Building a stronger back can seem like an impossible task. It's a huge muscle group that requires a combination of different exercises to ensure every little muscle is being targeted. If you need to level up your back days from just adding more weight or reps, try supersets! In case you’re not familiar, a superset is a training approach in which you go from one exercise to another with little to no rest in between, truly challenging your muscles. Keep in mind that you'll be doing exercises back-to-back, so you may need to scale back on the weight at first!

Now, if you’re ready to take your workouts to the next level, here are some of the best supersets for back days that you can try to build a stronger back that will not only support the rest of your exercises but will also look great while doing so!

Lat pulldowns + Close grip pulldowns

This superset combination is great to train your upper back with a primary focus on your lats. The classic lat pulldown mimics a pull-up while leaving the bodyweight aspect out, allowing you to truly focus on engaging your lats, while close-grip pulldowns help target your traps and rhomboids and better isolate your lats for a killer workout.

How to do a lat pulldown:

1. Load the lat pulldown machine and sit on it with your knees tucked under the pad for support and your feet firmly planted on the floor.
2. Make sure that the bar is at a comfortable height, then grab it with both hands in an overhand grip at around shoulder-width distance.
3. With your back straight, begin the movement by driving your shoulders down and back, pulling the bar down to your chest until it’s almost touching it.
4. Press your shoulder blades together while squeezing your lats, then slowly bring the bar back up and repeat the movement.

How to do a close-grip pulldown:

1. Sit on the lat pulldown machine with a V-handle attached to the high pulley at a comfortable height for you to grab.
2. Place your knees under the pad and your feet firmly planted on the floor for support, then reach for the V-handle and grab it with both hands close together in a neutral grip.
3. Keeping your back straight, begin the movement by pulling the bar down to your chest, drawing your shoulders down and back until your shoulder blades are squeezed together.
4. Hold this position while you squeeze your back muscles, then slowly bring the handle back up and repeat.

Cable face pulls + Banded reverse flys

Moving up from the last superset, this combination focuses on your upper back and shoulders. Cable face pulls target your traps, rhomboids, posterior delts, and even your rotator cuffs, and banded reverse flies tone the same area with the help of a resistance band.

How to do a cable face pull:

1. Attach a rope handle at eye level to the cable machine, then stand in front of it with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Grab the rope handle with both hands, extending your arms so that your hands are pointing slightly upward.
3. Begin the movement by slowly pulling the rope towards your face as you draw your elbows back and out to your sides until the rope almost touches your face.
4. Pause for a moment while your squeeze your muscles, then reverse the movement and repeat.

How to do a banded reverse fly:

1. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and grab a long resistance band with both hands.
2. Extend your arms in front of you while holding the resistance band, so that your hands are close together and facing each other and your arms are parallel to the floor.
3. With your back straight, begin the movement by opening both arms to your sides as you stretch the resistance band in front of you until you feel your shoulder blades squeezing together.
4. Hold this position for a second, then slowly go back to the starting position and repeat.

Chest-supported rows + Dumbbells rows

This is a row superset, and if you’re familiar with rowing exercises, you know that they offer some of the best workouts for your back. Both chest-supported rows and dumbbell rows work your major back muscles with a pair of dumbbells, such as your lats, rhomboids, and traps, while also targeting your upper arm muscles like your biceps.

How to do a chest-supported row:

1. Find an incline bench and set it at 45 degrees, then lay on it with your chest resting on the angled pad and your feet firmly on the floor for support.
2. Grab a dumbbell in each hand and let your arms hang down the bench, palms facing each other.
3. Begin by driving your elbows toward the ceiling, pulling the dumbbells upward until they’re almost touching the sides of your ribcage.
4. Squeeze your shoulder blades together in this position, then slowly bring the dumbbells back down and repeat.

How to do a dumbbell row:

1. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, then hinge at the hips and knees so that your torso is about 45 degrees from the floor.
2. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip so that your palms are facing each other, and let your arms hang down.
3. Begin by rowing the dumbbells to your ribcage, driving your elbows up and back until your shoulder blades are pinched together.
4. Squeeze your working muscles for a second, then return to the starting position and repeat.

Pull-ups + Single-arm rows

This last superset targets both your back and arm muscles for a well-rounded upper-body workout. While pull-ups are a staple that trains all major back muscles with just your body weight, particularly your lats, single-arm rows add a unilateral challenge to your workouts that help increase functional strength in your back.

How to do a pull-up:

1. Stand straight in front of a pull-up bar, or an assisted pull-up machine if you’re a beginner.
2. Grab the pull-up bar with both hands in an overhand grip at a distance wider than shoulder-width apart.
3. Engage your core and begin the movement by slowly pulling yourself up to the bar until your upper chest almost touches it, keeping your back straight.
4. Pause for a second in this position, then lower yourself without touching the floor and repeat.

How to do a single-arm row:

1. Find a bench and place your left hand and knee on it with your torso almost parallel to the floor, grabbing a dumbbell with a neutral grip in your right hand.
2. With your right arm hanging down with the dumbbell, begin the moving by rowing it up, driving your elbow up and back until the weight almost touches your ribcage.
3. Squeeze your muscles in this position, then bring the weight back down and repeat.
4. Finish your reps and switch to the opposite side.

Level up your back day with these supersets

If you’re someone who’s used to doing straight sets every time you work out, adding supersets to your routine will not only help you get bigger and stronger muscles, but it’ll also add some variety to your routine so you don’t end up getting bored of it!