The Best Back Exercise:
The back is the largest muscle group for a weight lifter. The muscles in the back are the trapezius, rhomboids, latissimus dorsi, erector spinae, multifidus, and quadratus lumborum.
Back
According to physical therapist Brett Sears of verywellhealth.com, the functions of each muscle are as follows.
- Trapezius: Your traps serve to elevate your shoulders. The middle and lower trapezius function to retract your shoulders, pulling them backward.
- Rhomboids: The rhomboids serve to retract and stabilize your shoulder blades.
- Latissimus dorsi: Your latissimus functions to extend and medially rotate your upper arm bone. They also help stabilize your low back when your arm is in a fixed weight-bearing position.
- Erector spinae: The erector spinae muscles extend your spine, bending it backward. When acting on one side only they serve to laterally flex your trunk.
- Multifidus: Each level of the multifidus muscle serves to stabilize the spinal segment to which it attaches.
- Quadratus lumborum: Your QL laterally flexes your spine when contracting on one side. If both quadratus lumborum muscles contract, extension of your spine occurs.
(Source: https://www.earthslab.com/anatomy/muscles-of-the-back/)
While all muscle groups require a variety of exercises for optimal growth the single best back exercise would have to be the Barbell bent-over row.
As a barbell exercise, this lift allows for the heaviest lifting potential since both arms are used. This lift is the most simple and efficient lift for hitting all muscles in the back. By focusing on the “squeeze” of the lift, or the point of complete contraction at the top of the movement, the lifter can achieve incredible mind muscle connection and fully contract the entirety of the back, a challenging task to achieve in one exercise. This is my personal favorite as the lift also hits the biceps and is one of the most intense compound movements for the entire body.