The Best Cable Back Workouts and Exercises for a Wide Back

Cable back workouts are fantastic for building a strong, wide back. 

Yet, many gymgoers skip them simply because they’re not aware of the benefits or don’t know which cable back exercises to choose or how to put together a good workout.

We’re going to straighten all this out in this article.

In it, you’ll learn the best cable back exercises, how to fit them into productive back workouts with cables, why training your back with cables is beneficial, tips for maximizing your gains, and more.  

Table of Contents

• 8 Best Cable Back Exercises
• 1. Seated Cable Row
• 2. Single Arm Cable Row
• 3. Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
• 4. Close-Grip Lat Pulldown
• 5. Cable Straight Arm Pulldown
• 6. Cable Face Pull
• 7. Reverse Cable Fly
• 8. Cable Upright Row
• The Best Back Workouts Using Cables
• Cable Back Workout #1
• Cable Back Workout #2
• The Benefits of Doing Back Exercises Using Cables
• 1. They keep constant tension on your muscles. 
• 2. They’re adaptable.
• 3. They’re versatile.  
• 3 Tips for Better Back Cable Workouts
• 1. End every set 1-to-3 reps shy of muscle failure.
• 2. Once you hit the top of your rep range for a set, move up in weight. 
• 3. Take the right supplements.
• Who Should Do Cable Machine Back Workouts?
• Cable Back Workouts: FAQs
• 1. What are the best lower back exercises on cables?
• 2. Are back workouts on cable machines effective for gaining muscle?
• 3. What are the best cable machine back exercises for lats?

8 Best Cable Back Exercises

For a back workout using cables to be effective, it must include exercises that train all the back muscles through a full range of motion, allow you to lift heavy weights safely, and facilitate regular progress. 

The following back exercise using cables meet these criteria perfectly, which is why they’re the best exercises to include in your cable back workouts. 

1. Seated Cable Row

Why: The seated cable row trains all the muscle groups on the back of your upper body, including the rhomboids, latissimus dorsi, erector spinae, and trapezius. It also allows you to lift heavy weights safely and progress often, so it’s highly effective for gaining see and strength. That’s why all good back workouts with cables include the seated cable row. 

How:

1. Sit on the cable row machine and place your feet on the footrest with your knees slightly bent.
2. Lean forward and grab the handle with your palms facing each other, then lean back with your arms stretched in front of you.
3. Straighten your back and pull the rope toward your stomach.
4. Once your hands touch your torso, reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

[Read More: How to Do the Seated Cable Row: Muscles Worked, Form, and Alternatives]

2. Single Arm Cable Row

Why: The single-arm cable row trains your back similarly to the seated cable row. The difference is it trains each side of your body independently, which helps you find and fix muscle imbalances. It’s also an excellent cable back exercise for anyone who struggles to establish a strong “mind-muscle connection” with their back muscles since it allows you to focus on each side separately.

How:

1. Attach a single handle to the cable row machine pulley, then sit down on the seat and place your feet on the footrest with your knees slightly bent.
2. Lean forward and grab the handle with your right hand, then lean back with your right arm stretched in front of you.
3. Straighten your back and pull the rope toward your stomach.
4. Once your right hand touches your torso, reverse the movement and return to the starting position.
5. Once you complete the desired number of reps, repeat the process on your left side. 

[Read More: How to Do the Bent-Over Dumbbell Row]

3. Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown

Why: The wide-grip lat pulldown is a top-tier cable machine back exercise because it trains every muscle in your back, particularly the lats. These muscles are vital for widening your back and giving you the “X” physique most guys want. 

How:

1. Adjust the thigh pad so that it locks your lower body in place.
2. Stand up and grab the straight bar slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. While keeping your grip on the bar and your arms straight, sit down, allowing your body weight to pull the bar down with you.
3. Nudge your thighs under the pads and plant your feet on the floor. 
4. Pull the bar toward your chest.
5. Once the bar is underneath your chin, reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

[Read More: How to Do the Lat Pulldown: Form, Benefits, & Variations]

4. Close-Grip Lat Pulldown

Why: The close-grip lat pulldown is a highly effective cable pulldown variation that trains your entire back. Unlike the wide-grip variation, however, it emphasizes your rear delts, making it a vital component of a balanced back cable workout.

