The Best 30-Minute Back Workout for Size and Strength 

Time is arguably the most valuable commodity. It runs out fast, and you can’t make more of it. There are LOTS of demands on your time, and it’s also easy to waste.  

Workouts are often the first causality when time is short. It’s easy to think that you’ll catch up on any missed workouts later in the week, but that usually doesn’t happen. Miss more than a few workouts, and you can start waving goodbye to your hard-won gains.

That’s because your body operates on a system of “use it or lose it.” If you don’t challenge your muscles regularly, they have no reason to remain big and strong. There are a few things you can do to delay muscle atrophy, but if you don’t train regularly, backsliding is inevitable.

One way to avoid missing workouts is to spend less time training. Believe it or not, you don’t have to do high-volume, two-hour training sessions to build muscle and get stronger. You can actually achieve satisfactory results from much shorter workouts.

In this article, we reveal our favorite 30-minute back workout!

The Best 30-Minute Back Workout – Overview

This workout is designed to develop back thickness, width, shape, and strength in 30-minutes. It attacks your back from multiple directions using some new and unusual twists on the classic back building exercises.

Do this work out once or twice a week as part of a body part split routine. If you do it twice, make sure you train your back on non-consecutive days, e.g., Monday and Thursday, to allow adequate time for rest and recovery.

Of course, before you lay a hand on the weights, you must spend a few minutes warming up and preparing your body for what you’re about to do.

So, start with a few minutes of easy cardio followed by some dynamic mobility and flexibility exercises for the muscles you’re about to train. Finally, do a couple of light sets of the first exercise of the workout to ensure you’re 100% ready to go.

The Best 30-Minute Back Workout

This workout should be over and done in 30 minutes, but only if you hustle that muscle and don’t dawdle between sets or exercises. If you can’t complete it in 30 minutes, you are wasting time somewhere, so chat and text less, and get your butt moving!

30-Minute Back Workout – Exercise Instructions

There are two ways to do any exercise – the right way and the wrong way. The right way is safe and effective, while the wrong way isn’t! So, when in doubt, use less weight, focus on your technique, and remember that many injuries are avoidable if you train with good form and appropriate weights.

1. Sweep Deadlift

The conventional deadlift is a bonafide back-building hero, but this variation makes it even more so. Deadlifts provide your back with a good workout, but that lats are not always as engaged as they could be. The simple addition of a resistance band makes this exercise much more lat-centric, as you’ll need to work harder to keep the bar close to your legs.

How to do it:

1. Place your barbell on the floor and load it with around 60-70% of your 1RM.
2. Fix a resistance band to the center of the bar and attach the other end to an anchor point out in front of you. Roll the bar back to apply some tension to the band.
3. Standing behind the bar, grip it with an overhand, shoulder-width grip and stand with your feet hip-width apart and your toes under the bar. Drop your hips, straighten your arms, and brace your core.
4. Drive your feet into the floor and, without rounding your lower back, stand up while keeping the bar pressed back toward your legs throughout. Really flex your lats.
5. Return the bar to the floor, reset your core, and repeat.

2. Pull-ups/Chin-up Complex

Pull-ups and chin-ups are awesome back-building exercises, but which one is best? This complex saves you from having to choose, as it involves both. Pull-ups are arguably better for engaging your lats, but your biceps are in a stronger position with chin-ups. Doing both means that you can enjoy all the benefits these exercises have to offer.

How to do it:

1. Hang from an overhead bar using a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip. Brace your core and pull your shoulders down and back. Your feet should be clear of the floor.
2. Bend your arms and, without kicking or swinging, pull your chin up and over the bar.
3. Descend under control and repeat.
4. Then, switch your hands to an underhand, slightly narrower than shoulder-width grip.
5. Bend your arms and, without kicking or swinging, pull your chin up and over the bar.
6. Descend under control and repeat.

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Split your rep target equally between pull-ups and chin-ups. So, if you usually do 12 reps, do six pull-ups and six chin-ups. You may even find you can do a couple more reps than usual because of the brief pause between exercises and the change in hand position.

