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Exercises

Back warm-up exercises for the upper and lower back

Published October 24, 2026

A full back warm-up takes about 7 minutes: walk briskly for 3 minutes, do 5 walkouts and 6 windshield wipers per side, then 8 dead bugs per side, 10 back extensions and 12 scapular band squeezes, and finish with 2 to 4 light sets of your first lift, such as the Romanian deadlift or seated cable row. It warms the lower back, trunk and upper back before they carry load.

  1. Brisk Walk Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves
  2. Walkout Abs, Shoulders, Chest
  3. Windshield Wipers Abs
  4. Dead Bug Abs
  5. Back Extension Lower Back
  6. Band Scapular Retraction Upper Back
  7. Romanian Deadlift Hamstrings, Glutes
  8. Seated Cable Row Upper Back, Lats

Raise: 3 minutes of brisk walking

A fast walk is the gentlest way to warm a stiff back. Swing your arms and stand tall. Use a bike if you prefer to sit.

Raise: a fast walk that wakes the back up gently

Brisk Walk

Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves

It warms you up without any strain on a back that feels stiff, and you can do it anywhere.

How to do it

  1. Walk at a pace a little faster than your normal stride.
  2. Let your arms swing from the shoulders and stand tall.
  3. Keep going until you feel warm and your breathing has picked up a little.

Cues

  • Tall posture
  • Arms swing freely

Common mistakes

  • Slouching over a phone while you walk: the arm swing is what loosens your upper back.

Swap for: Treadmill Walk, Stationary Bike, Elliptical

Build a session with Brisk Walk

Raise: low-impact pedaling to lift your heart rate

Stationary Bike

Quads, Hamstrings

A seated option if walking is not practical in your gym.

How to do it

  1. Adjust the seat to hip height when you stand beside the bike.
  2. Pedal at a light resistance with a steady, smooth cadence.
  3. Add a little resistance in the last minute so you finish slightly out of breath.

Cues

  • Smooth circles
  • Slightly warm, not tired

Common mistakes

  • Cranking heavy resistance: this is to get warm, not to train your legs before chest day.

Swap for: Air Bike, Rowing Machine, Elliptical

Build a session with Stationary Bike

Move the spine: bend, rotate, hinge

Your back moves in three ways, and two drills cover them: walkouts bend forward at the hips and walk into a plank, and windshield wipers rotate the spine while you lie on your back.

Mobility: hinge, walk to a plank and back

Walkout

Abs, Shoulders, Chest

Forward bending at the hips plus a plank at the end: the back lengthens, then holds steady.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, bend at the hips, and put your palms down by your feet.
  2. Walk your hands forward until you reach a high plank with your shoulders over your wrists.
  3. Walk your hands back toward your feet and roll up to standing.

Cues

  • Shoulders over wrists in the plank
  • Small hand steps

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips sag in the plank: squeeze your glutes before you walk back.

Swap for: Bear Crawl, Spider Plank, Plank Shoulder Tap

Build a session with Walkout

Mobility: lying knee sweep that rotates the spine

Windshield Wipers

Abs

Rotation is the motion most lifting skips; this drill gets it in with your shoulders pinned to the floor.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up, arms spread wide, knees bent to 90 degrees above your hips.
  2. Lower both knees together toward one side while both shoulders stay on the floor.
  3. Bring them back through the middle and lower them to the other side.

Cues

  • Shoulders pinned down
  • Slow both ways

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the knees fast: move only as far as you can control the return.

Swap for: Dead Bug, Cable Woodchop, Russian Twist

Build a session with Windshield Wipers

Activate the trunk, lower back and upper back

Dead bugs teach the trunk to stay still while the limbs move, back extensions and band good mornings warm the lower back and hips, and scapular squeezes wake up the upper back. One light set each.

