Those who think you can’t build a powerful and imposing back without fancy machines and barbells are wrong.
People were building impressive, shirt-busting backs long before gyms ever existed.
How naive for one to think that you need external weight or an awkward machine to build a muscular back.
Few people in the gym I see doing set after set of machine back exercises have a back to be envious of.
Even worse, many well-intentioned gym goers injure themselves seriously doing the “must do” exercises like deadlifts and barbell rows.
There is a better and safer way to strengthen your back while packing on lean muscle.
I’ve been watching a lot of calisthenic channels on YouTube lately and oh man have those guys figured it out.
Their strength is through the roof and they’ve built backs that even the late Eugene Sandow would be proud of.
I’ve been doing almost entirely body-weight calisthenics lately and I don’t feel that I’ve lost any strength at all.
In fact, I feel stronger and my joints feel better than they ever did with weights alone.
My back also looks more defined that it did when I was lifting heavily all summer.
If you’re not familiar with calisthenics, then you might think that the only back exercise you have is the pull-up.
Not true at all. There are a lot of other exercises and variations that you can do aside from the basic pull-up.
The 7 exercises below can be done without weights and with minimal equipment. The only thing you absolutely need is a pull-up bar, but you can find that for free at your local playground!
# 1 -- Pull-ups
So, I said it wasn’t the only exercise, but it is one of the big ones.
If you are looking to build a wide and powerful back with calisthenics, you are going to need pull-ups.
The best thing about the pull-up is that it works a ton of muscles.
Aside from your back, it works your biceps, forearms, hands and your abdominals.
You may never have thought about it, but pay attention to your abs the next time you do pull-ups.
You’ll realize how hard they’re working and contracting.
For a lot of people new to calisthenics, it will be difficult to do a full pull-up right away.
If you struggle with full pull-ups, start with doing half pull-ups or use a resistance band to help take some weight off.
Best for: overall strength, size and definition of the back.
# 2 -- Neutral grip pull-ups
A grip change makes a big difference when it comes to exercise.
With a neutral grip pull-up, you grab the bars with your palms facing in towards you.
This change of grip puts the focus on your upper back muscles.
For most people, they want to develop their muscles as much as possible. The upper back plays a major role and your back will look out of balance if you don’t train it.
These are one of my favorite type of pull-ups because they put less strain on the biceps and shoulders.
When I do these, I like to go slow and focus on form.
Even just a few sets of these will likely leave you sore the next day.
Best for: upper back/trap development and mass.
# 3 -- Wide grip pull-ups
Just like the neutral grip pull-up, a change of grip targets a different part of your back for these.
When you grab a pull-up bar wider than usual, you change the focus to your outer lats.
Even top professional bodybuilders over the years have attributed the wide grip pull-up to helping them build a wide v-taper back.
If you are looking for a wider back, these are going to be your money maker.
They can be hard to do because they put the shoulder at an awkward angle so go slowly with them.
Best for: back width and development.
# 4 -- Close grip pull-ups
These primarily work the biceps as well as the upper back and traps.
You will really feel your biceps working with these.
I also feel like they make my core and abdominal muscles work harder than the other pull-up variations.
These are probably the toughest type of pull-up to do on this list so you will want to do at least a few regular ones before you move on to these.
Just like regular pull-ups, if you can’t do these fully at first just start with half reps or use a resistance band.
Best for: biceps, traps and upper back strength and mass.
# 5 -- Horizontal pulls
You don’t need a machine to do rows.
With a horizontal pull, you are actually using a lot of weight because you are pulling your entire body up.
A horizontal pull is basically a horizontal pull-up.
You use a table, bar or suspension trainer to pull yourself up from a horizontal position and lower yourself back down.
In my opinion, these work the back and biceps better than any machine can, especially when you go slow.
I absolutely love this exercise.
If you have access to a free-standing bar with enough room to get under, you can do these from all different angles.
Best for: back width, biceps and overall strength.
# 6 -- Scapula pull
This is a newer one to me, but people swear that it will increase the number of pull-ups you can do so I’m including them in my routine and this list.
This exercise is basically the beginning movement of the pull-up.
It focuses on your shoulder blades and the muscles that surround it.
A lot of people fail with pull-ups because they think it’s all in the arms which isn’t the case.
If you are doing it properly, you should be starting by contracting your back and scapula first.
This exercise works to increase your scapula strength, which will make it easier for you to pull yourself up.
I like these a lot and can really feel them working my back and scapula muscles.
Best for: increasing your pull-up strength
# 7 -- Door handle row
I first heard of these in a book called You are your own gym.
