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Back Workout for Women: A Gym and Home Plan for a Stronger Back
Your back is one of the biggest muscle groups you have, and the easiest to undertrain, because you never see it in the mirror. It does the pulling in your day, and it's what gets you to a first pull-up.
Updated · 7 min read · By the HerShape team
This back workout for women gives you one focused gym session for your lats, mid-back, rear shoulders and spinal erectors, a dumbbell or band version for home, and a simple way to progress. Our upper body workout for women covers back, chest, shoulders and arms together; use this page when your back is the priority. Training for better posture? The FAQ covers what the research does and doesn't show.
The muscles a back workout trains
| Muscle | What it does | Trained by |
|---|---|---|
| Lats | Pull your arms down and back toward your sides | Pulldowns, pull-ups, straight-arm pulldowns |
| Mid-back (middle traps and rhomboids) | Squeeze your shoulder blades together | Rows, especially chest-supported |
| Rear delts | Pull your upper arms back and out | Reverse flys, face pulls |
| Spinal erectors | Hold your spine steady when you hinge and lift | Romanian deadlifts, back extensions |
A complete back workout pulls in two directions: down from overhead (more lats) and toward your torso (more mid-back), plus rear-delt work and a hip hinge.
Your gym back workout
Do this session once or twice a week (see weekly sets below). It takes about 50-60 minutes.
Effort is written as RIR (reps in reserve): how many more clean reps you could do when you stop. RIR 2 means two good reps left.
Warm-up (5-6 minutes)
- Three minutes on a rower.
- 15 band pull-aparts, 10 bodyweight hip hinges, 10 arm circles each way.
- Ramp-up sets for your first exercise: 8 light reps, then 5 at about half your working weight.
Back day
| Exercise | Sets x reps | Rest | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lat pulldown or your pull-up level (below) | 3 x 6-10, or your level's reps | 2 min | RIR 2 |
| Chest-supported row (machine, or dumbbells face down on an incline bench) | 3 x 8-12 | 2 min | RIR 2 |
| Romanian deadlift | 3 x 8-10 | 2 min | RIR 2-3 |
| One-arm cable or dumbbell row | 2 x 10-12 each side | 90 s | RIR 1-2 |
| Straight-arm cable pulldown | 2 x 12-15 | 60 s | RIR 1-2 |
| Reverse cable fly or rear-delt machine | 3 x 12-20 | 60 s | RIR 1-2 |
That's 13 upper-back sets, plus 3 sets of Romanian deadlifts for your spinal erectors, hamstrings and glutes. If your leg days already include them, swap in 3 sets of 45° back extensions.
Pick your vertical pull
| Where you are now | First exercise | Sets x reps |
|---|---|---|
| Pull-ups feel far off | Lat pulldown | 3 x 6-10 |
| You can hang from a bar but not pull up | Machine- or band-assisted pull-up | 3 x 6-10 |
| Assisted pull-ups feel easy with little help | Negatives: step up to the top, lower yourself over 3-5 seconds | 3 x 3-5 |
| You can do 1-3 pull-ups | Unassisted pull-ups | 3 x 1-3 |
Move up when every set reaches the top of the range. On the assisted machine, progress means less counterweight. For negatives and unassisted pull-ups, skip the RIR target and stop each set while every rep is still controlled. Pull-ups take most people months; the full ladder is in our upper body workout for women.
Cues: make your back do the work
| Exercise | Cue | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Pulldown and pull-up | Shoulders down first, then drive your elbows toward your back pockets | Leaning far back or kicking to finish |
| Rows | Lead with your elbows; pause 1 second with shoulder blades squeezed | Shoulders creeping up to your ears |
| Straight-arm pulldown | Arms long, sweep the handle to your thighs, ribs down | Bending elbows into a triceps pushdown |
| Reverse fly | Light weight, arms wide, "spread the handles apart" | Swinging your torso |
| Romanian deadlift | Hips back, weight close to your legs, back flat | Rounding to reach the floor |
Back workout at home (dumbbells or bands)
A pair of dumbbells and a long resistance band with a door anchor cover almost everything. Anchor the band in a closed door that opens away from you, so pulling holds it shut.
| Exercise | Sets x reps | Rest | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kneeling band lat pulldown (band anchored high) | 3 x 12-20 | 90 s | RIR 1-2 |
| Chest-supported dumbbell row, or one-arm row with a hand on a chair | 3 x 10-15 (one-arm: each side) | 90 s | RIR 1-2 |
| Dumbbell Romanian deadlift | 3 x 10-15 | 90 s | RIR 2 |
| Band straight-arm pulldown (band anchored high), or a dumbbell pullover if you have no band | 2 x 12-15 | 60 s | RIR 1-2 |
| Bent-over dumbbell reverse fly, or band pull-apart | 3 x 15-20 | 60 s | RIR 1-2 |
| Prone Y raise (face down, thumbs up) | 2 x 10-15 | 45 s | 2-second hold at the top |
That's the same 13 upper-back sets as the gym day. No band? Swap the pulldown for 3 sets of one-arm dumbbell rows, pulling your elbow toward your hip to bias the lats. No equipment at all? See our home workout plan for women.
