Best Cable Back Workouts To Target All The Muscles On Your Back

The cable back workouts may be beneficial for those who want to build stronger, healthier, and more athletic backs. Once you incorporate a cable machine into your exercise routine, you will have an opportunity to improve not only your back but other essential compound lifts such as barbell pressing and deadlifts. Moreover, if you spice up your workouts with multiple angles, weights, and attachments, you can activate all the muscles on your back and achieve even greater results. By the way, it is possible to perform other weight training exercises on a cable back machine. So, what are cable back workouts? What are the benefits of a dedicated machine? How to effectively improve your body? You will get all your questions answered once you read this article to the very end. Being armed with the following information, you can make the most of your exercises and become healthier. 

Are Cable Machines Effective for Back Strengthening?

If you want to create more productive muscle strength in your back, using a cable machine will be a good option. You can practice multiple exercises and choose the ones that work for you. Also, it is possible to take advantage of a variety of angles, additional props, poses, and weights to engage different muscles in the motion. Cable machines are universal tools, so they offer flexibility in movements for both newcomers and experienced bodybuilders. Yes, professionals also use them to improve the build of their backs and make muscles more visible. 

The cornerstone of the popularity of cable machines is the fact that they allow stretching of the back by delivering constant tension during the exercise. This results in resistance and more productive work of muscles. By the way, it is possible to combine seated cable back workouts with dumbbell leg workouts to improve multiple parts of your body simultaneously. Once your muscles are affected by the tension, it makes them stronger and enlarges them in size. Nevertheless, even if you don’t do such workouts for bodybuilding purposes, you will see that your back will become healthier. 

Advantages of the Best Cable Back Workouts

There are multiple advantages of including cable back workouts in your everyday routine. Suffice it to say, using a dedicated machine is beneficial for multiple body parts, but your back will be especially thankful after exercising. Study some advantages of cable back workouts and decide whether they work for you. 

• Build muscles properly and improve strength in your back. If you have the right approach to exercising, you can get drastic muscle strength and improvement in their size. If you have ever been to the gym, you must notice that every gym has cable machines. This is because they are the main tools for building an athletic back. If you are all about activating muscle growth, feel free to start cable back workouts. 
• Suitable for both beginners and professionals. Whether you are an aspiring lifter or an experienced athlete, you can use a cable machine for your exercise. It will allow you to create consistent movements to target the necessary muscles. Depending on how you fine-tune the weights and the exercises, you will achieve particular results. However, the key to successful workouts is to make a plan rather than doing spontaneous movements. 
• Universal approach. Cable back machines are extremely versatile. It is possible to provide the motions of arms in different directions, so you can target multiple muscles during one workout. Here it is necessary to determine your workout goals to perform the exercises with a higher level of efficacy and safety. 

Top Man Cable Back Workouts to Make Your Back Healthier and Stronger 

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced lifter, including these exercises in your workouts will promote greeted results. Aside from gaining larger muscles, you can get rid of the pain in your back and achieve all your athletic goals. 

Cable lat pulldown 

It is advisable to perform this exercise in a sitting position. Horizontal, block pull, is one of the main exercises for building a strong, powerful and wide back. This exercise is great for hitting your trapezius muscles, middle back, and lats. Of course, it is necessary to use the right technique for performing movements.

Begin the movement by squeezing your shoulder blades together. With each new repetition, pull the V-shaped brace to the belt. Keep in mind that if you pull with a narrow grip, the weight should not be dropped on the return stroke, lower it by 2 – 3 counts.

Keep your back straight and do not cheat since it will reduce the load on the lower back. The horizontal pull, with a wide grip, is also great for pumping back muscles, adding load to the rear deltas, and orienting the load more to the middle part of the back. Moreover, this exercise allows you to work on your biceps. So, it can be a great addition to arm workouts for the triceps, biceps, and forearms, if you do any. As you see, the versatility of a cable machine is limitless. In this case, it is advisable to avoid excessive forward leaning. Try to keep your upper body upright.

Horizontal pulldown of the lower block with one hand

This is also one of the good cable back workouts which are performed in the sitting position. When performing a one-handed lower pulldown, each side of your core works independently. This in turn corrects any imbalance in strength and activates your stabilizer muscles, which balance your body, help avoid injury, and increase the level of basic back muscle work.

Set the D-handle so that it is at chest level. Take the position of the body, looking in front of you, and keep it straight, as with a horizontal thrust with two hands. Sit down, straighten your back and firmly rest your feet on the stops.

1. Take the handle with one hand. 
2. Make sure you use a neutral grip, while your free hand rests firmly on your thigh. Don’t lean forward, but pull the handle back, moving your elbow behind your back. 
3. Take a second pause, and tighten the muscles of the back and shoulder. Then return the weight to its original position. 
4. After you complete all repetitions, switch hands and do the same movements.

