The Best Upper Back Exercises for Mass and Strength

Training your upper back muscles should be a priority for any serious weightlifter.

Well-developed upper back muscles balance your upper body aesthetics, improve your posture, and serve as the “scaffolding” that supports your torso during exercises like the squat, bench press, and deadlift.

In this article, you’ll learn how the muscles in the upper back fit together, the 13 best upper back exercises for gaining size and strength, a science-based upper back workout, and more.  

Table of Contents

• Anatomy of the Upper Back Muscles
• The Benefits of Training The Muscles in the Upper Back
• 1. It can help improve poor posture.
• 2.  It develops balanced size and strength.
• 3. It boosts your performance on other exercises.
• The 13 Best Upper Back Exercises
• 1. Deadlift
• 2. Romanian Deadlift
• 3. Rack Pull
• 4. Barbell Row
• 5. Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
• 6. Cable Row
• 7. Chest-Supported Row
• 8. Seal Row
• 9. Meadows Row
• 10. T-Bar Row
• 11. Upright Row
• 12. Face Pull
• 13. Dumbbell Rear Lateral Raise
• The Best Upper Back Workouts
• Upper Back Workouts: Tips
• 1. End every set 1-to-2 reps shy of muscle failure.
• 2. Once you hit the top of your rep range for one set, increase the weight.
• 3. Take the right supplements. 

Anatomy of the Upper Back Muscles

Here are the main muscles in the upper back and their functions:

• Trapezius: Often called the “traps,” this large superficial muscle spans from the neck to mid-back and is crucial for moving and stabilizing the shoulder blades.
• Rhomboids: These muscles lie beneath the trapezius and connect the spine to the shoulder blades, aiding their movement and postural support.
• Erector Spinae: A set of muscles running vertically alongside the spine vital for upright posture and rotation.
• Teres Muscles: Comprising the teres major and minor, they’re located near the scapula, assisting in arm rotation and movement toward the body’s center.
• Posterior Deltoids: Located on the shoulder’s backside, they help in moving the arm backward
• Infraspinatus: The infraspinatus is part of the rotator cuff and essential for shoulder stability.
• Accessory Muscles: Additional support muscles include the serratus posterior superior and serratus posterior inferior, which assist breathing by elevating and depressing the ribs, respectively.

Here’s how these muscles look on your body:

The Benefits of Training The Muscles in the Upper Back

The main benefits of strengthening the muscles in the upper back are:

1. It can help improve poor posture.

Many people with poor posture have weak upper back muscles. Strengthening them with effective upper back exercises helps you to pull your shoulder blades together and prevent excessive upper back rounding. 

2.  It develops balanced size and strength.

Many novice weightlifters prioritize upper body muscles visible from the front, like the pecs, delts, and arms, and neglect back training.

The consequence is that they build big, strong “mirror muscles” that overshadow their weak, underdeveloped back.  

Doing upper back workouts ensures your upper back muscles gain size and strength at a similar clip to your chest, shoulders, and biceps, so there’s no weak point in your physique or performance.

3. It boosts your performance on other exercises.

A strong upper back is essential if you want to lift heavy weights—it prevents you from tipping forward in the squat, stops your spine from rounding in the deadlift, and creates a stable base during the bench press.

Thus, strengthening your upper back muscles with effective upper back exercises boosts your performance on other exercises. 

The 13 Best Upper Back Exercises

1. Deadlift

The deadlift is one of the best upper back exercises because it trains your entire “posterior chain” and allows you to lift heavy weights safely and progress regularly, making it ideal for any upper back workout.

How to:

1. Position your feet slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed slightly out. 
2. Move a loaded barbell over your midfoot so it’s about an inch from your shins.
3. Take a deep breath into your belly, then place your hands on the bar just outside your shins with your palms facing you.
4. Flatten your back and drive your body upward and slightly back by pushing through your heels until you’re standing upright.
5. Reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

2. Romanian Deadlift

The Romanian deadlift trains the upper back much like the regular deadlift, and since it’s less fatiguing, you can do it more often without running yourself ragged.

How to:

1. Stand up straight holding a loaded barbell with a shoulder-width, overhand grip (palms facing your body). 
2. Flatten your back and lower the weights toward the floor in a straight line while keeping your legs mostly straight, allowing your butt to move backward as you descend. 
3. Once you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, bend your knees slightly more and continue lowering the weights until your lower back begins to round. 
4. Reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

3. Rack Pull

The rack pull trains your upper back muscles similarly to the deadlift, but because of its shorter range of motion, it allows you to lift heavier weights, which benefits muscle and strength gain. 

How to:

1. Place a loaded barbell on a squat rack’s safety arms at knee height or slightly lower.
2. Position the midfoot of both feet under the barbell slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed slightly out. 
3. Bend over and grab the bar with an overhand grip just outside your shins. 
4. Flatten your back and drive your body upward and slightly back by pushing through your heels until you’re standing up straight.
5. Reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

4. Barbell Row

The barbell row is highly effective for training your upper back muscles because it allows you to lift heavier weights relative to many other back exercises, which is vital for gaining muscle and strength. 