How:

1. Attach a V-bar to the lat pulldown machine pulley, then adjust the thigh pad so that it locks your lower body in place.
2. Stand up and grab the handle. While keeping your grip on the handle and your arms straight, sit down, allowing your body weight to pull the bar down with you.
3. Nudge your thighs under the pads and plant your feet on the floor. 
4. Pull the handle toward your chest.
5. Once the handle is underneath your chin, reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

[Read More: Close-Grip Lat Pulldown: Form, Benefits & Variations]

5. Cable Straight Arm Pulldown

Why: The cable straight-arm pullover is a fantastic exercise to include in a cable back workout because it trains your lats when fully stretched and through a long range of motion, which is important for building muscle. 

How:

1. Set the pulley to the highest position on a cable machine and attach the rope handle.
2. Hold one end of the rope in each hand, and step away from the pulley until you feel tension in the cable.
3. Lean forward until your body makes a 45-degree angle with the floor and your arms are nearly straight overhead. 
4. Set your feet shoulder-width apart and bend your knees a little.
5. Keep a slight bend in your elbows and pull the rope in an arc toward your feet until your hands are by your thighs or a little past them.
6. Reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

[Read More: How to Do the Cable Pullover: Muscles Worked, Form, and Alternatives]

6. Cable Face Pull

Why: Many people think of the face pull as a shoulder or rotator cuff exercise, but since it trains all the upper back muscles, it’s actually one of the most effective cable back exercises you can do. 

How: 

1. Set the pulley on a cable machine to eye level and attach the rope handle. 
2. Grip one end of the rope in each hand, then take a few steps away from the pulley to create tension in the cable and stretch your arms in front of you.
3. Stand up straight with a slight knee bend and place your feet shoulder-width apart. While keeping your elbows up, pull the rope toward your eyes, allowing your hands to pull the rope apart until your hands are above your shoulders.
4. Reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

[Read More: How to Do the Face Pull: Benefits, Form, & Alternatives]

7. Reverse Cable Fly

Why: The reverse cable fly trains all your upper back muscles, including your rear delts. Training your rear delts with effective cable back exercises is critical for developing proportional shoulders. 

How:

1. Set both pulleys on a dual cable machine to head height or slightly above.
2. Grip the ball at the end of the right-hand cable in your left hand and the ball at the end of the left-hand cable in your right hand, then stand centrally between the pulleys.
3. Take 1-to-2 steps backward and raise your arms out in front of you.
4. While keeping slightly bent elbows, pull your hands away from each other until your arms are directly out to your sides (or slightly behind your body).
5. Reverse the movement and return to the starting position. 

[Read More: Machine Reverse Fly: Alternatives, Muscles Worked & Form]

8. Cable Upright Row

Why: The cable upright row trains the side and rear delts and upper traps, which, when well-developed, help “frame” the upper body and aesthetically connect the neck to the shoulders and upper back.

How:

1. Set the pulley on a cable machine to the lowest setting and attach the straight bar handle. 
2. Stand upright in front of a cable machine and hold the straight bar in front of your thighs, palms facing you.
3. Lift the handle toward your chin until your upper arms are parallel with the floor, keeping your elbows higher than your forearms throughout the movement. 
4. Reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

[Read More: Barbell Upright Row: Muscles Worked, Alternatives, and Form]

The Best Back Workouts Using Cables

You now know the best cable back exercises for training your entire back. Now, let’s discuss how to organize these exercises into effective cable back workouts. 

The following workouts contain the best back exercises on cables and the perfect amount of volume and intensity to build a wide, thick back without wearing you to a frazzle.

For best results, do Cable Back Workout #1 once weekly for 8-to-10 weeks as part of a well-designed training program, take a deload, and then replace Cable Back Workout #1 with Cable Back Workout #2 for the following 8-to-10 weeks.

After that, you can follow the same pattern every 8-to-10 weeks of training or create your own cable machine back workouts using the exercises above.

