6 Calisthenic Back Workouts (For a Strong & Sculpted Back)

The Australian pull-ups are bodyweight exercises that require a resistance bar.

The Australian pull-up bar is about waist height, and you must lie beneath it, extend your arms up, hold the bar, and pull up till the chest reaches the bar, all while maintaining your heels on the ground.

Australian pull-up is also called inverted row, bodyweight row, and Australian row.

How to perform:

1. Set up a bar at around waist level. Check that the bar does not move. You can use a barbell in Smith machine exercises or a squat rack.
2. Place yourself on the floor below the bar. Grasp it with an overhand grip that is broader than shoulder width.
3. Lean back and keep your arms straight. Pull the shoulders down and back, bracing your core.
4. Raise your hips so your body weight is supported solely by your heels and hands. Check that your entire body is straight, from the heels to the shoulders.
5. Bend both arms and raise the chest toward the bar while keeping your body aligned.
6. Maintain straight wrists and concentrate on leading with the elbows. At the height of the rep, squeeze your shoulders together.
7. Go to the starting point by slowly extending your elbows and maintaining your torso straight.
8. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

4. Prone Cobra

Prone Cobra is a basic postural adjustment workout that will strengthen the back's anti-slouch muscles, improving your posture.

How to perform: 

1. Lie prone face down on the floor, arms at your sides in an "A" stance. Ensure that your body is in a straight line, with your toes pointing directly ahead to the floor, your gaze straight down, your glutes contracted, and your tummy drawn in.
2. Raise the torso into a straight line, lifting the head and stretching the upper back. Lift your shoulder blades down and back, then stretch your thumbs upward while maintaining your elbows straight.
3. Reverse the pattern to go back to the starting point.
4. Repeat until the required number of repetitions has been reached.

Related: Cobra Back Workout Exercises for a Stronger and Leaner Back

The arched pull-up is a calisthenics back workout in which you complete a pull-up while arching the back as far as possible.

The main objective of this activity is to stabilize the scapula position while you lift through the hole.

This is especially useful when training for a standard pull-up, which needs outstanding scapula control.

An arched pull-up could be done with a bar (prone, neutral, or supine grip) and in the rings.

Pulling is critical until you can maintain proper scapular depression and retraction.

"This exercise requires horizontal and vertical pull from your upper body, whereas most pulling exercises only require one or the other. Since it emphasizes core muscles and abdominal activation, the arched-back pull-up targets approximately the same amount of total muscle as any other move."
- Martin Rooney, Founder of the Training for Warriors Method

How to perform:

1. Drape a pull-up bar with a neutral grip.
2. Grasp the handle with both hands and begin from a hanging position, hands fully extended.
3. Pull the chest toward the handle while raising your hips and allowing your head to go back so that your chest meets your hands and your torso is nearly parallel to the floor at the peak of the rep.
4. Drop back to the starting position and repeat for reps.

6. Resistance Band Pull-Downs

Resistance band pull-downs are among the best workouts for strengthening the back and improving your posture.

You'll require a resistance band and an elevated hook, door frame, or other stable items to secure the band for this workout.

How to perform:

1. Attach the resistance band to a raised hook or door frame and kneel or sit on the ground.
2. If the band has handles, reach up and grip the handles with the palms facing front.
3. If your band lacks handles, grasp it with your palms facing front and your hands wider than shoulder-width apart.
4. Brace your core, draw your shoulder blades backward and down, and pull the resistance band down to around chest level.
5. Pause briefly at the bottom, tighten your lats, and in a slow and controlled manner, return to the starting position.
6. Keep your core firm and repeat.

The trap muscles run down the upper and mid-back, above the clavicles [2].

The traps are divided into three sections:

• The upper traps are worked by shrugging and row-type workouts
• The mid traps are worked by activities that pull objects toward the abdomen
• The lower traps are worked by activities that raise the arms from a prone pose.

3. The Rhomboids

Rhomboids are found between the scapulae (shoulder blades) [3].

They are worked by workouts that retract the shoulder blades (or align them together).

4. The Posterior Deltoid

The posterior deltoids are situated behind the shoulder [4].

Activities that rotate the shoulders outward and pull items towards your face help to strengthen them.

The posterior chain is a series of muscles positioned on the backside, including all major muscles in the posterior chain.

This set contains all the muscles mentioned above.

The value of exercising this group is twofold: first, it significantly influences our posture; second, it stabilizes against damage when we execute other workouts and movement patterns.

When these muscles are weak, they cause your spine to curve forward, leading to undesirable habits with poor physical alignment.

Your spinal position also influences how much oxygen is circulated in your body.

If you have a weaker lower back or a postural problem, strengthening your posterior chain can help.

Strengthening your back muscles will aid in the correction of any hunching or rounding caused by weak shoulder blades and hamstrings.

A strong upper back may also help many individuals with thoracic outlet syndrome, a painful condition caused by strain on nerves that run from the neck down into the armpit and into the hands.

Back training can also help correct muscular imbalances that can lead to mobility dysfunction in other body regions, leading to injury.