Top 10 Dumbbell Exercises For A Bigger And Stronger Back
A strong back is an excellent way to prevent pain and injury and will help improve your posture too.
The following exercises are great for building muscle and strength in your back, and best of all you only need some dumbbells to perform them.
They can be performed anywhere, even in the comfort of your own home.
Remember you can only get good results with good form and the right nutrition. Be sure to check the new super supplements being used by professional weight lifters by checking the latest weekly rankings below.
You may have heard that using a barbell is the better option for building muscle and strength, and while this is true in some cases a pair of dumbbells may be the better option.
Dumbbells offer a range of benefits that you cannot experience when using a traditional barbell.
Greater stabilization and activation – Using a pair of dumbbells will require greater stabilization, so more muscle fibers will be activated, resulting in greater gains over time.
Helps you overcome strength imbalances – If one side is stronger than the other then using a dumbbell will help overcome any imbalance. This is because they are being forced to work unilaterally.
They are safer to use – If you are using a barbell without a spotter then you are at a greater risk of becoming trapped underneath the bar. With dumbbells as long as you don’t drop them on yourself then you should be safer.
Increased range of motion – Increasing the range of motion when performing any exercise will help to overload your muscles and therefore ensure more muscle is built.
Freedom of movement – Using a barbell will allow you to move in a set range of motion. Dumbbells will give you more flexibility, which will allow you to hit a muscle from different angles.
Fewer injuries – A more natural range of motion, along with the elimination of muscle imbalances will reduce the likelihood of injury.
More suitable for a home gym – If you fancy working out at home then a pair of dumbbells may be a better option than a barbell. They don’t take up much space, and you won’t need a squat rack to use them.
10 Dumbbell Back Exercises
You will find below 10 of the best dumbbell back exercises. Make sure you warm up before you perform them and that you use the correct form. This will help prevent injury from occurring.
1. Bent-Over Narrow Row
This particular exercise will target your lats, rhomboids, and the erector spinae, a group of muscles used to maintain the correct posture and the curvature of the spinal column.
To perform this exercise you should:
Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Your knees should have a slight bend in them.
Bend from your hips at 45-degrees.
Extend your arms fully. They should hang in a straight line from your chest with your palms facing each other.
You should aim to pull the dumbbells up towards the bottom of your rib cage. You should try and keep your elbows in tight so that they skim your sides.
At the top of the movement, squeeze your shoulder blades together for a second before releasing and returning slowly to the start position to complete 1 rep.
2. Bent Over Wide Row
The bent-over wide row is similar to the narrow row variety. It will work your lats, rhomboids, rear deltoids, and your erector spinae. It can be performed by:
Holding a dumbbell in each hand.
Standing with your feet hip-width apart with a slight bend in your knees.
Hinge forward 46-degrees at your hips.
As with the narrow version, start with your arms outstretched, hanging in a straight line from your chest. For this back exercise, your palms should be facing behind you.
Pull the dumbbells up towards the bottom of your rib cage. This time your elbows should be wide.
Again, squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the exercise before returning to the starting position.
3. Stiff Leg Deadlifts
When performed with a barbell this is better known as a lower body exercise that will work your hamstrings.
For the sake of this article, we will focus on its ability to target your back. In particular your lats, traps, and erector spinae.
You can perform stiff leg deadlifts by:
Holding a dumbbell in each hand and standing shoulder-width apart.
Keep your arms fully extended at your side.
Keep your shoulder blades retracted and your spine in a neutral position. Next, hinge forward at your hips, and lower the dumbbells down the front of your legs. You should feel your hamstrings pull at this part.
Engage both your glutes and upper back to pull yourself back to the starting position.
While performing this exercise try not to let your back bend forwards, or to allow your shoulders to roll inwards.
4. Reverse Fly
This exercise will target your rhomboids, rear deltoids, traps, and erector spinae. Use the following method to perform this back exercise:
Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your feet placed hip-width apart.
Lean forward from your hips. Push your hips back and try to keep a slight bend in your knees.
Your arms should hang in front of you with the dumbbells together and your palms facing each other.
Slightly bend your elbows and perform a reverse fly. This will involve spreading your arms wide and raising them, making sure to squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the movement.
Return to the starting position. You should keep your core tight throughout this exercise.
5. Upright Row
The upright row will target your traps, which is a large surface muscle that extends longitudinally from the occipital bone to the lower thoracic vertebrae of the spine and laterally to the spine of the scapula, and the rhomboids, which is located in the upper back and connects the shoulder blades to the rib cage and spine.
