 × max |
Bodyweight row against a table | Sturdy table | 3–4 × 8–20 |
Single-arm bent-over row | Dumbbell or water canister | 3 × 8–15/arm |
Resistance-band row | Band anchored in place | 3 × 12–20 |
Home training has limitations that are worth being aware of.
Adjusting the load is harder. In bodyweight exercises you can't add weight in small increments, so progression happens through reps, range of motion and leverage. In the bodyweight row, how horizontal your body is adjusts the difficulty steplessly.
A band's resistance curve is unfavorable for back training. A band gives the least resistance when it's shortest, i.e. at the start of the movement, and the most when it's most stretched, i.e. at the end. In back exercises this falls so that the load is at its lowest exactly in the position where the muscle is at its longest. A band works, but it doesn't replace a cable or free weights over the long term.
If the goal is muscle growth, the gym is a clearly more effective environment for the back than home, unless you set up more ways to load the muscles at home. Here's a closer comparison: home training vs the gym.
Why don't you feel back training in your back?
This is the most common and, at the same time, the most needless source of frustration in back training.
The mind-muscle feeling isn't directly related to muscle growth or results. Muscle growth comes from the muscle being loaded. This is the most important point. It's intuitive to think that, to grow, a muscle would always have to be clearly felt. But especially with the back, that often isn't possible or necessary.
Technique and back anatomy. The back muscles are harder to feel than the biceps or the quads, because you can't see them and don't perceive their movement as easily. If you use good technique, you barely need to think about the feeling.
Your grip gives out first. If your forearms burn before your back tires, the target muscle doesn't get enough stimulus. Lifting straps help and shift the limiting factor to the back, not to your grip strength.
Too short a range of motion. If the shoulder blades are kept locked, the range of motion stays short and the muscle doesn't go properly into a stretch. In that case the pull, the sensation and the muscle growth all end up lackluster.
Single-arm exercises can also help here. In the single-arm lat pulldown and the single-arm row, focusing on technique is often easier and the stretch is deeper. They also make it easy to correct muscle imbalances, for example, and to build strength evenly.
The most common mistakes in back training, summarized:
Mistake 1: Locking the shoulder blades for the whole movement. The most common mistake, and the one with the biggest impact. It shortens the range of motion at exactly the point where the stretch happens.
Mistake 2: A limited exercise selection, or treating the back as a single muscle. Doing only vertical pulls, for example, leaves an important part of the back muscles under-loaded and predisposes you to muscle imbalances.
Mistake 3: Too wide a grip on the lat pulldown. A common belief is that a wide grip builds a wider back. In research, grip width showed no difference in latissimus dorsi activity (Lusk et al. 2010). A very wide grip shortens the range of motion and loads the shoulders needlessly. A grip slightly wider than shoulder width is best for most people, because it offers a long range of motion and is often the safest option.
Mistake 4: Pulling behind the neck. Muscle activity is no higher than when pulling to the front, and the movement increases load on the shoulder joint. People with long forearms and short collarbones in particular should avoid this variation.
Mistake 5: Swinging and a shortened range of motion. If your torso rises on every rep in a bent-over row, or a pull-up doesn't start from straight arms, the exercise doesn't deliver as good a result as it could.
Mistake 6: All back exercises in the same session. Grip strength tires easily and the last exercises end up ineffective.
Mistake 7: Progression isn't tracked. The same weight and the same reps month after month won't develop you, even if your technique is perfect.
Mistake 8: Back exercises at the end of the session. If you want to prioritize your back, it's worth placing the exercises earlier. Big, demanding exercises like pull-ups in particular are best done at the start of the session. With pull-ups especially, it's also worth taking a slightly longer rest than usual — many lifters report needing a longer recovery time here between efforts.
On back-training research, and the lat pulldown with a narrow or wide grip?
This is an interesting subject. Although there's plenty of research on muscle growth, almost all of it focuses on the biceps, triceps and quads. There's essentially no longitudinal research on the growth of the back muscles, because measuring them is difficult: the deeper back muscles are hard to image reliably with ultrasound, and MRI is expensive and slow, so many labs don't yet use it.
