Workout of the week: 45-min back strength workout

28th July 2025

45-min back strength workout - Woman training on a Technogym lat pulldown machine in the strength area of EVO Fitness, surrounded by weights and exposed brick walls.

ALL LEVELS/ back strength workout / 45 minutes

Equipment: Barbell, gym bench, lat pulldown machine, cable machine, SkiErg

Chances are, you’re curled up like a question mark right now. And now that you’ve read this, you’ve probably just sat up straight like an exclamation point. It’s an instinctive reaction and a sign that you know how important your back strength is. A strong back helps improve posture, reduce pain, and prevent injuries, supporting almost every movement you make, from lifting weights to carrying groceries.

Give your back the focus it deserves with this new back strength workout. It features 5 exercises, each performed for 3 sets of 12 reps. To finish, you’ll hit the SkiErg for 3 sets of 2 minutes each. You’ll have a 1-minute rest between sets and exercises. The full session should take you around 45 minutes to complete.

Barbell deadlift
Incline barbell row
Lat pulldown
Cable pulldown
SkiErg

Time to strengthen your back!

WORKOUT SETUP

5 exercises
12 reps
3 sets
1-min rest between rounds and exercises
SkiErg: 3 sets, 2 minutes each
45 minutes
Equipment: Barbell, gym bench, lat pulldown machine, cable machine, SkiErg

WORKOUT EXERCISE LIST

3 sets

1 – BARBELL DEADLIFT

12 reps

Stand with your feet under the barbell, hip-width apart. When you look down, the barbell should run halfway over your feet.
Bend down and grasp the barbell with a shoulder-width grip.
Keeping your torso upright and your back and arms straight, stand and pull the bar up the front of your legs, driving with your legs.
At the top of the movement, squeeze your glutes, pull your shoulders back, and exhale.
To return the bar to the floor, push your butt back and lower the bar down the front of your legs, keeping your back straight.
Once the bar passes your knees, bend your knees and lower the bar to the floor.
Keep your arms and back straight, your torso upright, and your feet and knees pointing in the same direction.
At the top of the lift, do not hyperextend your back.
Keep the barbell close to your body to improve mechanical leverage.

2 – INCLINE BARBELL ROW

12 reps

Set the bench to roughly 30 degrees.
Place a barbell at the base of the bench, then lie on your front with your chest supported and feet grounded.
Grab the barbell with a wide overhand grip. Brace your core, keep your chest against the bench, and pull the bar toward your chest.
Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top, then lower the bar with control.
Repeat.

3 – LAT PULLDOWN

12 reps

Adjust the pad on your legs to reduce the movement.
Grasp the bar above your head with a wide grip. Keep looking forward with your torso upright.
Engage your shoulder blades, then pull the bar down to your upper chest level.
Squeeze your lats at the bottom of the move and avoid leaning back too much to facilitate the movement.
Slowly return up and repeat.

4 – CABLE PULLDOWN

12 reps

Stand tall and face the cable machine with a wide-grip bar attached.
Grab the bar with both hands, palms facing down, just wider than shoulder-width.
Hinge forward slightly at the hips, just enough to feel your lats engage.
With a soft bend in your elbows, pull the bar down toward your thighs by squeezing your shoulder blades and driving through your lats.
Pause when you feel the contraction, then slowly return to the start.
That’s one rep. Repeat.

5 – SKIERG

2 minutes

Stand facing the SkiErg with feet shoulder-width apart and grab the handles with an overhand grip.
Keep your core tight, hinge slightly at the hips, and drive the handles down in a powerful pulling motion.
Once the handles reach your thighs, return to the top position with control and go again.
Keep your pace consistent and push hard for 2 minutes.