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Exercises

Back exercises for women: a strong, defined back and your first pull-up

Published October 19, 2026

The best back exercises for women are the lat pulldown and assisted pull-up for the lats that give the back its shape, the seated cable row and chest-supported row for the mid back, the face pull and reverse pec deck for posture, and the Romanian deadlift for the lower back and glutes. At home, the one-arm dumbbell row, bent-over row, rear delt fly and band pull-apart cover the same muscles. Women train the back with the same exercises as anyone; the plans here are built around common goals: a first pull-up, back and glutes on one day, or training at home.

  1. Lat Pulldown Lats
  2. Assisted Pull-Up Lats
  3. Seated Cable Row Upper Back, Lats
  4. Chest-Supported Row Upper Back, Lats
  5. One-Arm Dumbbell Row Lats, Upper Back
  6. Face Pull Shoulders, Upper Back
  7. Reverse Pec Deck Shoulders
  8. Romanian Deadlift Hamstrings, Glutes

Back exercises for lats and your first pull-up

Your lats are the large muscles that run from under your arms to your lower back, and they are what give the back its V shape. The pulldown and the two assisted pull-ups train them with the load you choose; the strict pull-up is where they lead. Pick one vertical pull per session and add the straight-arm pulldown if you want more.

Lats, vertical pull

Lat Pulldown

Lats

The pulldown trains the same motion as a pull-up but lets you pick any load, so you can build the lats long before you can lift your own body weight. Wider lats are what make the waist look narrower from behind.

How to do it

  1. Set the thigh pad so your legs are locked in, and grip the bar a little wider than your shoulders, palms facing away.
  2. Sit tall and lean back just slightly with your chest lifted.
  3. Pull the bar to your upper chest by driving your elbows down toward your hips.
  4. Let the bar rise until your arms are straight and you feel a stretch under your armpits.

Cues

  • Elbows to your hips
  • Chest up to meet the bar
  • Full stretch at the top

Common mistakes

  • Leaning far back to move more weight: that turns it into a row. Stay nearly upright.
  • Stopping short at the top: let your arms straighten fully every rep.

Swap for: Assisted Pull-Up, Band-Assisted Pull-Up

Build a session with Lat Pulldown

Lats, pull-up with machine help

Assisted Pull-Up

Lats

The assisted machine is the most direct way to your first pull-up: it is the real movement with a counterweight taking some of your body weight, and you can lower the help a little at a time.

How to do it

  1. Pick an assistance weight, then step or kneel onto the pad and grip the handles slightly wider than your shoulders.
  2. Start from straight arms with your shoulders pulled down slightly.
  3. Pull until your chin clears the handles, elbows driving down beside your ribs.
  4. Lower until your arms are straight again.

Cues

  • Chest to the bar
  • Shoulders down first
  • Slow on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Using so much help that the set is easy: pick a counterweight that ends each set with 1 to 2 reps in reserve.
  • Half reps: reach full arm extension before every rep.

Swap for: Band-Assisted Pull-Up, Lat Pulldown

Build a session with Assisted Pull-Up

Lats, pull-up with a band

Band-Assisted Pull-Up

Lats

The band does the same job as the assisted machine at home or in a gym without one. It helps most at the bottom and least at the top, so the top of each rep is close to a real pull-up.

How to do it

  1. Loop a band around the bar and pull one end through the other to secure it.
  2. Grip the bar a little wider than your shoulders and put one foot or both knees in the loop.
  3. Pull from a straight-arm hang until your chin is over the bar.
  4. Lower under control to straight arms.

Cues

  • Pause in the hang
  • Elbows down to your ribs
  • Chin over, not reaching

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing off the stretch of the band at the bottom: pause one second before each pull.
  • Staying on the same band forever: move to a thinner one when the reps get easy.

Swap for: Assisted Pull-Up

Build a session with Band-Assisted Pull-Up

Lats, bodyweight vertical pull

Pull-Up

Lats

A strict pull-up is the clearest sign of upper-body strength relative to your size, and it is a goal many women train for. Once you can do a few, low-rep sets build them fastest.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with your hands a little wider than your shoulders and palms facing away.
  2. Tighten your stomach and squeeze your legs together so you don't swing.
  3. Pull your chest toward the bar until your chin is over it.
  4. Lower all the way to a dead hang.