These are a cool MacGyver type exercise that you can do anywhere you find a door handle.
With these, you can really go slow and focus on the movement.
These are easier than horizontal pulls because you don’t have your entire body-weight pulling you down.
Since you don’t have as much resistance, you can get a much stronger squeeze in your back and biceps.
These will torch your back if you do them correctly.
As a bonus, they also work your legs since you have to maintain a partial squatting position as you do them.
Best for: back strength and definition.
Put your back into it
Hopefully some of these were new to you, but if not it’s always good to review the basics.
These are all basic exercises that don’t require any special skill, although they definitely require strength.
There are many more calisthenic back exercises out there that I can’t do or haven’t done myself so just know this list isn’t exhaustive.
Just search for calisthenics on YouTube and you will see all kinds of high-flying movements.
I believe that the basics are always best for building a strong foundation and to me, these are the basics.
They take time to master, but I can promise you that it’s worth it if you are looking to build a large, powerful back.
Once you start incorporating even some of these into your current workout routine, I know that you’ll see a difference.
Stay pumped,
Dan
P.S. What are some of your favorite calisthenic back exercises? I’d love to hear them below along with any questions or comments you have!
Interesting. I always wondered how much work, especially what kind of tricks are implemented in order to get a strong back. I am into working out, but not too much into getting myself this big and buff, however, still good to know the tricks. I also understand that even though I don’t want to be big as these guys, implementing these tricks, will do the job and give me the back I want: Powerful.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! These will definitely work wonders if you are looking for a strong back. Let me know if you have any questions on anything. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your comment.
Thanks for a great article, Dan! I’ve been doing some calisthenics workout on and off but never took it too seriously. But while I was exercising like this, just like you, I’ve gained more strength in my back and even got better looks. It’s a great way to work out, not only your back but the whole upper body as well as the core. In fact, I benefited the most in the core section. No piece of equipment could do this much for your upper body. One of my favorite ‘gurus’ is Frank Medrano. That dude is crazy, and his physique shows what’s possible if you stick to it.
Thanks for the reminder. I’ll get back to bars sooner than I thought. Have a nice one!
Thanks Ivan! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Absolutely! Calisthenics rock. Frank Medrano is definitely a beast! Really impressive. Hope you get back to it soon brother! Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your comment.
This is interesting, I have never looked into calisthenics until coming across this post and there are a lot of really good workouts you have posted. I love how you can do the calisthenics with no equipment or some only need a pull-up-bar and you see results. My 2 boys will want to look into this! I will be looking up more calisthenics on YouTube:) Thank you for sharing.
Blessings,
Renea
You’re welcome Renea. This is only a very small amount of all the workouts that are out there! I love how minimalist it is, but at the same time how effective it is as well. I’m sure they will enjoy it if they are into fitness! It’s also very cheap for the parents since there are no gym memberships:p Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your comment!
You have changed my opinion of how to get in shape. My son has told me how good calisthenics are, but I just kinda passed it off as his personal opinion, but after reading this, I can see that my son’s opinion has real merit!
I am bookmarking your site to refer back to. I like your clear explanation of how each exercise works, it all makes so much sense. And yes, it makes sense too that for centuries people have gotten in great shape without any special gym equipment… but that is easy to lose sight of in today’s world.
Thanks for the eye-opener and wonder information!
Hi Moon,
His comments about calisthenics definitely have real merit! They are super powerful and a lot of people are discovering that for themselves over the last few years. I’ve always been a big gym rat, but I have slowly begun to transition a lot of calisthenic movements into my workout and I can’t tell you how much better I feel. It’s safer and more effective in many ways than a lot of the machines in the gym. Thank you for bookmarking it. I really appreciate it! People were getting into fantastic shape long before gyms existed which many forget. Thank you for your comment and thanks for stopping by!
These are all great back exercises, and you explain in great detail how to do them correctly.
I also agree that they are a better option than gym exercises.
I personally like to do pull ups outdoors, and I feel how that they work on a lot of different muscles and really strengthen my core. It is one of the hardest exercises I do!
I’d be happy to try out a few more exercises on your list once I get back to shape.
Thank you for these great exercises, and for reminding me to do calisthenic exercises more often.
You’re welcome Michael! I hope my explanation was satisfactory. I can easily write a full post on each movement, so it can be hard to sum it down into a few sentences LOL. One of my favorite parts about calisthenics is that you can take your workouts outdoors wherever you find a playground or if you have the equipment at your house. I realized how much I loved that. Being inside the gym on a beautiful summer day gets to be a little old after a while. Let me know if you have any questions or need any help! Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your comment.