How to Strengthen Your Back with Dumbbells - Crossliftor

Dumbbells are accessible, practical and extremely versatile pieces of equipment, whether you're in a gym, a box or even at home. Whether you're aiming for hypertrophy, strength or simple muscle strengthening, there's one part of your body you should never neglect: your back.

But with so many exercises to choose from, it's easy to get a little lost, especially if you're a beginner. That's why we've decided to share our top 8 best dumbbell back exercises with you.

Dumbbell deadlift

The muscles targeted by the dumbbell deadlift: the lower back and hamstring muscles, but also many other back and leg muscles making it an excellent multi-joint exercise.

Movement: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, arms outstretched and a dumbbell in each hand, also shoulder-width apart. Unlock your knees slightly, tilting your pelvis backwards. Back straight, gaze slightly downwards. Take a breath, lock in and lift the dumbbells along your legs, as close to your body as possible. The closer the load is to the body, the less difficult it will be to pull. The strength comes from the legs - your back shouldn't round out. Lift the bar with your back straight and your arms straight. Hold this position for a few seconds with full pelvic extension, then slowly return to the basic position. For heavy loads, push into your feet as if you were anchoring them to the ground on the outside.

Single-arm dumbbell rowing (on bench)

Dumbbell rowing targets the large dorsal, trapezius and other back muscles, as well as the biceps.

Movement: Place your left knee and left hand on the bench, with your chest parallel to the floor and your back flat. Contract your abdominal muscles for greater stability. Keep your right foot off the bench. The mistake would be to put your foot close to the bench and lean on it too much without being stable. Grasp the load with your right hand in a neutral grip. Keeping your arm close to your body, lift the dumbbell as high as possible, raising your elbow and keeping your forearm perpendicular to the floor. The dumbbell should reach almost the level of your back before coming back down. Once you've completed the series, do the same with the other arm.

Incline-bench dumbbell rowing

Dumbbell incline-bench rowing also involves the large dorsal muscles, theback of the deltoid, the trapezius, the rhomboid, the biceps and the brachialis. It's a very complete exercise. What's more, when you do it, you don't have to focus on the rest of your body, which is in a lying position. The position is very comfortable.

How to perform the movement Lie flat on an inclined bench, chest against the backrest, upper back in line with the bottom and your heels, legs slightly bent and toes resting on the floor. Pick up a pair of dumbbells in a neutral grip, hands aligned on your shoulders and elbows slightly bent. Pull the dumbbells towards your lower back (backwards and upwards), elbows tucked in. Tighten your shoulders and squeeze your shoulder blades. Gently return the dumbbells to the basic position with a slight bend in the elbows. This dumbbell back exercise is interesting because it puts less strain on the shoulders, and can be a good method to adopt when recovering from injury if you still have slight discomfort in the shoulder concerned.

Dumbbell pendulum row

Muscles targeted by the Pendlay Row: Latissimus dorsi, triceps, posterior deltoids and trapezius muscle.

To perform it correctly, stand with feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. Lean forward (about 45 degrees to the floor), keeping your back straight. Pull the dumbbells towards your chest, contracting your back muscles and keeping your elbows close to your body. Lower the dumbbells back to the starting position. This exercise is useful for developing pulling strength in weightlifting. When you perform it, remember to be explosive once you've mastered the movement, i.e. on the way up you really need to pull all at once, without shifting your back or tilting. It's also a good idea to work it at the bar.

Seal row

The Seal Row will enable you to build up the muscles of the large dorsal muscles, as well as the biceps, indirectly.

Movement: Lying on your stomach on the bench, take a load in each hand, arms almost straight down, palms facing inwards. Raise the dumbbells vertically: the aim is for your upper arms to be parallel to the floor. Hold this position for a few seconds. Slowly return to the basic position. Initially, move your shoulder blades back to tighten them and your shoulders, and only then move your arms back up. This will allow you to include your mid-back muscles.

Single dumbbell pullover

If you want to strengthen your back, pecs and triceps with dumbbell back exercises , you can include the dumbbell pullover in every dedicated session.

Movement: Place your upper body transversely (crosswise) on the bench, feet firmly planted and shoulder-width apart, pelvis positioned a little lower than the bench, so in the air. Hold the dumbbell with both hands above your chest, arms almost straight. Keeping your elbows slightly bent, slowly lower the dumbbell behind your head in an arc. Once your arms are at head level, slowly return to the basic position. We're targeting the back muscles here, but you need to remember to sheath your abdominal muscles properly and be stable.

The Dumbbel Shrug

Targeted muscles: trapezius

The dumbbell shrug is a gym classic. It's particularly useful for developing your heavy pulling abilities on clean or snatch movements. Standing with arms at your sides, take a load in each hand. Keep your arms straight and raise your shoulders as high as you can. Contract the trapezius at the top of the movement. Slowly return to the basic position. The strength comes from the trapezius and not from your arms, so keep them straight.

Renegate Row

The renegate row is the final exercise in this series of dumbbell back exercises.

Movement: Take a dumbbell in each hand, bend down and place them on the floor shoulder-width apart, get into a push-up position by contracting your abdominals, move your feet outwards and backwards. Keep your back and wrists straight. Keeping one arm supported, pull the load of the other arm down towards the ribcage, bending the elbow. Lower the dumbbell and repeat the exercise several times. Then switch sides to repeat the movement with the other arm. This exercise is great for sheathing, triceps and, of course, the back.

FAQ : How to build back muscles with dumbbells?

How can I work my lats?

The large dorsal muscle can be worked in a variety of ways, such as those described above: bench and incline rowing, pendulum row, seal row, pullover or renegate row. Other alternatives exist without equipment, such as sheathing or certain stretching techniques.

How to target the lower back?

Deadlifts essentially target the lower back. The floor exercises, such as the inverted hollow, are also interesting for this part of the body. If you have a GHD at your disposal, don't hesitate to do lumbar series.

How to get a broad back?

For a broad back, deadlifts, rowing bars and pull-ups are the recommended exercises. Of course, this also works with dumbbells, but you'll be able to add more weight to the bar over time.

What barbell weight for women?

There are 3 levels of barbell weight for women. For beginners, we recommend weights between 2 and 4 kilos, then progress from 1 kilo to 1 kilo for the intermediate level. Once you're more comfortable, move on to weights between 6 and 10 kilos. Of course, it all depends on your experience and muscular condition. These are only general estimates.

What's the right barbell weight for a man?

For a male beginner, the ideal weight is 5 kilos. As you progress in your training, you'll increase the weight until you reach the intermediate level, between 15 and 20 kilos, to reach a maximum of between 30 and 35 kilos. In competition, you can go much higher.

Example of a dumbbell back workout

To ensure maximum concentration and avoid injury, especially when you're doing dumbbell back exercises, it's essential to follow the warm-up instructions before every workout. It's best to follow four very simple guidelines: joint mobilization, cardiovascular mobilization (with a bit of rowing, treadmill or cycling just beforehand), stretching and muscle strengthening with a sheathing session.

A dumbbell back workout might involve 4 sets of 12 repetitions (hypertrophy) of the following exercises:

• single-armdeadlift rowing
• shrug
• seal row
• renegade row

The weight of your dumbbells, if well chosen, will give you the sensation of muscular failure on the last repetition. In other words, you'll manage to do it, but with difficulty. Don't forget the rest time between each set, on average 1 min 30. In PPL-type training (push pull leg), you can do your backstroke session 1 or 2 times a week. Vary the exercises, and enjoy your training!

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