Cues

  • Pull the bar to your collarbone
  • No swinging
  • Dead hang between reps

Common mistakes

  • Kicking to get over the bar: if you need to kick, you are out of clean reps; end the set.
  • Skipping the bottom: straight arms before each rep.

Swap for: Assisted Pull-Up, Band-Assisted Pull-Up

Build a session with Pull-Up

Lats, isolation

Straight-Arm Pulldown

Lats

With your arms straight, your biceps can't help, so all of the work goes to the lats. It is a good way to learn what those muscles feel like working, and a finisher after rows and pulldowns.

How to do it

  1. Stand facing a high cable with a straight bar or rope, hands about shoulder-width apart.
  2. Step back, hinge slightly at the hips and let your arms reach up and forward until you feel your lats stretch.
  3. Keeping your elbows nearly straight, sweep the bar down in an arc to your thighs.
  4. Let it rise slowly back to the stretch.

Cues

  • Arms like long levers
  • Push the bar to your thighs
  • Ribs down

Common mistakes

  • Bending the elbows to push it like a triceps pressdown: lock them in a slight bend.
  • Rocking your torso: stay in the same hinge for the whole set.

Swap for: Lat Pulldown

Build a session with Straight-Arm Pulldown

Back exercises for a stronger mid back

Rows pull your elbows back toward your hips and draw your shoulder blades in. Use one row in every session: the cable and machine rows in the gym, the dumbbell rows at home, and the inverted row when you want a bodyweight option.

Mid back and lats, horizontal pull

Seated Cable Row

Upper Back, Lats

The seated row trains the muscles between your shoulder blades that pull them back and down, which is what makes a back look strong and shoulders sit open. It is easy to load in small steps, which makes progress steady.

How to do it

  1. Sit at the low cable with your feet on the platform and knees slightly bent, holding a close-grip handle.
  2. Sit tall with your arms straight and your shoulders reaching forward.
  3. Row the handle to your lower ribs, driving your elbows behind you as your shoulder blades meet.
  4. Let your arms straighten slowly and your shoulders reach forward again.

Cues

  • Sit tall
  • Elbows back, shoulders down
  • Squeeze, then reach

Common mistakes

  • Rocking back and forth to move the weight: keep your torso still, use a lighter stack.
  • Shrugging the handle to your chest: drive the elbows back, not up.

Swap for: Chest-Supported Row, One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Build a session with Seated Cable Row

Upper back and lats, machine row

Chest-Supported Row

Upper Back, Lats

With your chest on the pad, your lower back has nothing to do, so you can row hard without losing your posture halfway through the set. It is the easiest row to take close to failure safely.

How to do it

  1. Adjust the seat so the handles are level with your lower chest and press your chest against the pad.
  2. Reach forward and grip the handles with your arms straight.
  3. Row your elbows back until your hands reach your sides, drawing your shoulder blades in.
  4. Let the handles move forward until your arms straighten.

Cues

  • Chest stays on the pad
  • Elbows back, not up
  • Pause the squeeze

Common mistakes

  • Lifting your chest off the pad to finish reps: lighten the weight.
  • Short reps: let your shoulder blades spread at the front.

Swap for: Seated Cable Row, One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Build a session with Chest-Supported Row

Lats, one-arm row

One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Lats, Upper Back

Bracing one hand on a bench takes your lower back out of the lift, so you can row one dumbbell heavy with a long stretch at the bottom. It works the same at home and at the gym.

How to do it

  1. Put one hand and the same-side knee on a bench, the other foot on the floor, back flat.
  2. Hold the dumbbell with your arm hanging straight below your shoulder.
  3. Row it toward your hip until it reaches your ribs, elbow close to your side.
  4. Lower until your arm is straight. Do all reps, then switch arms.

Cues

  • Elbow to your back pocket
  • Shoulders level
  • Long arm at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Twisting your torso to lift more: square your hips and shoulders to the floor.
  • Pulling with the hand: think of your hand as a hook and move the elbow.

Swap for: Dumbbell Bent-Over Row, Chest-Supported Row

Build a session with One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Mid back and lats, two-arm row

Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

Upper Back, Lats

Rowing both dumbbells at once from a hinge trains your back and teaches your hips and lower back to hold a position. It is the main row for a home setup without a bench.

How to do it

  1. Take a pair of dumbbells and hinge forward from your hips until your torso is at about 45 degrees.
  2. Let the dumbbells hang below your shoulders with your back flat.
  3. Row them back toward your hips, pinching your shoulder blades as you finish.
  4. Lower until your arms are straight, keeping the hinge.

