The 7 BEST Back Exercises For Olympic Weightlifting
If you want a big snatch, clean, or jerk, you need a big back.
Your back is the first line of defense when it comes to pulling heavy weights off the floor, maintaining posture in the squat, and supporting heavy weight overhead.
In this article I’m going to give you my top seven lifts to increase your back size and strength so you can improve your technique, look jacked, and set PR’s.
P.S. If you want to build muscle without sacrificing your olympic lifts, check out my NEW OlyBuilding2.0 Program here!
Lift #1: The Snatch Grip RDL
The Snatch Grip RDL (romanian deadlift) is primarily an exercise for the hamstrings and glutes, but as a weightlifter you’re not in the business of muscle isolation to the degree that bodybuilders are.
It’s secondary benefit is that it strengthens your entire back, from butt to ears to be able to hold position and not break down. If you struggle with staying over the bar in the snatch or clean, this can make a huge difference in your technique, not just muscle mass.
To perform grab the bar with your normal snatch grip. Hook grip is optional, and you’re welcome to use straps to reduce grip strength as a limiting factor. Pull the bar up to your waist, set your feet in your normal pulling stance, and hinge forward at the hips, pushing your hips back, keeping your back flat or even arched, and looking straight forward instead of keeping a neutral head.
Once you’ve reached the lowest possible depth without letting your back round over, begin coming back up, leading with your head first, and then pushing your hips forward.
Try these out for 3-5 sets of 6-12 reps with lighter weight than you think you should. These are a sneaky exercise as the snatch grip allows for a greater range of motion, and you will likely be very sore.
Lift #2: Dumbbell Pullover
Arnold used to say the pullover was the best exercise for rib-cage expansion, and while I don’t think this will make your rib cage bigger, it will improve your olympic lifts.
It’s also one of my favorite exercises for improving overhead and front rack mobility, you can learn more about how to modify this exercise to focus on mobility in my free Mobility101: Guide for Weightlifters here!
The also might be the only isolation exercise with the most specific carry over to improving your olympic lifting technique. If you struggle with keeping the bar close to you during the first and second pull, this is the exact muscle that’s responsible for that, so you need to include these in your accessory work at least once a week.
This exercise can be done with cables, barbells, bands, curl bars, or dumbbells. Cables are my favorite way to do the pullover, but use what you have access to.
To perform, lay down on a bench and cup one end of the dumbbell between your hands. With a slight bend at your elbows, reach back as far as you can go without letting your hips come off the bench or your lower back arch more to compensate when your shoulder runs out of room, then bring the dumbbell back up, making sure to initiate the lift with the lats. If you think about squeezing your armpit together, this can help make sure you’re using the right muscles.
This lift can be simple, but there are some key technique points to avoid. Make sure all the movement happens at the shoulder. The elbows shouldn’t bend during the lift and the core shouldn’t arch or crunch during the lift. If you do this, you’ll likely have good technique.
Try these out for 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps with a weight that takes you near or to failure within the given rep range 1-2x a week.
Lift #3: Dumbbell Row
The Dumbbell Row might be most widely accepted as the best back exercise for strength and muscle.
Powerlifters, Strongmen, and Bodybuilders all swear by this exercise, and weightlifters are no exception. While this exercise may not have as specific of a carry over to technique for the olympic lifts like the pullover does, it still takes the lat through a full range of motion which is key for building muscle.
To perform the dumbbell row, I like to use a bench for hand and knee support on the side that isn’t rowing. Place your knee and straight arm on the bench, then kick the leg that is on the floor back behind the bench to make room for the dumbbells path.
With a neutral grip, grab the dumbbell towards the middle or top of the handle, but not bottom of the handle, and pull the dumbbell back towards your hip instead of straight up. This will help target the lats better and not use the biceps as much. The goal is to get your triceps about parallel with your torso. Don’t worry about getting your elbow way behind your back. It’s far more important to focus on getting a good stretch and reaching your shoulder forward at the bottom of the movement as this will build the most amount of muscle.
Try these out for 3-5 sets of 6-12 reps with as heavy a weight as possible about 1-2x a week, and bonus points if you can control the eccentric with a slow tempo. Read more about why this is important in this article here!
Lift #4: Snatch Grip Upright Row
I first found this exercise while watching some old team china weightlifting training videos. After trying it out for a few sets, the trap and upper back pump was absolutely insane!
To perform, grab the bar with your normal snatch grip, hook grip is optional, and straps are recommended if you’re going to use heavy weights. Hinge forward at the waist slightly and swing the bar away from your body a bit before rowing your elbows high and wide to pull the barbell up towards your chest and chin.
