If you’re looking for a new back and biceps workout to add to your upper body exercise routine, these three moves are a must-try.
There’s no shortage of muscle torch exercises that target your back and biceps, but these three could help you build muscle and strength without spending hours at the gym. If the bro split is your preferred training method—by which we mean splitting chest and triceps, leg day and back and biceps—then this is a tick for the latter combo.
Back and bicep combinations are common because the pulling motion targets both of these major muscle groups. Likewise, pushing activates the chest and triceps, so many people also pair push and pull for a full upper body session. Grab a pair of the best adjustable dumbbells and let’s get to work.
Today, it’s all about pulling using three compound exercises that work the biceps and various back muscles together rather than one muscle in isolation—you can learn more about isolation versus compound exercises here. You can target more muscles in less time and not fatigue your biceps too early to assist you in heavier lifts to target your biggest, most powerful back muscles.
9 minute workout, 3 back and biceps moves
So put those bench presses and push-ups aside for the next nine minutes. Perform these three upper body exercises like EMOM, every minute on the minute. Aim for 8-12 reps per exercise and aim to finish them in about 45-50 seconds, allowing 10-15 seconds of rest before starting the next minute. Complete three rounds.
If you finish well before then, add more reps or lift a heavier weight that helps you reach fatigue on the last few reps. For a longer workout, just add laps.
1. Pendlay row with dumbbells
It closely resembles a bent-over row, but the move requires more range of motion because, after each rep, you’ll lower the barbell or dumbbells and lift yourself up from a dead-stop, off-the-floor position. The horizontal row targets muscles such as the latissimus dorsi (lats), trapezius (traps), posterior deltoids, biceps and rhomboids, strengthening the muscles responsible for good posture and definition of the back muscles and also targeting the glutes, hips and muscles back of the thigh.
Here’s how to do a bentover barbell row. At the back of the row, place the barbell down, then row from there. You can also use dumbbells, so swap out the barbell for free weights and have a bench or raised platform on standby to rest the weights on. This should help protect against overstretching and lower back pain.
2. Dumbbell pull-overs
The dumbbell pullover doesn’t require your elbows to bend or flex, which means you can hit your lats (large muscles that run down the sides of your back) and teres major without much use of your arms. Your back, pecs, and shoulder muscles need to do the heavy lifting, which is great for building strength and muscle without the assistance of secondary movers like your biceps.
As:
- Lie on your back on an exercise bench, with your feet flat on the floor or bench, making sure your head is supported
- Hold a dumbbell in both hands or a dumbbell in each hand
- Engage your core and extend your arms toward the ceiling, holding the dumbbell above your chest, palms facing each other and elbows slightly bent
- Lower the weight behind you. Pause as both arms extend behind your head, then lift the dumbbell to the starting position.
3. Reverse Wing Dumbbell Hammer Curls
The hammer curl targets and isolates primarily the biceps, including the brachialis and brachioradialis, using a neutral grip combined with reverse flaps, which hit the trapezius, posterior deltoids (the back of the shoulders), and rotator cuffs without much commitment from the backbones. Learn more about hammer curls here.
As:
- Stand with your legs hip-width apart and a slight bend in the knee
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing your body and thumbs pointing forward
- Bend your elbows and lift your lower arms towards your shoulders. Pause, then lower the weights to the starting position.
Move with control and never swing the weights towards you. Engage your core as you move and avoid arching your back.
- To perform flyes, hinge forward at the hips, with slight knee flexion and a flat back. Engage your core
- Hold the dumbbells in front of you with your palms facing each other in a neutral grip
- Maintain a soft bend in your elbows. Slowly raise your arms out to the sides and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Pause, then lower the dumbbells to starting position.
Verdict
Wait if you’re wondering why the lack of love for your lower back. The muscles that hug your spine and support your posture — your erector spinae muscles — are part of your core network, which means these muscles engage during many compound movements like deadlifts, good mornings, and even core workouts. So they still get a lot of attention.
Most back and bicep workouts that follow a traditional resistance training format will include about six exercises, mostly comprising compound movements and then one or two isolation exercises done near the end. This is because the biceps are much smaller muscles and fatigue faster, so you can train your back more often at a higher intensity.
If your goal is hypertrophy — muscle growth — you might lift at a lighter percentage of your maximum weight capacity for slightly more reps or fewer reps at a heavier weight for strength training. We cover hypertrophy versus strength training in more detail here.
However, this three-move combo hits every muscle group you need for three sets each and works more like a circuit, which is an effective and efficient way to train your back and biceps in a shorter amount of time. Either way, get ready to burn those upper body muscles and deal with fatigue with this fiery three-move EMOM.
We list other favorites below if you want to combine this back and biceps workout with another exercise program.
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