5 Best Cable Back Exercises (Plus a 20-Minute Cable Back Workout)

Looking to get a killer back workout with a cable machine? Here are the best back exercises do to, the benefits of training back on a cable machine, and a sample 20-minute back cable workout.

Time to hit those back muscles hard!

When it comes to training your back, there are few exercises that can rival rows, deadlifts, and pull-ups.

But cable back exercises certainly do the job in style.

Cable machines are all about that pulling power, which shreds your upper back, shoulders, biceps, and forearms—all the muscles engaged in your favorite back exercises.

Spending more time on a cable machine is guaranteed to help you build serious back power, translating into more effective rows, more powerful deadlifts, and more pull-ups every time!

Get ready for a list of the best cable machine back exercises you can do to build a broad, ultra-powerful back.

Plus, a simple workout you can do using all of these exercises!

Let’s jump right in.

Benefits of Doing Back Exercises on a Cable Crossover Machine

There are a lot of benefits of using the cable machine and its various cable machine attachments for your training sessions.

I highly recommend training with a cable machine because it can:

Increase muscle engagement.

Because most of the exercises you’ll do with the cable machine are performed standing, your abs, lower back, hips, and even your leg muscles are engaged to some degree along with your upper body.

This leads to better balance and overall mobility, making you a fitter individual overall.

Spice up your workout.

Instead of spending all your time doing rows, deadlifts, and pull-ups (which can be really darned hard!), you can throw in a few cable movements that engage your back and build strength in a new way.

No more getting bored with your workouts!

Encourage functional strength.

When you use the cable machine, you’re moving your body in a natural, “normal” way, the same way you’d move in real life.

This means the strength you develop will translate into greater strength in your activities of daily life.

Improve your balance.

Again, we come back to the fact that you have to engage your core and lower body muscles to keep your balance while training using the cable machine.

This is especially true if you do unilateral exercises like one-handed cable overhead presses or cable curls.

By strengthening these muscles, you improve your balance and stability across every sport and activity.

Increase time under tension.

Because of the way cable machines are designed, with the system of pulleys and cables lifting the weight, your muscles spend the MOST time under tension possible throughout the entire range of movement.

That means no “rest phase” when your body is supporting the weight, but your muscles are always engaging to keep the cable handle in place or moving through the exercise.

Greater time under tension will lead to faster muscle fatigue, which will in turn increase muscular growth and strength gains. Now that’s a HUGE benefit!

Work in both concentric and eccentric phases.

While it’s easy to just let a free weight drop on the eccentric (relaxation) phase of an exercise—like lowering after a curl, dropping into a squat, or letting your body hang between pull-ups—cable machines force you to engage your muscles in both concentric and eccentric phases.

This is what increases time under tension and helps to strengthen your muscles far more quickly than any exercise that focuses only on the concentric (contracting) phase.

As you can see, there are a lot of great reasons to incorporate cable machine back exercises into your Back Day training session.

The question is, which are the best exercises to include? 

Best Cable Machine Back Exercises

Cable Machine Back Exercise #1: Lat Pull-Downs

Lat pull-downs are, hands down, the single best cable machine exercises you can do to hit your latissimus dorsi muscles.

They’re a straight pulling-down exercise, using the long bar to provide multiple grip positions to hit your muscles from multiple angles.

Not only will they build powerful lats, but they can help to sculpt your traps, shoulders, biceps, and forearms, too.

Plus, the strength you build pulling the weights down toward you can also help to increase the strength of your pull-ups.

To perform this exercise:

• Sit on the lat pull-down machine facing the weights, holding the lat pull-down bar in the desired grip (wide grip for max lat power, reverse grip to increase shoulder and bicep engagement, close grip to increase trap focus).
• Tighten your core and brace the tops of your legs against the padded support as you pull the weight down toward your chest.
• Focus on contracting and engaging your lats as you pull on the bar. Hold it just above your chest for a 1-count before slowly extending your arms. Maintain tight control on the bar to engage your muscles through the eccentric phase.
• Stop just before your elbows lock out, keeping your bicep and back muscles tensed. Pause for a 1-count to avoid jerking/swinging, then pull again.
• Repeat as desired.

Cable Machine Back Exercise #2: V-Bar Pulldown

The V-Bar pulldown is an exercise very similar to lat pulldowns, but instead of using a wide bar that targets your lats, it uses a V-shaped bar that forces you to use a close, neutral grip (palms facing each other) that hammers your middle traps, serratus, and rhomboid muscles.

These are all critical back muscles that need focused training, but aren’t always effectively targeted in exercises like rows, deadlifts, or pull-ups.