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3. Chest-Supported DB Row

Does your lower back let you down during bent-over rows? You are not alone! This rowing variation takes your lower back out of the equation, so you’re free to focus 100-percent on working your lats to failure. While you can use a barbell for chest-supported rows, it works much better with dumbbells as you’ll be able to use a larger range of motion.

How to do it:

1. Set the backrest on an adjustable bench to around 30 degrees. Lie face down with a dumbbell in each hand, arms straight, and head uppermost. Pull your shoulders down and back.
2. Using a neutral or palms facing inward grip, bend your elbows and row the weights up toward your lower ribs. Shrug your shoulders back at the top of each rep to fully engage your upper back.
3. Extend your arms and repeat.

4. Dumbbell Pullover

Pullovers are often viewed as a chest exercise, but they also work your lats. Done with moderate weights for medium to high reps, pullovers deliver a great lat pump. Make this exercise slightly more effective by doing it on a decline bench. But, if you don’t have one, a flat bench will suffice.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your bench and hold a dumbbell in both hands. Raise the weight over your chest with your arms straight but not locked. Brace your core and pull your shoulders down and back. Your lower back should be slightly arched.
2. Extend your arms and lower the weight down toward the floor so your biceps brush your ears. Take care not to hyperextend your lower back. Instead, make sure the movement comes mostly from your shoulders.
3. Pull the weight back up until your arms are vertical, and repeat.
4. You can also do this exercise with two dumbbells or a barbell.

Read more on Dumbbell Pullover.

5. Kroc Row

Kroc rows are a variation of single-arm dumbbell rows. Named after bodybuilder and powerlifter Mathew Kroczaleski, who after gender reassignment is called Janae Marie Kroc, this exercise involves lifting heavy weights for high reps to build both muscle size and strength.

In simple terms, you are going to grab a heavy dumbbell and do as many reps as you can, using your legs and back to assist you. So, don’t be surprised if you can take your usual 10-12 rep weight and do 20 or more reps.

How to do it:

1. Hold a heavy dumbbell in one hand and stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and one foot in front of the other.
2. Lean forward and place your supporting hand on a stable bench, dumbbell rack, or similar. Your shoulders should be above your hips.
3. Alternatively, you can do Kroc rows with one knee resting on a bench, as you would with regular single-arm rows. However, you need to keep your hips lower than usual to get the ideal back angle.
4. Brace your core to stabilize your spine and pull your shoulders down and back.
5. Initiating the movement with your legs and hips, pull the dumbbell up and into the side of your abdomen. Shrug your shoulder back to maximally contract your upper back.
6. Lower the weight, allowing your shoulder to flex forward at the bottom of each rep. Do not round your lower back.
7. Explode up again and repeat, trying not to pause between reps.
8. Kroc rows can be done with or without lifting straps.

More Back Workouts:

• Best Old-School Back Workouts
• Build a Bigger Back From Top to Bottom
• The Best Workouts For Bigger, Stronger Back
• The 7 Best Lower Back Exercises + Workout
• Build Bigger, More Muscular Back in Less Time
• 4-Day Upper Lower Split For Hypertrophy and Strength
• Calisthenics Back Workout for Size and Strength

30-Minute Back Workout – Wrapping Up

It’s easy to find excuses not to work out. But, in a lot of cases, those excuses are just justifications for being lazy! Take a shot of pre-workout if you need some extra energy or change your program if you are bored of your current workout. For every excuse, there is usually a simple solution!

However, lack of time can be a legitimate barrier to working out. There are only 24 hours in the day, and with all the unavoidable commitments, finding time to train can be a challenge. That’s especially true if you usually do high-volume workouts.

The good news is that your workouts don’t have to be long to be effective. Providing that you dial up the intensity, short, low-volume workouts can be just as productive for building muscle and strength as spending hours in the gym.

So, the next time you are running short of time, don’t skip your workout. Instead, try our 30-minute back training plan. It might be short, but it still hits your back from all the angles to develop thickness, width, and shape.

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