Some people have had some shoulder pain with this movement, but the easiest way to avoid this is to make sure your elbows don’t move behind your back while lower than shoulder height. As long as the elbows go behind your back at or higher than shoulder height, you’re set!
Try these out for 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps with maximum weight, and with a focus on speed and power through the arms. Don’t worry about this being a technique exercise for the snatch, this is an exercise you can rep out for the pump and nothing else.
Lift #5: GHD Hip Extension
The GHD Hip Extension has been a staple in my programs for the last 8 years.
There’s no better exercise for building a strong lower back for weightlifting than the GHD Hip Extension, which is why I’ve included it in every training program I’ve written.
To perform, set up on the GHD face down with your hips just in front of the pads and your knees straight or with a slight bend. Hinge at the waist while looking straight forward, not down at the ground, and lower yourself all the way down until your back is at a 90 degree angle, then extend back up, aiming to make your back at least parallel with the ground.
You can also add weight to this exercise by holding a dumbbell or plate against your chest or behind your head for extra back targeting.
One of my favorite ways to modify this exercise is to combine it with a dumbbell row, so hold a pair of dumbbells with your arms extended touching the ground, then as you extend up and bring your back to parallel, row the dumbbells up towards your stomach, then lower them slowly as you come back down.
This is a “fun” way to mix up the movement and get a little extra back work in less time.
Try these out 1-2x a week for 2-4 sets of 10-15 reps, and progress the weight every 1-2 weeks.
Lift #6: Clean Pull
No weightlifting program would be complete without pulls of some sort.
It’s important to remember that we’re training all these back exercises with one goal - to lift heavier weight, and the clean pull allows you to lift the heaviest possible weight in weightlifting.
To perform, set up exactly as you would for a clean, push into the ground to break the bar off the floor, and as the bar is moving from the floor to the knees, move the knees back out of the way while keeping perfect back position. Then, as the bar moves from the knee to the hip, use your lats to sweep the bar back to help keep the bar close, before extending up and launching the bar as high as possible, using the traps and arms to continue guiding the bar up to it’s maximum height.
You can make this even more of a back exercise by lowering the bar with a slow eccentric, aiming to mirror the exact same technique that you used to pull the bar off the floor. 4-seconds should do the trick.
Try these out 1-2x a week for 3-5 sets of 2-5 reps between 85-115% of your best clean, or just at about 10lbs heavier than your heaviest clean for the day.
Lift #7: Pause Back Squat
While most people think of the squat as a leg exercise, pausing makes it as much of a back exercise as it is a leg exercise.
It becomes much harder to maintain your back position and not get tipped forward when coming out of the bottom of the squat from a dead stop. Because of this, it’s a great way to build strength in the back AND legs, which is never a bad thing.
Perform a squat as normal, sitting into the deepest range of motion possible while keeping your feet flat, posture upright, and core braced. Pause for 1 second - just enough to kill the momentum, then stand back up as fast as possible making sure to keep your chest up. Imagine driving your back into the bar instead of just pushing with your legs. This helps make sure your body is all working together to prevent your chest from falling forward.
One way you can use the pause squat in your training is by following my modified texas method cycle, which you can read more about here. Build up to a heavy set of five with a pause, then drop down by 10% for four sets of five. Each week for four weeks, aim to add 5-10lbs to both the top set and drop sets, then for weeks 5-8, remove the pause and continue adding weight each week while keeping the rep scheme the same. Your legs and back will feel strong as can be, and your olympic lifts will feel even better.
This is the exact squat cycle I use in OlyBuilding 2.0, which you can find here!
Honorable Mention: Pull-Ups
There’s one exercise that didn’t make the cut, but it should on paper.
The pull-up is a fantastic exercise for building back strength, however until you can do about 5 pull-ups, it can be incredibly challenging to get much out of it.
If you have access to an assisted pullup machine, then you’re in a great spot. Treat this like a strength exercise and aim to increase volume and decrease assistance until you can do pullups without any help.
Then, keep them in your program on a weekly basis, even adding weight to it once you get strong enough!
However, if you don’t have access to an assisted pull-up machine, then do all the exercises in this article, particularly dumbbell rows until you build enough strength for pullups. Until then, don’t worry about including them in your program.
Hopeful you’ve found this article helpful! If you have any questions, feel free to submit them here and we’ll answer them on the Last Set Best Set Podcast which you can find on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts!
If you want to combine olympic lifting and bodybuilding, then check out my new OlyBuilding2.0 Program here!
And if you’re new to weightlifting and want to learn the Snatch, Clean, and Jerk safely and correctly, then you can grab my FREE Weightlifting101: Beginner Guide + 6-Week Program here!