Our back forms a very vital organ of the human body and comprises of three main muscles – the upper back muscle (trapezius), the mid-back muscle (latissimus dorsi) and the lower back muscle (erector spinae). In addition to these three main muscles, there are numerous other smaller muscles also, which comprise your back and help the three main back muscles in lifting something heavy or in supporting your body frame. In order to build muscle and strength in your back, you need to work out all these muscles together regularly.

There are many exercises, which work on your entire back some of which are described below:

Dead lifts: An excellent way to build muscle and strength in your back is to perform dead-lifts on a regular basis. You should stand straight with your hands and feet shoulder width apart. You should load the barbells with the required weights and position it right in front of you. You should bend your legs a little and hold the barbell tightly with both your hands and without bending your back at all, lift the barbell off the ground until you stand up straight. Pulling your shoulders backwards, you should hold the barbell in this position and wait for a few seconds, before slowly lowering the barbell down by first bending at your hips and then lastly by bending at the knees. You should use controlled movements and avoid using jerky movements. You should make sure that your breathing is much more controlled throughout the span of the exercise. You must gradually use heavier weight loads and start increasing the number of repetitions made per set, in order to build muscle and strength in your back muscles. Using progressive overloads will help you to maintain your muscles in a constant growth phase and to improve your muscular strength and endurance greatly.

Chin-ups: Another excellent way to build muscle and strength in your entire back is to perform chin-ups. Hold a chin-up bar firmly with both your hands. Your hands must be positioned in such a way that they are wider than the shoulder width and your body must be hanging down freely. Gradually, you must pull your entire body upwards, until your chin touches the bar. Retain your body in this position for a while and then very gradually lower it to the initial starting position. There are several alterations of this exercise, such as by using an underhand or overhand grip or a narrow or wide grip. You may also lift your legs at a right angle position to the rest of your body, and perform the chin-ups in the form of an ‘L’ shape. Using a different kind of grip each time, allows you to build muscle and strength in all your individual back muscles.

Similarly, you can go for a wide variety of other back exercises such as the pull-ups, seated cable rows, bent barbell rows, lat pull downs, etc in order to build muscle and strength in your back. You can select any three of these exercises and perform three to four sets (containing eight repetitions per set).