By location

Back Exercises for the Gym

A gym opens 74 of the 77 movements in BackMaxx. The useful number is the other one: 31 exercises exist nowhere else, and they are not spread evenly across the six zones.

· Written by the BackMaxx team

The short answer

A gym back workout can use 74 of BackMaxx’s 77 exercises — all except Towel Row, Towel Pull-up and Doorway Row. The gym adds 31 movements: 12 barbell, 8 cable, 8 machine and 3 needing a fixture. Its biggest single gain is Lower Back, which goes from 11 options to 21.

What a gym adds to the 46 you already had

74 of the 77 BackMaxx exercises carry the gym tag. The three that do not are the improvisations — Towel Row, Towel Pull-up and Doorway Row — and a cable stack replaces all three on arrival.

So the number that matters is 31: the movements that exist nowhere but a gym. Twelve are barbell, eight cable, eight machine, and three are bodyweight lifts that still need a fixture — Back Extension, Weighted Pull-up and Weighted Chin-up.

ZoneAt homeAt the gymWhat the gym adds
Lower Back1121Seven barbell hinges, Reverse Hyperextension, Smith Machine Romanian Deadlift, Back Extension
Lat Width1320Four pulldown variations, Assisted Pull-up and Assisted Chin-up, Weighted Pull-up and Weighted Chin-up
Upper Back1117Barbell Row, Pendlay Row, Meadows Row, T-Bar Row, Chest Supported Row, Machine Row, Seated Cable Row, Single-Arm Cable Row
Traps58Barbell Shrug, Upright Row, Face Pull
Rear Delts68Reverse Pec Deck, Cable Rear Delt Fly

The barbell here is a hinge tool, not a width tool

The barbell’s 12 movements lean hard one way: seven lead on Lower Back, three on Upper Back, two on Traps. None leads on Lat Width, because the barbell has no vertical pull in it. If you walked in intending to build the V-taper with a bar on the floor, the equipment is wrong for the job — the barbell list is a thickness and hinge list, and it is also where 5 of the 10 advanced movements live.

Cables and machines do the two things free weights cannot

Half of the eight cable movements are pulldowns: Lat Pulldown, Wide-Grip, Close-Grip and Straight-Arm. A high pulley lets you train the vertical pull at a weight you choose rather than the weight you happen to be, and the lats want “a full stretch at the top and a long range” on rep one and rep twelve alike. The rest of the cable exercises cover the Face Pull, the seated and single-arm rows, and the only cable Rear Delt movement in the corpus.

Machines carry the two assisted lifts — Assisted Pull-up and Assisted Chin-up, both 3 × 8–12 — which are the only movements of that kind anywhere in the 77. They bridge a Negative Pull-up and a strict rep, which is why the six-week Pull-Up Progression runs more smoothly with a stack than without one. The rest of the machine exercises are the supported rows and the two Lower Back pads.

Which of the 74 to actually pick

Difficulty is not the sorting key. The gym list splits 48 beginner, 17 intermediate and 9 advanced, so walking through the door does not move you up a tier — it widens the shelf at the tier you are already on.

Order the session by how much position you have to hold. Put the barbell hinge or the weighted pull first, while nothing is fatigued. Free-weight rows go second, supported rows and pulldowns third, and the Face Pull or Reverse Pec Deck last, where 3 × 12–15 of strict work costs you nothing you needed elsewhere.

Pick which zone leads by score, not by preference. One weak zone should own the first two slots of every session for as long as it stays weak.

What the gym does not fix

For Traps and Rear Delts, walking through the door changes almost nothing. Between them the gym adds five movements, and three of those are a shrug, an upright row and a face pull — all of which have a band or dumbbell twin. If those two zones are your gap, the home list costs you almost nothing, and the fix is frequency rather than hardware.

