4 exercises a sports scientist swears by to build a bigger back

You may think you need a gym full of fancy kit to build a bigger, stronger back that’s the shape of a Dorito – you don’t. With the right exercises and a few pieces of basic home gym equipment, you can make serious progress without leaving the house.

In a new YouTube video, sports scientist Dr Milo Wolf, shares some of his favourite science-backed exercises for building back muscle. In the video, he highlights eight exercises in total, but we’ve picked out four that you can easily do at home with minimal kit – perfect for those evenings when getting to the gym just isn’t happening.

Pull-ups/chin-ups

No exercise quite demonstrates superior bodyweight strength like a pull-up, or chin-up. Of course, you will need a pull-up bar, but they’re very affordable. “Chin-ups and pull-ups are simply a great option as a compound movement for your lats,” says Dr Wolf. “Compared to lat pull-downs, where some machines preclude you from getting a full stretch, pull-ups and chin-ups almost always allow you to get a full stretch at the bottom of the rep.”

And it’s not just your back that benefits – your biceps will grow too. Dr Wolf points to a study comparing wide-grip lat pull-downs with supinated curls, which found similar bicep growth from both. “Because of how similar the biomechanics of a pull-down and pull-up are, this generalises well to pull-ups and chin-ups.”

Dumbbell pull-over

The dumbbell pull-over is making a comeback on the gym floor, and Dr Wolf says it has a lot going for it. “First, it’s probably the most stretch-biased lat exercise you can find,” he says. “For one, you can get nearly a maximum lat stretch if you get into deep shoulder flexion. And, for another, the resistance is greatest in the movement when you’re in that stretched position. If you look at the movement from the side, you’ll notice the movement of the arm increases as you get deeper and deeper into the stretch and, perceptually, you’ll feel it too.”

Doing the exercise on a weight bench also helps reduce fatigue, allowing you to knock out more reps to drive hypertrophy. And because the bench stabilises your body, it’s much harder to cheat the movement.

Incline chest supported dumbbell row

One of the other exercises Dr Wolf mentions in his video is the T-bar chest supported row, but the incline chest supported dumbbell row is a great at-home alternative. “It’s also slightly lower fatigue to a bent over row; because the chest is supported, you can often focus more on the upper back versus stabilising the weight, so your glutes, adductors and hamstrings are getting a bit less fatigued.” Less fatigue means more high-quality reps and more muscle growth. If you’re short on time, Dr Wolf also notes that it’s easy to superset with pressing exercises. His top tip: set the incline as low as possible, while retaining a full stretch.

Bent-over dumbbell row

Only have access to a pair of dumbbells and no weight bench? The bent-over dumbbell row is perfect. He actually describes it as “the traditional barbell bent over row on steroids”. “Just like the incline dumbbell row, it’s super easy to superset with dumbbell press variations. It’s also extremely easy to do in a busy gym, because all you need to do is grab some 100lbs dumbbells and mock everyone in the gym to oblivion. It’s insanely time-efficient, there’s no setup required, you just grab some dumbbells and get going. And you also get a bit of extra stretch compared to a barbell bent over row, since there’s no stop when the plates touch the ground.”