Avoid leaning forward during the exercise. Keep your torso upright and your back straight. Don’t let the weight “drag” you to one side. Keep your torso straight throughout the exercise to achieve better results.

Horizontal pulldown with rotation with one hand

This exercise emulates the previous one with one difference being that you add a rotation at the end of the motion. By adding a rotation at the end of the range of motion, at peak muscle contraction, you engage your shoulder stabilizers to improve overall core strengthening and trigger an additional load component for the lower body to double the challenge as well as improve overall upper body development.

1. Sit in front of an adjustable cable machine, with a D-handle attached to it, located at the level of the abdomen. 
2. Sitting on the floor or bench with your back straight, extend your right arm fully and grasp the handle with an overhand grip. 
3. Your left hand should rest on your hip. 
4. Keep your knees slightly bent.
5. As you exhale, pull the handle with your right hand, pulling the shoulder blade back while rotating the upper body. 
6. Pause for a second, then slowly return the weight back to the starting position. 
7. Repeat the same exercise by incorporating the left side into the motion.

Avoid slouching as you lower the weight. Keep your chest puffy and high and your core tight. Also, it is advisable not to drop the shoulder forward to balance the weight.

Horizontal pushdown to the face

Horizontal pushdown to the face is a phenomenal exercise that will allow you to get rid of bad posture, give your shoulders strength, especially their backs, and reduce the risk of injury to your upper body. Regardless of your strength level or fitness level, everyone should do this type of deadlift because, among other things, this exercise will help strengthen the arms, forearms, and trapezius.

Here is what you should do:

1. Use a cable with long ends.
2. Stand in front of a medium-height spinning pulley and grab each side of the anchored cable from below so that your hands are parallel to each other.
3. Step back from the cable machine until your arms are fully extended in front of you.
4. Place your feet slightly wider than your shoulders, with a slight bend at the knees.
5. Begin to pull the weight in the direction of the neck, while the elbows go back, and the ends of the cable should be against your ears. 
6. Hold your core tight, control the movement, and bring your shoulder blades together at peak muscle contraction.

Keep your torso upright and your back straight. Make sure that the range of motion of the elbows allows you to pull them back as far as possible to ensure proper contraction in the scapular area.

Cable X – traction (cross traction)

The X-Row or Cross-Cable Pull is one of the best man cable back workouts to train your back and give it a good posture. By pulling at this unique angle, you work your mid-back muscles and put stress on your rotator cuffs to avoid injury to your shoulder joints.

1. Use a cable machine and adjust the most comfortable weight. 
2. Grab the left bracket from the right side and the right cable bracket from the left side. 
3. Pull both handles up to your upper body, crossing the cables until your arms are fully out to the sides and back.

Do 2 or 3 repetitions of this exercise and good results won’t keep you waiting. 

Pulldown from the upper block & wide grip at an angle

The 30-degree wide-grip vertical row is a variation of the traditional overhead row to increase back strength. Changing the fixed angle of inclination promotes a perfect balance and increases strength in the middle and upper back. This exercise also develops strength in the shoulders, biceps, and forearms. Once you change the angle, the load will alter as well.

1. Sit on a bench facing an adjustable cable machine, with a long handle at arm’s length. 
2. Grab the handle with an overhand grip, wider than shoulder width. 
3. Lean back a little, at an angle of 30 degrees relative to the vertical line, push your chest forward, and take your shoulders back a little. 
4. Maintain this position throughout the exercise.
5. Pull the handle down until it touches the sternum. Squeeze your shoulder blades together. Then return the weight to its initial position.

It is necessary to fix the body and preserve its position during the exercise. 

Cable neutral grip lat pulldown 

If you want to boost the width of the lats, feel free to use this exercise during your cable back workouts. The cable neutral grip lat pulldown is beneficial for your lats since it promotes the full range of their motion. Focus on squeezing your back muscles at the end of the motion. 

1. Position the cable at the level of your chest. 
2. Put one of your knees down in front of the machine behind the cables. 
3. Use the neutral grip to grab both handles. Make sure you can comfortably reach them. 
4. Squeeze your shoulders at the end of the motion. 
5. Use the desired number of repetitions to achieve a perfect outcome. 

Use your back muscles rather than transferring the tension to the shoulders. 

Final Word

Whether you go to the gym or you have a cable machine at home, you will definitely need to incorporate it into your workout routine. It will help you drastically improve your back, eliminate pain or grow the muscles. Depending on your physical goals, you can use different exercises during your workouts. The ones described above will suit both advanced athletes and novice cable machine users. So, don’t waste time and start to build a healthy and strong back right away.