Great Back Workouts at Home Without Weights

Want to create some great back workouts you can do at home without weights? Well you really only need one movement: the pullup. First, I will show you three of the best versions of the pullup you can use to build your back workout, then we’ll go into some sample methods.

Best Bodyweight Back Builder #1: Compound Towel Pullups

Hang two towels over a pullup bar at slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Make sure the towels are hanging down at a length of approximately 5 inches. Grab hold of each towel, and pull yourself up using just your back and biceps.

Lower yourself slowly and repeat. Here’s a video to help you:

Best Bodyweight Back Builder #2: Wide Grip Pullups

Grab the bar with a wider than shoulder width grip. Keep your back straight and tuck your feet behind you. Pull your body up until your chest touches the bar. If you can not go all the way up, then keep practicing until you have to strength to perform full repetitions.

Best Bodyweight Back Builder #3: Inverted Rows

Even though beginners are told to do inverted rows, they are still a great back builder for advanced athletes. Lay on your back and grab onto a low horizontal bar. You can find a low bar at a playground, or use a smith machine rack.

Pull your body up until your chest touches the bar. Make sure to keep your legs straight out in front of your, with your heels on the floor. Here’s a sample video showing you all the versions of pullups by Craig Ballantyne:

Now, lets go into how to use these movements as part of a complete workout:

Training Method #1: Reps for Time

One of the best ways to increase your pullup strength is to choose a high number of repetitions and keep doing pullups for as many sets as it takes until you reach that target number. For example, you can try and perform 50 pullups.

So you would go all out on your first set. Lets say you did 10 pullups. Rest for a short period, then try and go again. Perhaps you did 8 reps. That’s ok. The idea is to keep going until you reach a total number of 50 repetitions.

Eventually, you will be able to do sets of 20 or 30 at once.

Training Method #2: Part of a Complete Workout

You can also incorporate these movements as part of a full body workout. For example, you can do towel pullups on Monday as part of a full body workout, then wide grip pullups on Wednesday, and finally inverted rows on Friday.

This method allows you to train your back at a higher frequency and thus see greater gains in size and strength.

Training Method #3: Max reps for Time

This method is a good as a finisher at the end of a workout. Choose one of the three movement above, and set a time for 2, 3, or 5 minutes. Now keep doing as many repetitions as you can within that time period.

Try not take take your hands off the bar or towel. Even when you’re in the dead hang position, you’re still engaging your lats.

If you find it difficult to create your own training program, it might be beneficial for you to choose a done-for-you program.
If you’re looking for a full bodyweight program, then you should check out my brand new Shah Training Playground Workout Program. It’s available as a free download:

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Tags: back training, back workouts, inverted row, pullups, without weights workout