Activation: lying core brace with opposite arm and leg reaching

Dead Bug

Abs

It trains the trunk to hold your lower back still while the arms and legs move, the job it does during every hinge and row.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up, arms pointing at the ceiling, and knees bent 90 degrees above your hips.
  2. Press your lower back into the floor and reach one arm overhead as the opposite leg extends.
  3. Bring them back and switch sides, breathing out on each reach.

Cues

  • Low back stays flat
  • Slow reach, slow return

Common mistakes

  • Arching the back as the leg goes long: shorten the reach until you can keep it flat.

Swap for: Plank, Pallof Press, Bear Crawl

Build a session with Dead Bug

Activation: lying chest lift with hands behind the head

Back Extension

Lower Back

A light floor extension warms the muscles along your spine before they hold a loaded hinge.

How to do it

  1. Lie face down with your hands behind your head and elbows out.
  2. Squeeze your glutes and lift your chest off the floor while your legs stay down.
  3. Lower slowly back to the floor.

Cues

  • Lift the chest, not the chin
  • Legs stay heavy

Common mistakes

  • Jerking up fast: lift and lower at the same steady speed.

Swap for: Superman, 45-Degree Back Extension, Band Good Morning

Build a session with Back Extension

Activation: hip hinge with a band for the back and hamstrings

Band Good Morning

Hamstrings, Lower Back

It rehearses the hip hinge with a light load, the bridge between floor drills and a barbell Romanian deadlift.

How to do it

  1. Stand on a band and loop the other end behind your neck, resting on your upper back.
  2. Soften your knees and push your hips back, folding forward with a flat back.
  3. Drive the hips forward to stand up tall against the band.

Cues

  • Hips back, chest proud
  • Flat back the whole way

Common mistakes

  • Rounding your back to reach lower: stop where your hips stop moving back.

Swap for: Dumbbell Good Morning, Romanian Deadlift, Superman

Build a session with Band Good Morning

Activation: band squeeze that pulls the shoulder blades back

Band Scapular Retraction

Upper Back

Moving only the shoulder blades wakes up the upper back before rows.

How to do it

  1. Hold a light band at chest height with straight arms.
  2. Without bending your elbows, draw your shoulder blades back and together.
  3. Let them spread forward again slowly, keeping the arms straight the whole time.

Cues

  • Arms stay straight
  • Move the blades only

Common mistakes

  • Bending the elbows to pull: then it becomes a row and the blades do less.

Swap for: Band Pull-Apart, Band Bent-Over Row, Inverted Row

Build a session with Band Scapular Retraction

Ramp up on your first back lift

End with light sets of the first loaded exercise. Hinges like the Romanian deadlift and the deadlift get three or four steps; cable rows get two.

First lift: barbell Romanian deadlift with ramp-up sets

Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, Glutes

A hinge for the hamstrings and lower back; its ramp-up sets teach you to find the same depth with a flat back each time.

How to do it

  1. Stand holding the bar at your hips with an overhand grip.
  2. Push your hips back and slide the bar down your thighs with soft knees and a flat back.
  3. Stop when your hips stop moving back, then drive them forward to stand.

Cues

  • Hips back, bar close
  • Feel the hamstrings

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees into a squat to go lower: depth comes from the hips.

Swap for: Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Good Morning, Barbell Deadlift

Build a session with Romanian Deadlift

First lift: conventional deadlift with ramp-up sets

Barbell Deadlift

Glutes, Lower Back

On deadlift days, the lift itself gets the most ramp-up sets of anything in the session.

How to do it

  1. Stand with the bar over your mid-foot and grip it just outside your legs.
  2. Drop your hips until your shins touch the bar, flatten your back, and pull the slack out.
  3. Push the floor away and stand up tall, then lower the bar the same way.

Cues

  • Bar against the legs
  • Push the floor away

Common mistakes

  • Jerking the bar off the floor: take the slack out first on every set.

Swap for: Trap Bar Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift, Rack Pull

Build a session with Barbell Deadlift

First lift: seated cable row with ramp-up sets

Seated Cable Row

Upper Back, Lats

An upper-back lift that keeps the lower back light; two ramp-up sets on the stack are enough.