Cues

  • Hold the hinge
  • Elbows slide past your ribs
  • Squeeze at the top

Common mistakes

  • Standing up a little more each rep: lock in your torso angle.
  • Rounding your lower back: brace before every rep.

Swap for: One-Arm Dumbbell Row, Inverted Row

Build a session with Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

Mid back, bodyweight row

Inverted Row

Upper Back, Lats

You row your own body up to a bar set at hip height, so it is a horizontal pull that scales with your body angle. It also builds the pulling strength that leads to your first pull-up.

How to do it

  1. Set a bar in a rack or Smith machine at about hip height and lie under it.
  2. Grip the bar a little wider than your shoulders and hang at arm's length, body stiff as a board, heels on the floor.
  3. Pull your chest to the bar, keeping your hips up.
  4. Lower until your arms are straight.

Cues

  • Body like a plank
  • Chest to the bar
  • Hips stay up

Common mistakes

  • Letting your hips sag: squeeze your glutes the whole set.
  • Not reaching the bar: raise the bar so your body is more upright, and get full reps.

Swap for: Seated Cable Row, Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

Build a session with Inverted Row

Back exercises for posture and the rear shoulders

Rounded shoulders come partly from a weak upper back and rear delts. These four all pull your arms back and out, which trains exactly those muscles. They respond well to light weights and high reps, so they are easy to fit after your main lifts or between other sets.

Rear delts and upper back

Face Pull

Shoulders, Upper Back

Pulling a rope to your face trains the rear delts and the muscles that turn your shoulders out, the ones that keep shoulders from rolling forward. It is the gym's best posture exercise.

How to do it

  1. Set a rope on a cable at about head height and hold the ends, palms down.
  2. Step back so your arms are straight and the stack is lifted.
  3. Pull the rope to your face, spreading your hands apart and keeping your elbows high.
  4. Finish with your hands beside your ears, then return slowly.

Cues

  • Elbows high
  • Pull the rope apart
  • Hands by your ears

Common mistakes

  • Dropping your elbows into a row: keep them level with your shoulders.
  • Leaning back to finish: use a lighter weight.

Swap for: Reverse Pec Deck, Band Pull-Apart

Build a session with Face Pull

Rear delts

Reverse Pec Deck

Shoulders

The machine holds your torso and guides your arms, so the rear delts are the only thing doing the work. It is the easiest rear delt exercise to take to failure.

How to do it

  1. Sit facing the pad and set the handles so your arms are straight forward at shoulder height.
  2. Grip the handles palms down or turned in.
  3. Sweep your arms back in a wide arc until they are in line with your body.
  4. Return slowly until your hands nearly meet.

Cues

  • Arms wide
  • Push back with the backs of your hands
  • Shoulders down

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging up to move the weight: lower your shoulders before each rep.
  • Swinging: control the return for two seconds.

Swap for: Face Pull, Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly

Build a session with Reverse Pec Deck

Rear delts, dumbbells

Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly

Shoulders

Seated and leaning over your thighs, you can train the backs of your shoulders with a light pair of dumbbells. That works at home and when every machine is taken.

How to do it

  1. Sit on the end of a bench holding a light pair of dumbbells and lean your chest toward your thighs.
  2. Let the dumbbells hang beside your calves elbows just unlocked.
  3. Raise them out wide until your arms reach shoulder height.
  4. Lower slowly to the start.

Cues

  • Lead with the pinkies
  • Chest stays down
  • Small weight, slow reps

Common mistakes

  • Sitting up as you lift: stay folded over your legs.
  • Going too heavy: these work best with light weights and 15 to 25 reps.

Swap for: Reverse Pec Deck, Band Pull-Apart

Build a session with Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly

Rear delts and upper back, band

Band Pull-Apart

Shoulders, Upper Back

A light band and a minute between sets is all it takes. Pulling the band apart at chest height trains the muscles between your shoulder blades with no setup.

How to do it

  1. Hold a light band in front of your chest with straight arms, hands shoulder-width apart.
  2. Spread your hands apart until the band touches your chest.
  3. Hold the squeeze between your shoulder blades for a second.
  4. Return slowly.

Cues

  • Band to your chest
  • Ribs down
  • Slow return

Common mistakes

  • Arching your back to finish: grip the band wider.
  • A band too heavy to reach your chest: choose a lighter one.