Beginner (48)

Active Hang illustration Active Hang Pull-up Bar · Lat Width · beginner Assisted Chin-up illustration Assisted Chin-up Machine · Lat Width · beginner Assisted Pull-up illustration Assisted Pull-up Machine · Lat Width · beginner Banded Lat Pulldown illustration Banded Lat Pulldown Resistance Band · Lat Width · beginner Child's Pose illustration Child’s Pose Bodyweight · Lat Width · beginner Close-Grip Lat Pulldown illustration Close-Grip Lat Pulldown Cable · Lat Width · beginner Dead Hang illustration Dead Hang Pull-up Bar · Lat Width · beginner Lat Pulldown illustration Lat Pulldown Cable · Lat Width · beginner Negative Pull-up illustration Negative Pull-up Pull-up Bar · Lat Width · beginner Scapular Pull-up illustration Scapular Pull-up Pull-up Bar · Lat Width · beginner Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown illustration Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown Cable · Lat Width · beginner Back Extension illustration Back Extension Bodyweight · Lower Back · beginner Cat-Cow Stretch illustration Cat-Cow Stretch Bodyweight · Lower Back · beginner Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift illustration Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift Dumbbell · Lower Back · beginner Dumbbell Sumo Deadlift illustration Dumbbell Sumo Deadlift Dumbbell · Lower Back · beginner Kettlebell Romanian Deadlift illustration Kettlebell Romanian Deadlift Kettlebell · Lower Back · beginner Smith Machine Romanian Deadlift illustration Smith Machine Romanian Deadlift Machine · Lower Back · beginner Superman illustration Superman Bodyweight · Lower Back · beginner Superman Hold illustration Superman Hold Bodyweight · Lower Back · beginner Torso Twists illustration Torso Twists Bodyweight · Lower Back · beginner Band Pull-Apart illustration Band Pull-Apart Resistance Band · Rear Delts · beginner Bent-Over Rear Delt Raise illustration Bent-Over Rear Delt Raise Dumbbell · Rear Delts · beginner Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch illustration Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch Bodyweight · Rear Delts · beginner Rear Delt Fly illustration Rear Delt Fly Dumbbell · Rear Delts · beginner Reverse Pec Deck illustration Reverse Pec Deck Machine · Rear Delts · beginner Banded Face Pull illustration Banded Face Pull Resistance Band · Traps · beginner Dumbbell Shrug illustration Dumbbell Shrug Dumbbell · Traps · beginner Face Pull illustration Face Pull Cable · Traps · beginner Farmer Carry illustration Farmer Carry Dumbbell · Traps · beginner Barbell Shrug illustration Barbell Shrug Barbell · Traps · beginner Banded Row illustration Banded Row Resistance Band · Upper Back · beginner Chest Supported Row illustration Chest Supported Row Machine · Upper Back · beginner Dumbbell Bent Over Row illustration Dumbbell Bent Over Row Dumbbell · Upper Back · beginner Inverted Row illustration Inverted Row Bodyweight · Upper Back · beginner Machine Row illustration Machine Row Machine · Upper Back · beginner One-Arm Dumbbell Row illustration One-Arm Dumbbell Row Dumbbell · Upper Back · beginner Prone T Raise illustration Prone T Raise Bodyweight · Upper Back · beginner Prone Y Raise illustration Prone Y Raise Bodyweight · Upper Back · beginner Reverse Snow Angel illustration Reverse Snow Angel Bodyweight · Upper Back · beginner Scapular Push-up illustration Scapular Push-up Bodyweight · Upper Back · beginner Seated Cable Row illustration Seated Cable Row Cable · Upper Back · beginner Bird Dog illustration Bird Dog Bodyweight · Lower Back · beginner Arm Circles illustration Arm Circles Bodyweight · Rear Delts · beginner World's Greatest Stretch illustration World’s Greatest Stretch Bodyweight · Lower Back · beginner Banded Straight-Arm Pulldown illustration Banded Straight-Arm Pulldown Resistance Band · Lat Width · beginner Banded Rear Delt Fly illustration Banded Rear Delt Fly Resistance Band · Rear Delts · beginner Kettlebell Shrug illustration Kettlebell Shrug Kettlebell · Traps · beginner Kettlebell Single-Arm Row illustration Kettlebell Single-Arm Row Kettlebell · Upper Back · beginner

