Kill Back Pain With These Exercises!

Last updated: May 2026 · 5 min read

Slouching isn’t a discipline problem. The muscles across your upper back and between your shoulder blades are what hold your shoulders back, and if they’re weak they lose to gravity somewhere around the middle of the afternoon. Sitting up straight on purpose lasts about four minutes. Getting stronger there lasts.

Every exercise below trains those muscles, and all six are variations on just two movements. Learn the two and the six stop being a list to memorize.

The two movements

• The row. Pull your elbows back with them flared out to the sides, and finish at chest height rather than at your waist. That last part is the whole difference between a back row and an upper-back row — pull low and your lats do the work, pull high and your upper back does.
• The retraction. Arms nearly straight, squeeze your shoulder blades together and stop when your hands reach the line of your torso. No further. Pulling past your body feels like more work and does less.

Pick one of each. Two rows is one movement done twice.

What you need

A resistance band covers three of the six, and two of those three need nothing to anchor it to. Add dumbbells for two more and a barbell for the last one. If a band is all you have, you can still do a full session.

How much, and how often

• New to this: one row and one retraction, 2 sets of 12 to 16 reps each.
• Training already: three or four exercises across both movements, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, resting a minute or so between sets. Mixing equipment — a barbell row paired with a band T-pull — loads the same muscles from different angles.
• Load: heavy enough that the last rep is hard, light enough that you could have done two more. Chasing failure on rear-delt work buys you bad form, not muscle.
• Frequency: two or three times a week on non-consecutive days. Add weight or a heavier band when the top of your rep range stops being difficult.

One caution, since flared-elbow pulling is the theme here: if a high row pinches at the front of your shoulder, drop the weight and finish the pull lower. This is a strength routine, not a treatment — if your back or shoulder actually hurts, get it looked at before you load it.

Rows

Barbell high row. Knees slightly bent, abs braced — that combination is what protects your lower back when you hinge over. Pull the bar to your chest, not to your belly button. If you catch yourself rowing low, the weight is too heavy. Beginners: 2 × 12–16. Otherwise 3 × 8–12.

Band high row. Anchor the band in front of you at roughly chest height and pull your elbows back until they’re level with your shoulders and parallel to the floor, squeezing your shoulder blades at the end of every rep. The most accessible of the three and the easiest to get right. 2–3 × 12–15.

Single-arm horizontal row. Same stance as a regular one-arm dumbbell row, but turn your palm to face behind you. Now when you pull, the elbow flares out perpendicular to your body and the weight travels up toward your armpit. The upper back does the work instead of the lat. One dumbbell, and it hits harder than the setup suggests. 2–3 × 10–12 per side.

Retractions

Reverse fly. Hinged over with a light dumbbell in each hand, lead with your elbows and raise to torso level, then stop. Don’t jerk the weights up — if you need momentum, go lighter. This is the one where form beats load most decisively. 2–3 × 12–15.

T-pull, and the Y-pull. Loop the band under your feet and pull your arms straight out to the sides so your body makes a T, squeezing your shoulder blades hard at the top. The Y-pull is the same thing with your arms raised to about 45 degrees instead of level. Alternating sets of T and Y hits slightly different fibers and is worth the trouble. 2–3 × 12–15.

Band pull-apart. Hold the band out straight in front of you and open your arms out to the sides, squeezing your shoulder blades. Keep enough tension that the band is taut at the start and keep your arms nearly straight — a slight bend in the elbows, no more. No anchor, no floor space, no excuse. 2–3 × 15–20.

Start tonight

One row, one retraction, two sets each. It takes about ten minutes, and it’s the version of posture work that actually holds after you stop thinking about it.