To perform this exercise you will:
Start the exercise with your feet shoulder-width apart. You should be holding a dumbbell in each hand with your arms fully extended by your sides. The palms of your hands should be facing behind you with dumbbells perpendicular to your legs.
Using your traps, you should pull the dumbbells upwards whilst bending your elbows. The aim here is to move the dumbbells in a straight line upwards while your elbows go wide.
The dumbbells should be raised as high as your collar bones. At this point, your elbows should be in line with your ears, with your upper traps fully contracted.
Hold this position for 2 seconds before returning to the start position to complete a single rep.
6. Chest Supported Supinated Row
This particular back exercise will focus primarily on your lats and rhomboids.
To perform this exercise you will need an incline bench. Please use the following instructions:
Set up the bench at a 45-degree incline. Next, rest your chest against the backrest with your feet flat on the floor with straight legs or bent legs supported and placed on the seat part of the bench.
Holding a dumbbell in each hand, extend your arms until they are hanging in a straight line from your chest. The dumbbells should be in a supinated grip with your palm facing forwards.
Pull each dumbbell up towards the lower part of your rib cage with your elbows tucked in.
Once you reach the top of the movement make sure to squeeze your scapular together for a second before returning to the starting position.
7. Kneeling Single Arm Row
This dumbbell back exercise will target your lets, traps, rhomboids, and rear deltoids.
The instructions on how to perform this exercise with correct form are as follows:
Place your knee on a horizontal bench. Your other leg should be placed out wide from the bench with your foot placed flat on the floor.
Use your non-working arm to support your upper body by placing your palm flat on the bench.
Your chest should face the bench with a neutral spine and neck throughout the exercise.
While holding a single dumbbell in your working hand, extend your arm fully until you can feel your rear deltoids stretching.
Pull the dumbbell up towards the bottom of your rib cage. Your elbow should skim your side as you perform this movement.
Hold at the top of the movement before returning o the starting position. Again making sure to feel your rear deltoids stretch before performing the next rep.
8. Shrugs
This particular exercise will target your lats and rhomboids. It can be performed by:
Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand extended at your sides.
Slightly retract your shoulders before raising them as high as possible towards your ears. Your upper traps should be fully contracted, with your arms straight throughout the exercise.
Hold the top position for 2 seconds before lowering to the starting position in a controlled manner.
9. Lat Pull-Overs
This back exercise will also target both your lats and rhomboids. Again you will need a flat or horizontal bench to perform the exercise.
It can be performed using the following instructions:
Lie flat on the bench with your feet flat on the floor.
Holding a dumbbell between your hands, extend your arms fully above your chest.
Lower the dumbbell down behind your head. You should try to keep a slight bend in your elbows during this movement.
You should stop as soon as you feel a good stretch through your lats.
To return to the starting position you should engage your lats and pull the dumbbell up so that your arms are fully extended above your chest.
10. Renegade Row
This final dumbbell back exercise will target your lats, traps, and rhomboids.
The instruction on how to perform this exercise is as follows:
Start the exercise in the push-up position holding a dumbbell in each hand.
Once you are in a stable position alternate bringing the dumbbells up towards your rib cage. Making sure that your elbow is skimming your sides during each row.
While performing the exercise try to avoid twisting through your hips or shoulders. You should also try to avoid excessive flexion through your wrists, so try to keep your wrists stacked above your hands.
Example Back Workout With Dumbbells
The following example back workout will use some of the exercises mentioned above. It will be suitable for most fitness levels, although you should select a weight and intensity that suits your individual fitness level.
While it is important that you push yourself each workout, you should never push yourself so that you forget to use the correct form. This will likely result in injury.
For this workout I would suggest using the following instructions:
The supersets will consist of 2 exercises that will be performed with a 30-45 second rest between them.
Each superset will be performed 3 times before you move onto the next superset.
Before you start the next superset has a 60-second rest.
Superset 1
Chest Supported Supinated Row x 15
Reverse Flyes x 10
Superset 2
Bent-Over Narrow Row x 15
Lat Pull-Overs x 10
Superset 3
Shrugs x 15
Single Arm Kneeling Row x 10
Final Thoughts
There are a huge number of back exercises you can perform. The 10 above are just a small selection.
These dumbbell exercises hit most of the muscles found in your back so in my opinion, are essential if you wish to build a bigger and stronger back.
Remember that if you want to grow you need to eat plenty of protein, and make sure you are getting the right kind of nutrients from your diet. You may also want to think about supplementing with whey protein and creatine to give you that little extra boost. Getting adequate rest is also incredibly important.