One thing my follower pointed out is that it seems you hear a lot about rows for back, but not much more. So the first thing I'd like to do is break down back movements and the muscles they involve:
First of all, you have your upright pulling up or down exercises. The granddaddy of these is pull-ups, which is probably the best back muscle developer out there. The other exercises in this group would be all variations of machine pull-downs (to include my personal favorite- Strait-arm pull-downs), as well as pull-ups on the assisted chin machine and dumbbell pullovers on a bench.
Regular pull-ups are almost impossible for most people, yours truly included. There are ways to graduate yourself into doing unassisted pull-ups, the most effective of which I think is using really big bands. You secure then band on the pull-up bar, then place your foot or knees into the hanging end of the band, which then helps to propel you up. The advantage to these is that they keep the same path and range of motion as an unassisted pull-up would use, which develops the muscles to get you up there more fully. The thicker the band, the more of your body weight it assumes and the easier the exercise. This does not, however, mean they are easy! Even banded pull-ups can be really difficult.
The downside to banded pull-ups is that, particularly with the thicker band, you will probably need assistance getting your foot securely in there, particularly if you don't have a lot of upper body strength to pull the band down (which you probably don't, since you are using the thicker band).
Also, the grip on pull-ups greatly affects their difficulty. Palms facing you, hands close together, is the easiest version as it recruits arm muscles, as well as a little chest, to assist in the lift. This, by the way, is technically called a "chin up". The next up in difficulty is with palms facing each other, if you can find an apparatus that offers this feature. And the most difficult is the traditional "Pull-up", where your palms face away from you and your arms are just wider than shoulder width apart. To make these easier to start, you can fold your legs at a 90 degree angle, with your heels behind you. Legs strait is the most difficult to perform, as it places weight farther away from the lifting hinge, therefore making your body heavier. (It's a gravity thang!)
Regardless of the type of motion you do in this position, all of these exercises work mainly the latissimus dorsi (aka "lats"), which is the big wide muscle at the sides of the back that make the impressive "wing span" on big bodybuilding types. Building this muscle for everyone, male of female, goes a long ways towards making ones waist appear smaller in comparison.
The next general movement for back muscles is a rowing motion, where weight is pulled towards you from the front. These exercises always target the muscles in the middle upper back, but as a general rule the wider the arms on this motion the more the lats are brought into the move, such as in wide machine pulley rows.
These exercises include bent rows of all kinds (where the upper body is parallel to the ground), as well as upright machine and cable rows where you are pulling the weight in towards you.
And lastly we have extension moves, where the upper body hinges at the hip to go from strait to a bent position, or from bent to strait, in the instance of machine back extensions. They also include moves where the back moves behind the body into a semi-arched position, as is the case with supermans. The point is that the movement is coming from the hip area
These extension moves target the very important lower back muscles and include all types of hyperextentions, back extensions on the machine, good mornings, all kinds of deadlifts, cable pull-throughs, and all variations of supermans. And all of these moves, save the supermans, have the added benefit of being great for glutes and back of the legs, as well.
A back routine will typically include at least one of each of these levers, to effectively hit all areas of the back. If you are a more advanced lifter, two or more exercises of the pull-down and rowing type can be incorporated into your routine.
After a thorough dynamic warmup, I usually try to start with my pull-down/pull-up motion. It tends to be the most difficult of these lifts and strongly recruits every muscle in the back, as well as arms and shoulders. Consequently, it is wise to hit those moves while muscles are fresh and at their strongest.
Then I move on to my rowing motion, and finish off with my lower back movement, since these small muscles need less weight to be stimulated and won't recruit so much of the upper body muscles to assist in the move.
Here is a sample back routine for a beginner. All of these are to be done with moderate weight, so that at the end of the last set you feel that you could perform 2-3 more repetitions:
- Machine Lat Pull Downs- 3 sets of 15 reps. Here's a really good demonstration.
- Single-Arm Dumbbell Bent Rows- 3 sets of 15 reps. The only thing I would add to this video demonstration is that you don't want to just drop the weight down into the extended position. Instead, continue to maintain firm control of the weight and lower to a count of two. This will not only give you better muscle definition in the long run, but it's also safer.
- Supermans- 3 sets of 8-12. Here's a video of it, but I'd like to add that I really don't like the way the guy just drops down to the mat from the top of the move. Stay in control in both directions! You lose half of the muscle-building potential when you leave out the releasing half of any weight lifting move.
In the case of all exercises, make sure to give the muscles rest in-between the moves, whether this means not moving, stretching, or working on a different muscle group is entirely up to you.
Back muscles get recruited when you work other body parts, as well, so once a week is adequate for a back-specific workout. Additionally, I would not advise doing the same routine with the exact same exercises for more than 4 weeks. As with all muscles, eventually they adapt to the movement and this slows progression. Likewise, don't be afraid to switch exercises, even as often as each new workout. Rarely do I do the same routine twice in a row.
Back has always been my favorite body part to work on. I love the way the exercises feel, and I look of a strong back, male or female. You may not see those muscles, but your body will function better for working them, and the rest of the world will get a treat every time you turn around:
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