Swap for: Face Pull, Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly

Build a session with Band Pull-Apart

Lower back exercises that also work your glutes

Both of these are hip hinges: your lower back holds your spine still while your glutes and hamstrings move the weight. That makes them the bridge between a back day and a glute day, and one of them is enough per session.

Lower back, glutes and hamstrings

Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, Glutes

The Romanian deadlift trains your lower back, glutes and hamstrings together, so it fits on a back day and a glute day alike. A strong hinge also makes every bent-over row easier to hold.

How to do it

  1. Stand with a barbell at your thighs, hands just outside your legs, feet under your hips.
  2. Soften your knees and push your hips back, sliding the bar down your thighs.
  3. Stop when your hamstrings are fully stretched, usually just below the knee, with your back flat.
  4. Push your hips forward to stand up, glutes tight at the top.

Cues

  • Hips back
  • Bar stays on your legs
  • Back flat

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees into a squat: keep them soft and still.
  • Reaching for the floor: stop where your back would round.

Swap for: Weighted Back Extension

Build a session with Romanian Deadlift

Lower back and glutes, 45-degree bench

Weighted Back Extension

Lower Back

On the back extension bench, your lower back and glutes lift your torso against a plate held at your chest. It trains the same muscles as the Romanian deadlift with less total fatigue, so it fits at the end of a back session.

How to do it

  1. Set the pad just below your hip bones and hook your heels under the foot pads.
  2. Hold a plate against your chest with crossed arms.
  3. Lower your torso by bending at the hips until you feel your hamstrings stretch.
  4. Lift back up until your body forms a line with your legs, squeezing your glutes.

Cues

  • Hinge at the pad
  • Plate on your chest
  • Stop at a straight line

Common mistakes

  • Arching hard past straight at the top: stop when your body lines up.
  • Rounding through your upper back to get lower: keep the spine long.

Swap for: Romanian Deadlift

Build a session with Weighted Back Extension

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

At the gym, training for your first pull-up

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets26 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentAssisted Machine, Barbells, Seated Row Machine, Adjustable Cable +2

You train at a gym and want to do an unassisted pull-up, and right now you can't do one.

Both sessions open with a vertical pull: assisted pull-ups on day A to practice the movement, pulldowns on day B to build strength in it with more load. The inverted row and chest-supported row build the mid back that holds you steady at the top. Pull-ups and pulldowns stop 2 reps short so every rep is clean; the rows and face pulls go to 1. Session A has 13 working sets and session B has 13.

Pull-Up Day A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Assisted Pull-UpLeast help that gets you 6 reps. 4 × 6–10 2 2 min
Inverted RowRaise the bar if you can't reach it. 3 × 8–15 1 90 s
Chest-Supported Row 3 × 10–15 1 90 s
Face Pull 3 × 15–20 1 1 min

Open Pull-Up Day A in the session builder

Pull-Up Day B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Lat Pulldown3 s up on every rep. 4 × 8–12 2 2 min
Chest-Supported Row 3 × 10–15 1 90 s
Straight-Arm Pulldown 3 × 12–15 1 1 min
Reverse Pec Deck 3 × 15–20 0 1 min

Open Pull-Up Day B in the session builder

How to run it
Do the two sessions on non-consecutive days each week, on their own or after your leg training. Test a strict pull-up at the start of session A every two weeks.
How to progress
On the assisted machine, take 5 lb of help away whenever you reach 10 reps on every set at 2 reps in reserve. When the help is down to about a quarter of your body weight, try singles on the bar at the start of each session.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

At the gym, back paired with glutes

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets25 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Lat Pulldown, Cable Row, Hyperextension +2

You train at the gym with a split built around lower body and glutes, and you want one day that covers your back and glutes together.

The Romanian deadlift opens the session because it works the lower back, glutes and hamstrings at once and needs you fresh. The pulldown and seated row then cover the lats and mid back, the back extension adds glute and lower-back work without a second heavy hinge, and the reverse pec deck finishes the rear delts. One heavy day plus one lighter upper day gives 25 working sets across the week.

