What are the best dumbbell exercises for your back?
Start with a one-arm row. Use a dumbbell or a filled backpack, on a bench or sturdy chair. But the move often sold for your lats worked the chest more in muscle tests.
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Which dumbbell exercises are best for your back?
Rows. Start with a one-arm row: one knee and one hand on a bench or sturdy chair, and pull the weight up to your side.
The NHS says adults should work all major muscles, including the back, on at least 2 days a week. A row works the muscles round your shoulder blades, behind your shoulders and your biceps.
| Move | Where | How |
|---|---|---|
| One-arm row | Gym bench or a sturdy chair | One knee and hand on the bench, other foot back. Drive your elbow to your back pocket. Keep your body still. |
| Bent-over row | Anywhere, with two dumbbells | Bend forward from the hips and hold it there. Row both elbows back. Don’t let your lower back arch. |
| Chest-supported row | Gym, bench tilted up | Lie face down on the bench and row each arm. Don’t curl the weight or shrug. |
Sources: The Prehab Guys: one-arm row; The Prehab Guys: bent-over row; The Prehab Guys: chest-supported row
The Prehab Guys, physio educators, cue every row the same way: elbow towards your back pocket. Don’t let your body twist as you pull.
Pick one row and do it twice this week.
How do I do a back workout at home with dumbbells?
Use a sturdy chair for the one-arm row. Do the bent-over row standing up. That’s a full back session.
Only got light dumbbells? That can be enough. A review of 21 studies found light loads (60% or less of the most you can lift once) built similar muscle to heavy ones.
The catch: every set went until they couldn’t do another rep. Heavy loads did more for that one-lift max.
No dumbbells at all? The bent-over row works with weights or objects in each hand. Filled water bottles or a loaded backpack will do.
With light weights or bottles, keep going until you can’t do another rep. That will take more reps.
Which dumbbell exercise works your lats?
Rows. Your lats are the wide muscles down the sides of your back, and they’re a main muscle in pulling moves.
The move often sold for your lats is the dumbbell pullover. You lie on a bench and lower one dumbbell behind your head with straight arms. In muscle tests of the pullover, it worked the chest more.
| What was tested | Who | What they found |
|---|---|---|
| Pullover with a bar | 8 healthy men | The chest muscle worked harder than the lats. |
| 23 studies of lat moves | A review | The pullover favoured the chest. A pulldown to the front of your head was tentatively the most consistent for the lats. |
Sources: Marchetti 2011; Di Fonza 2026
These tests measured muscle activity in one session, not growth. So the pullover isn’t useless. It just isn’t the lat move it’s sold as.
A lat pulldown needs a gym machine. At home, rows are your lat move. For more home moves, try our resistance band exercises.
What back exercises can I do with no weights?
Lie face down. These three moves need only the floor and a towel.
| Move | How | You should feel |
|---|---|---|
| Superman | Arms in front. Lift your arms and legs together, elbows and knees straight. Look at the floor. | Lower back, bottom (glutes) and shoulder blades |
| Y raise | Towel under your forehead, arms in a Y, thumbs up. Lift your hands. Don’t shrug. | The back of your shoulder blades |
| T raise | Arms out in a T. Lift as high as you can, hold a few seconds, lower slowly. | Shoulder blades and the back of your shoulders |
Sources: The Prehab Guys: superman; The Prehab Guys: Y raise; The Prehab Guys: T raise
On the superman, The Prehab Guys say keep your neck in line with your back, so don’t look up. On the T raise, avoid arching your lower back.
Doing back moves for back pain? The evidence there is different. Our back strengthening guide covers what trials found.
How many sets build a bigger back?
Hard sets, at least 2 days a week, and a few more sets over time.
In a review of 15 studies, each extra weekly set was linked to about 0.37% more muscle gain.
- Below 5 sets a weekUnder 5: the lowest group.
- 5 to just under 10 sets a week5 to 9: the middle group.
- 10 sets a week or above10 or more: a trend to the most growth, not proven.
Source: Schoenfeld 2017, J Sports Sci
Count every back move. Two rows, 3 sets each, twice a week, is 12 sets.
Rows won’t burn the fat on your back, though. In one small study, 11 young adults trained one leg for 12 weeks. They lost fat, but from their arms and trunk, not the trained leg.
To lose fat, see the best exercise for weight loss.
Your two-day back week
- Train your back on at least 2 days a week.
- Do a one-arm row on a bench or sturdy chair for 3 sets each side.
- Add a bent-over row or a chest-supported row for 3 sets.
- On days with no weights, do supermen, Y raises and T raises.
- Keep each set going until you need a short rest before the next.
- Got shoulder pain? Don’t make up hard exercises or use heavy gym kit.
Sources: NHS: physical activity guidelines; The Prehab Guys; NHS: shoulder pain
Adding weight: progressive overload for beginners. Reps and sets: how many sets and reps. A full week: the two-day strength routine.
When to speak to a GP
If back exercises make your pain worse, the NHS says stop and see a GP. Get help if:
- You haven’t exercised for some time, or you have medical conditions or concerns. The NHS says speak to your GP first.
- Back pain doesn’t improve after a few weeks of treating it at home, or stops your daily activities. It worries you, is hard to cope with, or comes with weight loss you didn’t try for. It comes with a lump or swelling or a change in your back’s shape, doesn’t improve with rest or is worse at night. It’s worse when you sneeze, cough or poo, or comes from the top of your back, between your shoulders. See a GP.
- Shoulder pain is getting worse or doesn’t improve after 2 weeks, or it’s very hard to move your arm or shoulder. See a GP.
- Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if you have back pain and feel hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell. The same goes for severe pain that starts suddenly or gets worse quickly.
- Call 999 or go to A&E if you have back pain with pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. The same goes for a loss of feeling around your genitals or anus, or changes in your bladder or bowels, like trouble peeing or peeing or pooing yourself. Also for changes in how your penis or vagina feels during sex, not being able to get or keep an erection or orgasm, chest pain, or pain after a serious accident.
In many areas you may be able to get physio from NHS community services without a GP referral.