Since individuals like to do exercises that are strength training, many individuals focus on the muscle groups in front of their head or the so-called mirror muscles. People carry out push-ups, sit-ups, leg extensions, and biceps curls when engaging in such workouts.
While your mirror muscles are undoubtedly important, the muscles on the back of your body are arguably more so. While you can’t see them in the mirror, the back muscles are responsible for holding you up against the pull of gravity, making them critical for posture.
Overemphasizing the muscles on the front of your body while paying too little attention to the back can also cause imbalances. Pairs of muscles are spaced at joints. If a more massive muscle slides aside from its neighboring muscle, joint misalignment can occur, resulting in impaired performance and chronic pain.
It would be best if you gave equal attention to the back of your body as you do to your front. The good news is that there are lots of exercises to choose from, and some of the best are CrossFit back exercises.
Best CrossFit Back Exercises
Do you want a well-develop, strong, healthy back? These are the best CrossFit back exercises!
Pull-ups
Target muscles: Latissimus dorsi, lower and mid-traps
CrossFitters do a lot of pull-ups, which is why so many of them have such well-developed backs. All you need to do this exercise is a bar from which to hang.
How to do it
- Hold and hang from your bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
- Bend your arms and pull your chin up and over the bar.
- Extend your arms and repeat.
Deadlifts
Target muscles: Latissimus dorsi, trapezius, rhomboids, erector spinae
Deadlifts would be a good choice if you only have time to do one CrossFit back exercise. They involve virtually every muscle on the back of your body, including your glutes and hamstrings.
How to do it
- Place a barbell on the floor. Stand with your toes under the bar, feet about hip-width apart. Bend down and grab the bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip. Drop your hips, lift your chest, and straighten your arms. Brace your core.
- Drive your feet into the floor and stand up, ensuring your hips and shoulders rise simultaneously. Do not round your lower back.
- Return the barbell to the floor, reset your core, and repeat.
Kettlebell swings
Target muscles: Erector spinae, mid-traps, rhomboids
Most strength training exercises are done slowly. That’s usually best for keeping tension on the target muscles.
However, kettlebell swings are done explosively, making them better for developing muscle power.
How to do it
- Hold a kettlebell in front of your hips. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Pull your shoulders down and back and brace your core.
- Bending your knees slightly, lean forward from your hips and lower the weight between your knees, pushing your hips backward as you do so.
- Drive your hips forward and swing the weight out and up above your head, keeping your arms straight.
- Lower the weight and repeat.
Hyperextensions
Target muscles: Erector spinae
Most CrossFit back exercises work several back muscles at once. This one’s slightly different because it mainly works the lower part of the erector spine muscles.
How to do it
- With your feet on the footrests, place your hips against the hyperextension bench’s leg pads. Put your hands behind your back (easiest), across your chest (harder), or on the side of your head (hardest).
- Lean forward and lower your upper body down toward the floor. Try not to round your lower back.
- Lift your upper body until your shoulders, hips, and heels form a straight line.
- That’s one rep; keep going!
Barbell bent-over rows
Target muscles: Latissimus dorsi, mid-traps and rhomboids, erector spine, posterior deltoids
The barbell bent-over row is a controversial exercise. While it IS a great back builder, if done with a rounded lumbar spine, it could cause injury. So long story short always does this exercise with a slight arch in your lower back!
How to do it
- Hold a barbell with a shoulder-width, overhand grip. Stand with your feet between shoulder and hip-width apart. Bend your knees slightly and lean forward without rounding your back until your upper body is roughly parallel to the floor.
- Bend your arms and pull the bar up to your abdomen.
- Extend your arms and repeat.
Body rows
Target muscles: Latissimus dorsi, mid-traps, and rhomboids, posterior deltoids
A lot of CrossFit workouts feature pull-ups. Body rows are the next best thing if you can’t do pull-ups as they work the same muscles, but you don’t have to lift your entire body weight.
How to do it
- Set the bar on a Smith machine or squat rack to about waist height. Alternatively, you can use a suspension trainer or gymnastic rings.
- Sit on the floor and hold the bar/handles with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
- With straight arms, lift your hips off the floor so your feet, knees, hips, and shoulders form a line.
- Keeping your body straight, bend your arms and pull your chest up to your hands.
- Extend your arms and repeat.
Romanian deadlifts
Target muscles: Erector spinae, trapezius, rhomboids, latissimus dorsi
According to legend, this exercise was invented by Romanian weightlifters who used it to increase back strength. Quickly adopted by American athletes, this is a popular CrossFit lower back exercise that also works the glutes and hamstrings.
How to do it
- Hold a barbell with an overhand or mixed grip, hands about shoulder-width apart. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees slightly and brace your core.
- Push your hips back, and lean forward, lowering the bar down the front of your legs. Descend as far as you can without rounding your lower back.
- Drive your hips forward and stand up.
Sumo deadlift high pulls
Target muscles: Latissimus dorsi, trapezius, rhomboids, erector spine, posterior deltoids
CrossFit has introduced a lot of new exercises to the general fitness population. The sumo deadlift high pull is a CrossFit conditioning exercise that delivers a great back and leg workout.
How to do it
- Place your barbell on the floor. Stand with your toes under the bar, feet about 1.5 shoulder widths apart. Reach down and hold the bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip. Pull your shoulders down and back, straighten your arms, and brace your abs.
- With your hips lower than your shoulders, stand up quickly and use this momentum to help you pull the bar up the front of your body to sternum height. Do not round your lower back. Your elbows should be higher than your hands.
- Extend your arms, lower the weight back to the floor, and repeat.
Bottom Line
When it comes to back training, most people automatically choose exercises like lat pulldowns and seated rows. While there is nothing wrong with either of these movements, they require specialist machines to do them.
Most CrossFit workouts avoid using machines, utilizing free weights and bodyweight exercises instead. For that reason, you should be able to do many of CrossFit’s best back exercises at home.
Pull-ups, body rows, deadlifts, and sumo deadlift high-pulls are very low tech, yet they provide the perfect way to build a stronger, more muscular back.
With so many exercises to choose from, it can be hard to decide which ones to do. But, as a general rule, most people get the best results from using 2-3 different movements per workout.
Try not to do exercises there are too similar, such as bent-over rows, Pendlay rows, and body rows, in the same workout. Instead, try to work your back from various angles, such as deadlifts, pull-ups, and prone rows. This varied approach will invariably produce better results.
Regardless of the exercises you choose, to develop the front and back of your body equally, make sure you do the same training volume for both sides of your body.
For every pushing exercise, do a pulling exercise, too. This will prevent muscle imbalances that can negatively affect how you look, your posture, and your joint health.