How to: 

1. Position your feet shoulder-width apart under a loaded barbell with your toes pointed slightly outward.
2. Bend over and grab the bar with a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip and your palms facing you. 
3. Straighten your back and raise your hips until your back is roughly parallel to the floor.
4. Driving through your legs, then, using the momentum generated by your lower body, squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull the bar to your upper body, touching it anywhere between your lower chest and belly button. 
5. Reverse the movement and return it to the starting position. 

5. Single-Arm Dumbbell Row

The single-arm dumbbell row trains your mid and upper back unilaterally (one side at a time), making it an excellent upper back exercise for finding and fixing muscle and strength imbalances.

How to: 

1. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand.
2. Plant your left knee and hand firmly on a bench, your right foot on the floor a foot or two from the bench, and let your right arm hang straight toward the floor.
3. Keeping your back straight, pull the dumbbell upward until it touches your torso, then return it to the starting position. 
4. Once you’ve completed the desired number of reps, repeat the process with your left arm.

6. Cable Row

The cable row keeps tension on your upper back muscles throughout each rep, taxing your back muscles slightly differently to free-weight upper back exercises.

How to:

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

7. Chest-Supported Row

The chest-supported row prevents you from using momentum to “cheat” the weight up, which means your upper back muscles do most of the work.

How to:

1. Set an incline bench to roughly a 30-degree angle.
2. Grab a dumbbell in each hand and lie prone on the bench with your feet on the floor and your arms extended toward the ground.
3. Pull the dumbbells upward until they’re by your sides.
4. Reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

8. Seal Row

Because you lie prone on a bench during the seal row, you can’t generate momentum with your lower body. This forces the muscles in the upper back to do the majority of the work and ensures you stimulate them sufficiently.

How to:

1. Place a loaded barbell under a seal row bench, then lie prone on the bench.
2. Grab the bar with a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip and your palms facing your feet. 
3. Pull the bar toward your upper body until it touches the underside of the bench.
4. Extend your arms and return to the starting position.

9. Meadows Row

Because you anchor the barbell at one end in the Meadows row, it trains the muscles in the upper back through a slightly different range of motion than other exercises in your upper back workouts, which benefits muscle gain. 

How to:

1. Wedge one end of a barbell into the corner of the room or insert it into a landmine attachment and load the other end with weight. 
2. Position your right foot perpendicular to the weighted end of the barbell and your left foot 2-to-3 feet behind your right. 
3. Bend over at the waist until your back is almost parallel with the floor, and grab the end of the barbell with your left hand.
4. Pull the bar until your hand touches your torso, then lower it to the starting position. 
5. Once you’ve completed the desired number of reps, repeat on your right side.

10. T-Bar Row

Like all compound upper back exercises, the T-bar row enables you to lift a lot of weight safely. Since you use a neutral grip (palms facing each other), it also trains the muscle groups in your back slightly differently than other rowing exercises.

How to:

1. Stand on the T-bar row machine’s footplate facing the weighted end of the bar and with the barbell between your legs.
2. While keeping your back flat and knees slightly bent, “hinge” forward until your upper body is at a 30-to-45-degree angle relative to the floor. 
3. Grab the handle with a neutral grip and lift the bar off the rest.
4. Pull the handle toward your body until it touches your torso.
5. Reverse the movement and return to the starting position. 

11. Upright Row

The upright row is a fantastic exercise for training your shoulders and upper back muscles, especially your rear delts and traps.

How to: 

1. Stand upright and hold a barbell in front of your thighs with your palms facing you.
2. Lift the bar straight upward until your upper arms are parallel with the floor, keeping your elbows higher than your forearms throughout the movement. 
3. Reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

12. Face Pull

Face pulls strengthen the shoulder and upper back muscles responsible for pulling horizontally toward your face and rotating your arm upward, which is difficult to do with any other exercise and may improve shoulder health.

How to:

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.

13. Dumbbell Rear Lateral Raise

As well as being one of the best dumbbell exercises for training your posterior deltoids, the dumbbell rear lateral raise effectively trains the traps and rhomboids. 

How to:

1. Whether standing or seated, bend at the hips so that your upper body is as close to parallel to the floor as possible.
2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, and while keeping your back flat, lift the dumbbells out to the side until your upper arm is parallel to the floor. As you lift the dumbbells, squeeze your shoulder blades together.
3. Reverse the movement and return to the starting position.

The Best Upper Back Workouts

Here’s an upper back workout for gaining size and strength in all the upper back muscles, including the traps, rhomboids, and rear delts:

Upper Back Workouts: Tips

1. End every set 1-to-2 reps shy of muscle failure.

To maximize muscle and strength gains, you must take most of your sets within a rep or two of muscle 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 one set, increase the weight.

If your upper back workout calls for 4-to-6 reps of the deadlift 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. 

The best supplements for maximizing upper back development are:

• Protein powder: Protein powder provides your body with the nutrients needed to build muscle tissue and recover from workouts. If you want a clean and delicious protein powder, try Whey+ or Casein+.
• Creatine: Creatine boosts muscle and strength gain, improves anaerobic endurance, and reduces muscle damage and soreness from your workouts. For a natural source of creatine that also includes two other ingredients to enhance muscle growth and improve recovery, try Recharge.
• Pre-workout: A high-quality pre-workout enhances energy, mood, and focus, increases strength and endurance, and reduces fatigue. For a top-tier pre-workout containing clinically effective doses of 6 science-backed ingredients, try Pulse with caffeine or without.

(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. Click here to check it out.)