Back and Glutes
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Romanian Deadlift2 warm-up sets firstStop just below the knees. 3 × 8–12 2 2:30 min
Lat Pulldown 3 × 10–15 1 90 s
Seated Cable Row 3 × 10–15 1 90 s
Weighted Back ExtensionPlate on your chest. Squeeze the glutes. 3 × 10–15 1 75 s
Reverse Pec Deck 2 × 15–20 0 1 min

Open Back and Glutes in the session builder

Upper Back
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Seated Cable RowPause 1 s with elbows back. 3 × 10–15 1 90 s
Straight-Arm Pulldown 3 × 12–15 1 1 min
Face Pull 3 × 15–20 1 1 min
Reverse Pec Deck 2 × 15–25 0 1 min

Open Upper Back in the session builder

How to run it
Run Back and Glutes once a week and Upper Back once a week, with at least two days between them. Put your leg day apart from Back and Glutes so the Romanian deadlift isn't on tired hamstrings.
How to progress
Use double progression: once every set of a lift reaches the top of its range at the target RIR, add the smallest weight step and start again at the bottom of the range.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

At home with dumbbells, a bench and a band

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Resistance Bands

You train at home with a few pairs of dumbbells, a bench and a light band, and no pull-up bar or cables.

With no bar or cables, rows carry the lats: the one-arm row for a heavy stretch, the bent-over row for both arms. The rear delt fly and pull-apart do the posture work that face pulls do in a gym. Rows stop 1 rep short and the light rear-shoulder work goes to 0, since light dumbbells need sets taken close to failure to do their job. Session A has 12 working sets and session B has 12.

Home Back A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. Hand on the bench. 4 × 8–15 1 75 s
Dumbbell Rear Delt FlySeated, chest on your thighs. 3 × 15–25 0 1 min
Band Pull-Apart 3 × 15–25 0 45 s
Dumbbell Bent-Over Row 2 × 10–15 1 90 s

Open Home Back A in the session builder

Home Back B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Bent-Over RowPause 1 s at the top. 4 × 10–15 1 90 s
One-Arm Dumbbell Row 3 × 10–15 1 75 s
Band Pull-ApartPalms up. 2 × 20–30 1 45 s
Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly 3 × 15–25 0 1 min

Open Home Back B in the session builder

How to run it
Do the sessions twice a week on non-consecutive days. Pull-aparts can also go between sets of your other exercises on any day.
How to progress
Add reps until every set hits the top of its range at the target RIR. When it does, move to the next dumbbell, or with fixed weights slow every lowering to three seconds first.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What are the best back exercises for women?

The lat pulldown or assisted pull-up, the seated cable row, the face pull and the Romanian deadlift cover the whole back at the gym: lats, mid back, rear shoulders and lower back. At home, the one-arm dumbbell row, bent-over row, rear delt fly and band pull-apart do the same. There are no women-only back exercises; the difference is in the goals you plan around.

How do I tone my back quickly?

A toned back is muscle you can see, so it takes two things: training the back hard enough to grow, and enough body fat loss for the muscle to show. Train your back twice a week, 12 to 20 hard sets of rows and pulls plus a few for the rear shoulders, ending most sets 1 to 2 reps short of failure. Expect visible change over months, not weeks.

What are the big 3 exercises for back?

A vertical pull (pull-up or lat pulldown), a horizontal row (seated cable row or dumbbell row) and a hip hinge (Romanian deadlift or deadlift). Together they train your lats, mid back and lower back. A face pull is a good fourth for the rear shoulders.

What are the 5 best back exercises?

The lat pulldown, the assisted or strict pull-up, the seated cable row, the face pull and the Romanian deadlift. If you train at home, swap in the one-arm dumbbell row, bent-over row and band pull-apart for the machine and cable moves.

How can a woman do her first pull-up?

Train the pull-up itself with help: the assisted machine or a band, two or three times a week, using the least help that gets you 6 to 10 clean reps. Add lat pulldowns and inverted rows for strength, and reduce the help a little each time the reps hit the top of the range. The first-pull-up plan on this page follows that pattern.

Will back exercises make my back bulky?

Not without years of deliberate effort. Adding visible muscle to the back is slow, and most women find that a few pounds of it makes the waist look smaller and the shoulders sit straighter. You control size with how much you train and eat, and you can stop adding volume whenever you like the result.

How often should women train back?

Twice a week works well for most people: either two back sessions, or back exercises spread across two or three full-body days. Aim for 12 to 20 hard sets of rows and pulls per week, plus a few rear-delt and hinge sets, and recover at least two days between sessions with heavy rows or hinges.