Cable Back Workout #1

Cable Back Workout #2

The Benefits of Doing Back Exercises Using Cables

1. They keep constant tension on your muscles. 

Unlike free weights, cables keep constant tension on your muscles throughout an exercise’s entire range of motion. While this doesn’t mean they’re superior, it means they train your muscles slightly differently than free weights, which is likely beneficial for anyone trying to maximize muscle mass growth. 

2. They’re adaptable.

Cable machines are highly adaptable. For example, you can change the height of the pulley, use different handles, adjust the angle of resistance by standing, sitting, or altering the direction you’re facing, and so on. 

This flexibility allows you to adapt the machine to suit how you like to train and what you’re trying to achieve.

3. They’re versatile.  

Because cable machines are adaptable, they allow you to train your muscles in myriad ways. The benefit of training your muscles from different angles and through varying ranges of motion is that it produces more balanced growth than less varied training. 

3 Tips for Better Back Cable Workouts

1. End every set 1-to-3 reps shy of muscle failure.

As I explain in my fitness books for men and women, to maximize your results, you must take most of the sets in your cable back workouts to within a rep or two of failure.

Ask yourself at the end of each set, “If I had to, how many more reps could I have gotten with good form?” If the answer is more than two, increase the weight or reps to make your next set more challenging.

2. Once you hit the top of your rep range for a set, move up in weight. 

If your back cable workout calls for 4-to-6 reps of the seated cable row and you get 6 reps for a set, add 10 pounds to your next set.

If you manage 3 or fewer reps with the new weight, reduce the weight by 5 pounds to ensure you stay in the 4-to-6 rep range. 

Follow this pattern of trying to add reps or weight to every exercise in every workout.

3. Take the right supplements.

These supplements can help you optimize your performance and gains while following a cable back workout routine:

• Protein powder: Protein powder, such as whey or casein, provides your body with the nutrients needed to build muscle tissue and recover from workouts.
• Creatine: Creatine boosts muscle and strength gain, improves anaerobic endurance, and reduces muscle damage and soreness from your workouts.
• Pre-workout: A high-quality pre-workout enhances energy, mood, and focus, increases strength and endurance, and reduces fatigue.

(If you’d like even more specific advice about which supplements you should take to reach your health and fitness goals, take the Legion Supplement Finder Quiz, and in less than a minute, you’ll know exactly what supplements are right for you.)

Who Should Do Cable Machine Back Workouts?

Cable back exercises are ideal for anyone looking to gain muscle and strength, so it’s smart for most gymgoers to include at least one or two in their program.

Whether you should only do cable machine back workouts is slightly more complicated.

While cable back workouts (workouts that only include cable back exercises) can be effective, they’re probably not quite as effective for gaining whole-body muscle and strength as free-weight back workouts that include exercises like the deadlift, bent over row, and pull-up.

This is primarily because you usually can’t lift as heavy or work as many muscles at the same time with cables.

Nevertheless, back cable workouts can be a good way to train in some scenarios, especially if:

• You have lower back issues: Cable back exercises typically don’t load your spine, making them ideal for those with lower back problems. 
• You’re new to strength training: Back exercises with cables are generally easy to learn, making them ideal for beginner weightlifters. 
• You have limited equipment: Even poorly stocked gyms (hotel gyms, for example) usually have a cable machine, so you can train your entire back regardless of your circumstance. 
• You enjoy training with cables: If you like cable back workouts, you’re more likely to stick with them and see better results than doing exercises and workouts you dislike.

Cable Back Workouts: FAQs

1. What are the best lower back exercises on cables?

When you perform the seated cable row or single-arm cable row correctly, you move slightly forward and back at the hips, which trains your lower back. For an exercise that isolates the lower back, the cable back extension is a good option. Here’s how they look:

2. Are back workouts on cable machines effective for gaining muscle?

Yes, cable back workouts are highly effective for gaining muscle, provided you train close to failure and lift progressively heavier weights over time. To learn more about how to maximize the muscle-building effects of strength training, check out this article:

The Best Way to Stimulate Muscle Hypertrophy (Build Muscle)

3. What are the best cable machine back exercises for lats?

The best cable machine back exercises for the lats are the seated cable row, single-arm cable row, lat pulldown (wide and close grip), and straight-arm pulldown.