Training your back at home doesn’t require a commercial gym. Whether you’re in a long-term home workout routine or just waiting for your gym to reopen, you can build a powerful back using common household items like towels, bedsheets, and sturdy furniture.
A complete back workout should cover three main categories to hit all the major muscle groups, including the lats, rhomboids, traps, and posterior deltoids:
- Vertical Pulling: Emphasizes the lats and the lower portion of the back.
- Horizontal Pulling: Focuses more on the mid and upper back regions.
- Accessory Movements: Targets smaller muscles that may not get maximal stimulus from the primary pulling motions.
Want to take your training up a notch?
Use promo code SAVE10 to get 10% off any program right now. https://citizenathletics.com
Learn more about our training at the bottom.
Category 1: Vertical Pulling Exercises
These movements mimic the action of a lat pull-down or a standard pull-up.
- Suspended Pull-Ups: Loop a suspension device (like a TRX), rings, or even a knotted bedsheet over the top of a door and shut it securely into the frame. You can perform full pull-ups or “negatives” (eccentrics) by jumping to the top and lowering yourself slowly. For this option, make sure you’re pulling into the frame, not away from it. While we’ve been doing this for years without issue, you should always ensure your home is built to the standard needed for this.
- Suspended Pull-Downs: Using the same door-anchor setup, sit or squat while gripping the handles. Use your legs to assist your upper body as you pull your chest toward your hands, focusing on a strong “mind-muscle connection” with your lats.
- Sliding Pull-Downs: Lay your chest on a towel on a smooth floor (or a rubber tote lid if you have carpet). Reach forward and pull your body weight across the floor, using friction as your resistance. You can increase the challenge by pressing your toes into the ground or wearing a loaded backpack.
- Hover Pull-Downs: Lay on your stomach while gripping a towel with both hands. Pull the towel apart as hard as you can (isometric force) while reaching it above your head and back down to your chest or behind your head.
Category 2: Horizontal Pulling Exercises
These exercises focus on rowing motions to build thickness in the mid-back.
- Suspended Inverted Row: Using the bedsheet-over-the-door method, recline your body back. The further you recline, the harder the exercise becomes. Keep elbows tucked for more lat focus, or flare them out to target the upper back and traps.
- Furniture Inverted Row: Utilize a sturdy table by laying underneath it and pulling your chest to the underside. Alternatively, bridge a broomstick across two stable chairs to create a DIY rowing station.
- Long-Sitting Bedsheet Row: Sit on the floor with your legs extended (long sit). Wrap a bedsheet around your feet and pull each side toward you. You can hold this as a maximal isometric contraction or bend your knees and resist their extension for a more dynamic movement.
Category 3: Accessory Movements
Use these to “finish” your workout and target the smaller stabilizers of the upper back.
- Prone Angel Hovers: Laying on your stomach, lift your arms and retract your shoulder blades. Move your hands in a wide arc from your sides to above your head (thumbs together) while keeping your palms facing the floor and your arms off the ground.
- Towel Pull-Aparts: Hold a towel out in front of you with a strong grip and try to “rip” it apart as hard as possible. Hold this isometric tension while varying your hand width to challenge different parts of the upper back.
Master Your Home Training
Consistency and progressive overload are the keys to building muscle, regardless of where you train. If you’re ready for a structured plan that maximizes your results at home or in the gym, we have the roadmap for you:
- Built for Athletics: Master the strength, power, and movement efficiency required for elite-level performance.
- Sustainable Strength: Our flagship program for busy people who want to move and perform like athletes for life.
Watch the Full Workout
See the proper form and setup for all nine exercises here.