The benefits of pairing back and biceps together are well known because every pull exercise you complete uses both muscle groups, helping you strength train efficiently and effectively. In addition, this combination also provides a natural flow to your workout, as every back exercise doubles up to include your arms as well.
The back is large, complex and made up of multiple muscles including the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, trapezius, erector spinae, and rear deltoids. By training these muscles, you can develop a stronger, wider and more defined torso which helps contribute to that much-desired ‘V-shape’ physique. Similarly, a strong back supports better posture, reduces the risk of injury, and enhances overall daily life.
The biceps are much smaller in comparison but still play an important role in pulling strength and arm development. For example, in many compound back exercises like the lat pulldown, the biceps are also recruited as secondary movers. After pre-exhausting the biceps during back-focused movements, you can finish them off with targeted isolation lifts for maximum growth.
As previously mentioned, pairing these two muscle groups also has time-saving benefits. Notably, rather than spreading your pulling exercises across multiple days, you can structure your workouts around exercises which require similar movements. For example, horizontal pulls (rows), vertical pulls (pull-ups or lat pulldowns), and direct arm isolation. This varied training approach is key to comprehensive muscle development. By training the muscles from multiple angles within one session, like targeting the lats with vertical pulls and the middle back with horizontal pulls, you build a thicker, wider back and more developed biceps, alongside balanced strength and hypertrophy, allowing you to train hard and recover optimally.
Fundamentally, whether you’re building strength, hypertrophy, or endurance, a well-designed back and biceps workout offers a balanced approach to both performance and physique development. More importantly, with the right equipment you can incorporate every angle effectively, which is important for avoiding performance plateaus.
A Great Back and Biceps Workout
Here’s a structured workout to target all major back muscles while also developing your biceps. If you’re new to training, split this over a couple of exercise sessions, but if you’re more advanced, this workout is a perfect challenge.
Pull Ups
• Sets/Reps - 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps.
• Muscles Targeted - Lats, biceps, and forearms.
• Equipment - Pull up bar / Chin Up Bar.
• Benefits - A fundamental vertical pulling exercise to build width and pulling strength.
Seated Lat Pulldown
• Sets/Reps - 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.
• Muscles Targeted - Lats and biceps.
• Equipment - Lat Pulldown Machine.
• Benefits - Great for controlled lat activation with adjustable resistance as you get stronger.
Seated Row
• Sets/Reps - 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.
• Muscles Targeted - Traps, lats, and biceps.
• Equipment - Seated row machine.
• Benefits - A horizontal pulling exercise that builds thickness in the mid-back.
Single Arm Dumbbell Row
• Sets/Reps - 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps per side.
• Muscles Targeted - Lats, traps, rear delts, and biceps.
• Equipment - One of our Weight Benches and a dumbbell.
• Benefits - Unilateral row to strengthen the mid-back and correct muscle imbalances.
Barbell Deadlift
• Sets/Reps - 3-5 sets of 5-8 reps.
• Muscles Targeted - Erector spinae, lats, glutes, hamstrings, and forearms.
• Equipment - Barbell and weight plates.
• Benefits - A compound movement which builds overall strength and mass.
EZ Bar Bicep Curl
• Sets/Reps - 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps.
• Muscles Targeted - Biceps and forearms.
• Equipment - EZ barbell and weight plates.
• Benefits - An isolation exercise to finish off the biceps after heavy pulling.
Dumbbell Hammer Curl
• Sets/Reps - 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.
• Muscles Targeted - Biceps and forearms.
• Equipment - Dumbbells.
• Benefits - Helps build arm thickness and forearm strength.
In summary, a back and bicep session centered around compound pull movements and complemented with bicep isolation exercises will maximise your strength and hypertrophy gains.
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