How to do it

  1. Sit at the cable row with your feet on the platform and knees soft, holding the handle with straight arms.
  2. Pull the handle to your stomach while sitting tall.
  3. Let it return until your arms are straight and your shoulders reach forward.

Cues

  • Sit tall
  • Elbows skim your sides

Common mistakes

  • Rocking back and forth to move the stack: the torso stays nearly still.

Swap for: Chest-Supported Row, Wide-Grip Cable Row, Machine Row

Build a session with Seated Cable Row

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

Before deadlifts

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets10 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentHyperextension, Resistance Bands, Barbells

Your session opens with conventional deadlifts.

Deadlifts load the whole back at once, so this version uses every activation drill, including the band good morning, then gives the deadlift four ramp-up sets. Working sets stop 2 reps short of failure, which keeps your back position the same on the last rep as on the first.

Deadlift Day
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Brisk WalkSeconds. 3 rounds back to back. 3 × 60 4 0 s
Walkout 1 × 5 4 15 s
Dead BugPer side. 1 × 8 4 15 s
Back Extension 1 × 10 4 15 s
Band Good Morning 1 × 12 4 15 s
Barbell Deadlift4 warm-up sets firstRamp: 40% x5, 60% x3, 75% x2, 85% x1. 3 × 3–5 2 3 min
How to run it
Seven minutes of drills, then the ramp. Rest 3 minutes before the first working set.
How to progress
Add 5 to 10 pounds when all sets reach 5 reps with 2 in reserve.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Training first thing in the morning with a stiff back

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentHyperextension, Barbells

You lift early and your back feels stiff when you get out of bed.

A stiff morning back needs more movement before load, so this version spends longer on the walk and the rotation and trunk drills, and opens with the Romanian deadlift, where you control the depth, ramped in three light steps.

Morning Back
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Brisk WalkSeconds. Swing the arms. 3 rounds back to back. 3 × 60 4 0 s
Walkout 1 × 6 4 15 s
Windshield WipersPer side. 1 × 6 4 15 s
Dead BugPer side. 1 × 8 4 15 s
Back Extension 1 × 10 4 15 s
Romanian Deadlift3 warm-up sets first 3 × 8–10 2 2 min
How to run it
Walk for the full 3 minutes and go slowly on the windshield wipers. Then the ramp-up sets.
How to progress
Add weight when all sets hit 10 with 2 in reserve and the hinge feels smooth from the first rep.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Upper-back session on cables

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets16 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentExercise Bike, Resistance Bands, Cable Row

Your session is rows and pulldowns on cables, with the lower back taking it easy.

Cable rows ask little of the lower back, so the hinge drills drop out and the scapular squeezes and dead bugs stay. The row gets two ramp-up sets.

Cable Back
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Stationary BikeSeconds. Easy. 2 rounds back to back. 2 × 60 4 0 s
Windshield WipersPer side. 1 × 6 4 15 s
Dead BugPer side. 1 × 8 4 15 s
Band Scapular Retraction 1 × 12 4 15 s
Seated Cable Row2 warm-up sets first 3 × 10–12 2 90 s
How to run it
About 5 minutes of drills, then two light sets on the stack.
How to progress
Add one plate when all sets reach 12 with 2 in reserve.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

How do I warm up my back muscles?

Walk briskly for a few minutes, move the spine with walkouts and windshield wipers, do one light set each of dead bugs, back extensions and scapular squeezes, then take light sets of your first lift.

What is a good lower back warm-up before lifting?

Dead bugs, back extensions and band good mornings, one light set each, then ramp-up sets of your first hinge.

What is a good upper back warm-up?

Scapular band squeezes and band pull-aparts, plus an easy row, then light sets of your first row or pulldown.

Is walking a good warm-up for the back?

Yes. A few minutes of brisk walking is a gentle way to get warm before the back drills.

How long should a back warm-up take?

About 7 minutes of drills, plus 2 to 4 ramp-up sets of your first lift.