Intermediate (17)

Chin-up illustration Chin-up Bodyweight · Lat Width · intermediate Neutral-Grip Pull-up illustration Neutral-Grip Pull-up Bodyweight · Lat Width · intermediate Pull-up illustration Pull-up Bodyweight · Lat Width · intermediate Straight-Arm Pulldown illustration Straight-Arm Pulldown Cable · Lat Width · intermediate Landmine Romanian Deadlift illustration Landmine Romanian Deadlift Barbell · Lower Back · intermediate Rack Pull illustration Rack Pull Barbell · Lower Back · intermediate Reverse Hyperextension illustration Reverse Hyperextension Machine · Lower Back · intermediate Romanian Deadlift illustration Romanian Deadlift Barbell · Lower Back · intermediate Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift illustration Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift Dumbbell · Lower Back · intermediate Trap Bar Deadlift illustration Trap Bar Deadlift Barbell · Lower Back · intermediate Cable Rear Delt Fly illustration Cable Rear Delt Fly Cable · Rear Delts · intermediate Upright Row illustration Upright Row Barbell · Traps · intermediate Barbell Row illustration Barbell Row Barbell · Upper Back · intermediate Single-Arm Cable Row illustration Single-Arm Cable Row Cable · Upper Back · intermediate T-Bar Row illustration T-Bar Row Machine · Upper Back · intermediate Kettlebell Swing illustration Kettlebell Swing Kettlebell · Lower Back · intermediate Dumbbell Upright Row illustration Dumbbell Upright Row Dumbbell · Traps · intermediate

Advanced (9)

Commando Pull-up illustration Commando Pull-up Pull-up Bar · Lat Width · advanced L-Sit Pull-up illustration L-Sit Pull-up Pull-up Bar · Lat Width · advanced Weighted Chin-up illustration Weighted Chin-up Bodyweight · Lat Width · advanced Weighted Pull-up illustration Weighted Pull-up Bodyweight · Lat Width · advanced Deadlift illustration Deadlift Barbell · Lower Back · advanced Good Morning illustration Good Morning Barbell · Lower Back · advanced Sumo Deadlift illustration Sumo Deadlift Barbell · Lower Back · advanced Meadows Row illustration Meadows Row Barbell · Upper Back · advanced Pendlay Row illustration Pendlay Row Barbell · Upper Back · advanced

Frequently asked questions

How many back exercises can you do at a gym?

74 of BackMaxx’s 77. The only three missing are Towel Row, Towel Pull-up and Doorway Row, which are home improvisations for people without a bar or a bench.

What does a gym add to a back workout?

31 movements that exist nowhere else: 12 barbell, 8 cable, 8 machine, plus Back Extension, Weighted Pull-up and Weighted Chin-up. Per zone the biggest gain is Lower Back, from 11 options to 21, followed by Lat Width from 13 to 20.

Do you need a barbell to train your back?

Not for width. No barbell movement in the corpus leads on Lat Width. The barbell earns its place on the hinge — seven of its 12 movements lead on Lower Back — and on heavy rowing, where Pendlay Row and Meadows Row sit at the advanced end.

Is the lat pulldown better than the pull-up?

They solve different problems. The pulldown is one of four cable Lat Width movements and lets you pick the load, so it works before a strict rep exists and after it stops being hard. The Pull-up is rated intermediate and asks for your whole bodyweight from a dead hang.

How many gym back exercises are beginner level?

48 of the 74, including all five stretches and both assisted machines. The gym list is not an advanced list — only 9 of its movements are rated advanced, and 5 of those are barbell lifts.

Which of these do you actually need?

BackMaxx scores six zones and eight muscles from one photo, then picks the movements that fix the lowest number — from the same 77-exercise library.

Download on theApp Store

Free to download. iPhone, iOS 26 or later.

Advanced back exercises The 10 hardest movements, and why 5 of them need a barbell. Lower Back exercises The 21 movements behind the Christmas tree and every heavy pull. Building upper-back thickness How rowing choice changes the way your back reads in profile.