2 Best Back and Biceps Workout (Perfect Training Routines)

A common mistake I've observed is people starting their gym session by working on their arms.

While arm muscles are a popular showpiece for bodybuilders, this approach can actually diminish the effectiveness of your back workouts.

Here's the reason: many back exercises, such as cable rows and pull-ups, also engage your arm muscles, albeit to a lesser extent. If you begin your workout focusing on your biceps, they'll be fatigued by the time you get to your back exercises.

In an experiment with our preferred back and bicep workout routine, we made an interesting discovery.

We reversed the order of the exercises for five clients and monitored their performance. The results were consistent: their performance on back exercises was notably less effective when they started with biceps.

Effective training leads to more muscle growth.

This is why it's crucial to consider how your body recovers and builds new muscle tissue. Paying close attention to your post-workout protein intake is also essential for optimal muscle development [1].

Here is a compound exercise that I personally love the most.

Here's how you do it:

1. On a cable machine, set yourself up with a handle in each hand by your thighs so that the cables cross in front of you.
2. With your feet shoulder-width apart, pull each handle up and perpendicular to your body with your arms straight.
3. Slowly bring your arms back to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

When done with good form, this exercise will trigger multiple muscle groups from your shoulder all the way to the middle of your back.

4. Dumbbell Rows

This is a great free-weight alternative to the cable row. You’ll want to set up with a pretty heavy dumbbell on the ground.

Since many people tend to do this exercise with bad form, here's a detailed step-by-step guide on how to execute it with perfection:

1. Stand next to a flat bench. Place your right knee and right hand on the bench for support. Ensure your back is straight and parallel to the ground. Your left foot should be flat on the floor, and your left hand should be holding the dumbbell.
2. Keep your neck in a neutral position, aligning it with your spine. Avoid looking up or down excessively. Your shoulders should be square and level, not hunched.
3. With the dumbbell in your left hand, let it hang straight down from your shoulder. This is your starting position. Engage your core for stability.
4. Exhale and lift the dumbbell towards your hip, keeping your elbow close to your body. Focus on pulling with your back muscles rather than just your arm. The motion should come from your shoulder blade moving towards your spine.
5. As you lift, ensure your elbow doesn’t go higher than your torso and stays in line with your body, not flaring outwards.
6. At the top of the movement, squeeze your back muscles, especially the lats and the muscles between your shoulder blades. Hold this contraction for a moment.
7. Inhale and slowly lower the dumbbell back to the starting position. Control is key during the descent.
8. Perform the desired number of reps, then switch to the other side, placing your left knee and hand on the bench and rowing with your right arm.

This is the last back exercise before we move on to our favorite bicep workout options.

Here's how you do it:

1. Set up the cable machine as if you were going to do triceps pull-downs. But rather than standing close with your elbows bent, take a step away and keep your elbows straight.
2. Slowly pull the handle down while keeping your arms perfectly straight until your hands reach your thighs.
3. Then, slowly release the tension and feel the release in the muscle fibers of your upper back.
4. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

I generally recommend that bodybuilders do preacher curls using an EZ bar, but if you don’t have one available, then a dumbbell preacher curl can be just as effective.

To do preacher curls:

1. Find a padded preacher curl station and adjust the height so that you can comfortably lean forward.
2. Rest both elbows on the pad with a dumbbell in each hand.
3. Then, slowly lower your arms till just before they're straight, and curl the weight back up.
4. Repeat for reps.

Also Read: How to Do Preacher Curls?

4. Reverse-Grip Curls

This is a bicep workout that is underrated by many athletes.

The setup is very simple:

1. Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms fully extended and palms facing down.
2. Before you start the curl, tighten your core muscles. Exhale as you bend your elbows and curl the dumbbells towards your shoulders. Keep your elbows close to your sides and avoid any swinging or momentum. The movement should be controlled and originate from your forearm muscles.
3. Inhale as you slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
4. Repeat for reps.

Yes, it is good to work out your back and biceps together in the same training session.

You can work on each muscle group with separate compound and isolation exercises without causing too much strain fatigue in one area.

You’ll also find that these are two areas where you want to achieve consistent and parallel growth in muscle mass.

I’ve seen it too many times that amateurs spend too much time on their upper arms.

They have massive biceps, and then their shoulders and back look completely out of proportion.

The great thing about a back and biceps workout is that you can adjust what kind of sets you do.

According to a study in Frontiers in Physiology, it's best to start with compound exercises, as they can boost overall muscle mass growth [5].

And then, when you want to shape certain muscles, you can switch to doing more target isolation exercises.

“While there’s no way to speed results at the gym—nothing will replace consistently working hard—there are ways to make sure you’re training smarter, and doing compound exercises is one of them.”

- Alexa Tucker, Editor at self.com