Recommendations for back training are based on three things: anatomy and biomechanics, training studies done on other muscles, and muscle-activity measurements (EMG). Direct long-term studies comparing, for example, the effect of the lat pulldown and the pull-up on back-muscle growth haven't been published so far.
A few things are known, however. In muscle-activity studies, the pronated grip on the lat pulldown produced greater latissimus dorsi activity than the supinated grip (Lusk et al. 2010; Signorile et al. 2002), whereas in the pull-up no such grip difference was found (Youdas et al. 2010). In the underhand pull-up the biceps and, surprisingly, the pec too did more work. We also know that rowing movements aren't good biceps exercises: in an eight-week study, the biceps curl produced roughly twice the biceps growth compared to rowing (Mannarino et al. 2021).
It's also worth remembering that muscle activity isn't the same thing as muscle growth. An EMG measurement tells you about momentary electrical activity, not about how much a muscle grows over months of training. So these results are best treated as indicative.
The practical significance is that the differences between individual variations are small. What matters more is that you get enough vertical and horizontal pulls, that the range of motion is full and that your training progresses. You don't need to spend energy pondering a single grip variation.
How AITOFIT builds your back workout for you
In a good back workout, what's decisive isn't just the choice of exercises, but also their number, their timing and their development over time. Too many sets in a single session lowers quality, while too few can slow progress. Repeating the same exercises for months without changes can also make training one-dimensional.
AITOFIT determines a weekly volume that suits you based on your experience level, your recovery and your progress. It splits the sets between sessions, makes sure the program includes both vertical and horizontal pulls, and updates exercises when there's a justified reason to. The app also adjusts the training load according to how your performance develops.
The app splits the sets between sessions, makes sure the program includes both vertical and horizontal pulls, and updates exercises when there's a justified reason to. It also adjusts the training load according to how you progress. Read more about how AI builds a gym program.
Try the AITOFIT app free for 9 days and see what kind of back workout the AI builds just for you.Frequently asked questions about back training
How often should you train your back? Twice a week, or otherwise more at once. Research supports a muscle group developing well with two sessions a week (Schoenfeld 2016; Baz-Valle 2022), but even once a week, up to around 10 sets, is good based on newer research. For the back, splitting is especially worthwhile, because grip strength tires and limits performance if all back exercises are done in the same session.
Are the lat pulldown and seated cable row enough for a good back workout? Pretty much, yes. They cover both main pulling directions and most of the back muscles. For a more complete package, though, it's worth adding more variations, such as the pullover, plus an exercise for the rear delts and, if needed, a shrug for the upper trapezius.
Which is better, the pull-up or the lat pulldown? Both are good, and they aren't mutually exclusive. The pull-up involves more torso-stabilizing muscles, while the lat pulldown allows more precise load adjustment and is easier to take through a full range of motion. If you can't do a pull-up yet, the lat pulldown is a perfectly workable option.
Should you use a pronated or supinated grip on the lat pulldown? Based on muscle-activity studies, the pronated grip produces greater latissimus dorsi activity on the lat pulldown (Lusk et al. 2010; Signorile et al. 2002). In the pull-up no such difference was found (Youdas et al. 2010). In practice, it's worth using both across different sessions.
Does a wide grip make the back wider? Not any more than a narrower grip. In Lusk et al.'s (2010) study, grip width didn't affect latissimus dorsi activity on the lat pulldown. A very wide grip shortens the range of motion and can load the shoulders. A grip slightly wider than shoulder width is the best choice for most people.
Is the deadlift a back exercise? Partly. The deadlift loads the spinal erectors and the trapezius to some degree, but it isn't an effective exercise for the lats and it doesn't build back width. The deadlift isn't worth counting as a back-training exercise, since it's a leg exercise.
Do you need lifting straps for back training? They're useful if your grip is the limiting factor. If your grip gives out before your back tires, the target muscle doesn't get full stimulus. Straps shift the training's focus better onto the back.