How many back sets a week
A 2017 meta-analysis of 15 studies, mostly in untrained adults, found muscle growth increased with each extra weekly set, and groups doing 10 or more sets per muscle a week gained the most on average.
| Your week | Back work | Upper-back sets a week |
|---|---|---|
| One pull day | Full session once | 13 |
| Two upper or pull days | Full session on one, first three exercises on the other | 19 |
| Short on time | First three exercises, twice a week | 12 |
Upper-back sets are rows, pulldowns and rear-delt work; Romanian deadlifts are counted separately. Our guides to the best workout split for women and push/pull/legs for women show where a back day fits.
How the 4 weeks build
| Week | Sets | Effort | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 per exercise | RIR 3 | Learn the cues, find your weights |
| 2 | As listed | As listed | Add reps |
| 3 | Add 1 set to the first exercise | As listed | Add reps or weight |
| 4 | Same as week 3 | Last set of the first exercise can reach RIR 1 | Beat your week 2 numbers |
Use double progression: stay at a weight until every set hits the top of the rep range, then make the smallest jump available (one plate on a machine, the next dumbbell up on rows) and build the reps back up. After week 4, take an easier week (half the sets, RIR 4), then start again from your new weights.
Common mistakes
- Letting your arms take over. Feel rows mostly in your biceps? Drop the weight and think elbows, not hands.
- Going heavy on rear delts. They're small. A weight you control for 15 reps beats one you heave.
- Only rowing, or only pulling down. A full back needs both directions every week.
- Skipping the stretch. Let your arms get long at the top of each pulldown and the front of each row.
- Not logging. Write down weights, counterweight and reps so you know when to move up.
How HerShape helps
Want back work that fits your whole week? HerShape builds your weekly workout and meal plan around your goal, your equipment (full gym, dumbbells or bodyweight), your schedule, your life stage and your cycle phase. Every exercise comes with a form video, and progress tracking is built in. With Pro, you can regenerate your plan and ask Coach Sarah (the AI coach) to swap a meal or explain why your plan changed.
Download HerShapeYour first plan is free. Pro is $9.99 a month, or $79.99 a year with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers. See what is included
Frequently asked questions
Will a back workout fix my posture?
Training your back strengthens the muscles that pull your shoulders back, but it isn't a posture fix on its own. A 2018 review of seven trials (627 people with forward head posture) found exercise programs improved one measure of head position but not another, and the authors said the link between that posture, pain and exercise is still unclear. A 2020 review of 41 systematic reviews found no consensus that physical exposures, including prolonged sitting or standing, cause low back pain. If your posture comes with pain, see a qualified professional.
How do I get my first pull-up?
Train the pull you can do now and make it a little harder each week: pulldowns, then assisted pull-ups with less help, then slow negatives. Train it twice a week if you can. Expect months, not weeks.
Can back exercises reduce back fat?
Not in that spot specifically. In a 12-week study of 104 adults, 59 of them women, who trained only one arm, MRI scans showed no extra fat loss in the trained arm compared with the untrained one. Everyone has some fat on their back, and where your body stores it varies from person to person. Back training builds the muscle underneath; overall fat loss, if that's your goal, comes from your whole routine over time.
How often should I train my back?
Twice a week suits most people: one full back session and a shorter one with a pulldown, a row and a Romanian deadlift. Once a week also works. Leave at least a day between hard back sessions.
Should I train my back if it hurts?
If your back hurts, talk to a doctor or a qualified professional such as a physiotherapist before you start or continue a back workout. They can tell you what suits you right now.
Sources: Schoenfeld BJ et al., "Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: a systematic review and meta-analysis," Journal of Sports Sciences, 2017; Sheikhhoseini R et al., "Effectiveness of therapeutic exercise on forward head posture: a systematic review and meta-analysis," Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 2018; Swain CTV et al., "No consensus on causality of spine postures or physical exposure and low back pain: a systematic review of systematic reviews," Journal of Biomechanics, 2020; Kostek MA et al., "Subcutaneous fat alterations resulting from an upper-body resistance training program," Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2007.