Tips and Five Best Exercises To Build a Big and Strong Upper Back!

​Having a muscular and strong upper back has a multitude of benefits. Strong upper backs can help avoid shoulder injuries, which often arise due to an overemphasis on pressing movements. In addition, a strong upper back will give way to performance benefits as well. For example, the scapulae, rhomboids (no this isn’t geometry) and trapezius muscles will help improve the bench press and also help maintain neutral position with the spine in the deadlift. Also, for my female followers out there if you have ever envied the woman who can rock a backless dress (going slightly out of my area of expertise here but bear with me), you’ll want to stick around and check this article out and see some tips and exercises that will help build a strong upper back!
 
General Tips
 

• Rep Range:
  • You will want to perform exercises in the 12-15-repetition range. This is ideal for hypertrophy (building muscle) and will help athletes counteract much of the pressing they do and also higher volume is needed to build size.
• Tempo/Form:
  • The upper back is an area of the body where you must check your ego at the door if you want to see results. We actually want to perform our movements with nice slow and controlled repetitions. Form is king here and using a bunch of weight with rushed reps that are out of position will lead you nowhere.
  • Also, in addition to maintaining proper form it is extremely beneficial to perform repetitions in a slower manner and increase your time under tension. This is the amount of time in which the muscles are contracted. If we can have upwards of fifty seconds per set where the muscles are contracted we will be well on our way to building muscle.

 
Favorite Exercises

• Band Pull Aparts
  • I have talked about these several times before and I love them because they can be done in very high volume (I have all my athletes perform 100 per training session) and be used throughout a workout. Also, all you need is a band! No fancy training or equipment required. This is definitely one of the best “bang for your buck,” exercises around in terms of postural improvements and gains in the upper back.
• Face Pulls
  • This is another exercise that can be performed with a band. Focus on really pinching and driving your shoulder blades together on each pull.
• Rear Deltoid Flyes
  • These are timeless and a bodybuilding favorite. Heavy weight is definitely not needed here!
• Chest Supported Rows
  • These are basically barbell rows, but you position your chest against an incline bench, which helps isolate the back and correct the form.
  • Be sure to row back to your hips and get a good shoulder blade pinch with these as well
• Y-W-T’s (iso hold)
  • These are great for rotational athletes as well as those trying to add size to their upper back.
  • Hold each position for 10-15 seconds and perform 3-4 sets. This is a perfect example of the time under tension concept I mentioned before