Should you pull your shoulder blades together before the pull? No — this is a common myth. You shouldn't keep the shoulder blades locked for the whole movement. Let them move during the lowering phase of the seated cable row and return toward the spine in the bottom position of the row. That way the range of motion and stretch are full. A neutral spine position is a different matter, and is worth maintaining.
Is back training different for women? No, it isn't. The exercises, rep ranges and set numbers are the same. The difference is mainly in the starting level: the pull-up often requires more training, and an assisted version or the lat pulldown works well instead.
Does back training improve posture? Upper-back training has been shown to reduce neck and shoulder pain (Andersen et al. 2008), but the link between posture and pain is weaker than is often claimed. Back training is worth doing, but it doesn't mechanically "fix" your posture. Simple claims like "the lat pulldown strengthens the back muscles and improves posture" don't hold up as such when it comes to posture — posture is a more complex whole. A strong back supports the spine and makes it easier to maintain good posture and controlled movement. Back training done through a full range of motion can also maintain or improve mobility.
Is the back the body's biggest muscle group? No — this is a myth. The myth is based on the lats often being considered the body's largest muscle by surface area. Surface area, however, doesn't tell you about muscle mass: the quads and glutes are considerably larger muscle groups. The back is the upper body's biggest muscle group, but not the biggest in the whole body. This myth is often used to justify unnecessarily high set numbers for back training.
Can you train your back at home? Yes, but an important note is that the exercise selection is more limited. The pull-up, bodyweight row and band exercises do work, though. Adjusting the load and optimizing the range of motion are easier at the gym.
Summary
A good back workout doesn't require a complicated program. It requires three things: both vertical and horizontal pulls over the week, a full range of motion in which the shoulder blades are allowed to move, and enough — but not excessive — training volume, i.e. the number of sets.
Decisions about set numbers and exercises in back training are best made on the basis of anatomy and biomechanics, not randomly and not by overthinking grip technique or the mind-muscle feeling. In your results, the whole is what counts: enough training volume, good technique and progressive loading take you further than searching for the perfect feeling or grip.
Try the AITOFIT app free for 9 days: you'll get a back workout and a program built for your training volumes and your recovery.
Sources Andersen, L.L. et al. 2008. Effect of two contrasting types of physical exercise on chronic neck muscle pain. Arthritis & Rheumatism 59 (1), 84–91. Baz-Valle, E. et al. 2022. A Systematic Review of the Effects of Different Resistance Training Volumes on Muscle Hypertrophy. Journal of Human Kinetics 81, 199–210. Lusk, S.J., Hale, B.D. & Russell, D.M. 2010. Grip Width and Forearm Orientation Effects on Muscle Activity During the Lat Pull-Down. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 24 (7), 1895–1900. Mannarino, P. et al. 2021. Analysis of the Effects of Dumbbell Row and Dumbbell Curl on Elbow Flexor Hypertrophy. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Marchetti, P.H. & Uchida, M.C. 2011. Effects of the Pullover Exercise on the Pectoralis Major and Latissimus Dorsi Muscles as Evaluated by EMG. Journal of Applied Biomechanics 27, 380–384. Schoenfeld, B.J. et al. 2016. Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine 46 (11), 1689–1697. Schoenfeld, B.J. et al. 2017. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass. Journal of Sports Sciences 35 (11), 1073–1082. Signorile, J.F., Zink, A.J. & Szwed, S.P. 2002. A Comparative Electromyographical Investigation of Muscle Utilization Patterns Using Various Hand Positions During the Lat Pull Down. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 16 (4), 539–546. Snyder, B.J. & Leech, J.R. 2009. Voluntary Increase in Latissimus Dorsi Muscle Activity During the Lat Pull-Down Following Expert Instruction. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 23 (8), 2204–2209. Youdas, J.W. et al. 2010. Surface Electromyographic Activation Patterns and Elbow Joint Motion During a Pull-Up, Chin-Up, or Perfect-Pullup Rotational Exercise. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 24 (12), 3404–3414.
Author: Master of Sports Sciences Julius Granlund, University of Jyväskylä | Reviewed by: Master of Sports Sciences Tapio Tulenheimo, University of Jyväskylä
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