To perform this exercise:

• Sit on the pull-down machine facing the weights, holding the V-bar in a neutral grip (palms facing each other).
• Lean back slightly, tighten your core, and brace the tops of your legs against the padded support as you pull the weight down toward your chest.
• Focus on contracting and engaging the muscles in your middle back as you pull on the V-bar.
• Stop pulling when the handles are an inch above your chest. Hold it in place for a 1-count before slowly extending your arms.
• Maintain tight control on the bar to engage your muscles through the eccentric phase.
• Stop just before your elbows lock out, keeping your bicep and back muscles tensed. Pause for a 1-count to avoid jerking/swinging, then pull again.
• Repeat as desired.

Cable Machine Back Exercise #3: Seated Cable Rows

I love seated cable rows! They target the same muscles as regular barbell rows (chiefly, your lats, traps, and middle back), but use the cable machine to change things up.

There’s far less strain on your lower back, a bit more hip engagement, and hits both your delts and biceps very effectively.

They’re an excellent replacement for rows and bent-over rows, and can do an amazing job of increasing time under tension to maximize muscle fatigue with every set.

To perform this exercise:

• Sit on the cable rowing machine facing the weights. Plant your feet firmly on the platform, extend your legs, bend your knees just slightly, and straighten your back.
• Grip the handles of your choice: wide grip to target your lats and rhomboids, close-grip to hit your middle lats, traps, and spinal muscles.
• Tighten your core and breathe out as you row the handle toward your abdomen. Pull until your hands are almost touching your belly, and make sure to keep your elbows as close to your side as possible.
• Hold at your belly for a 1-count, then slowly release under control to increase muscle engagement in the concentric phase.
• Extend your arms until just before your elbows lock out. Keep your shoulder, back, and arm muscles under tension throughout.
• Hold at extension for a 1-count, then pull once more.
• Repeat as desired.

Cable Machine Back Exercise #4: Face Pull

Face pulls are an interesting exercise!

They hit your lats, traps, and posterior deltoids very efficiently, with the focus placed almost exclusively on your upper back.

They’re amazing for building stronger shoulders in tandem with a stronger back, increasing your muscles’ ability to work together for exercises like rows, deadlifts, and pull-ups.

And, because the exercise moves through a single plane of motion, there is minimal joint engagement, so a far lower risk of injury than with exercises like deadlifts and pull-ups.

All in all, it can be a game-changing addition to your Back Day routine!

To perform this exercise:

• Stand facing the cable fly machine, with the handles set to face/neck height.
• Clip a tricep rope attachment to the machine, and grip both ends of the rope firmly with a neutral grip (palms facing each other).
• Brace your core and use your legs to maintain a solid posture as you pull the handle toward your face.
• As you pull, spread your hands outward, as if you’re trying to bring the ends of the rope to either side of your face (rather than directly toward it).
• Stop once your hands are alongside your face, or you feel tension in your shoulder joints.
• Hold for a 1-count, then slowly extend your arms, maintaining tension through the full range of movement.
• Stop just before your elbows lock out, with your shoulders, back, and arms still under tension.
• Hold at full extension for a 1-count, then begin again.
• Repeat as desired.

Cable Machine Back Exercise #5: Bent-Over Cable Flys

Bent-over cable flys are an interesting—and somewhat complex—exercise.

They target your posterior delts, upper lats, and traps, and because you’re in a bent-over position, they also work your core (which has to engage to keep you stable in the position).

However, they’re also highly effective for strengthening some of your lesser-targeted upper back muscles and building stronger, more mobile shoulders.

To perform this exercise:

• Set the cable handles to the lowest setting on the machine.
• Use your right hand to grip the left cable handle, and your left hand to grip the right cable handle.
• Stand in the middle of the machine, and bend forward at the waist, using your glutes and core to maintain a solid stance.
• Engage your upper lats, traps, and shoulder muscles as you pull the handles out and up in the “fly” motion. Keep a slight bend in your elbow throughout.
• Stop once you reach shoulder level, and control your descent as you return to your original position.
• Repeat as desired.

20-Minute Cable Machine Back Workout

Take these five amazing exercises and turn them into a simple yet highly effective workout routine guaranteed to build serious back power:

• Lat Pulldowns: 4 sets of 8-12 reps (try at least two grip varieties to maximize muscle engagement)
• V-Bar Pulldowns: 2 sets of 8-12 reps
• Seated Cable Rows: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Face Pulls: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Bent-Over Cable Flys: 2 sets of 8-12 reps

Cable Machine Back Exercises — FAQs

How do you work out your back with a cable machine?

It’s all about the pulling! Your back muscles are the largest group of “pulling” muscles in your body, so any exercise that involves pulling the cable handle toward your upper body will hit your back.

Are cable machines as effective as free weights for back muscle?

They absolutely are—and, the science suggests, may even be more effective ultimately. Because of the increased time under tension created by the cable machine, you can hit muscle failure faster, which leads to greater muscle growth in the long run.

The Bottom Line

Cable back exercises can be game-changing when it comes to taking your upper body training to the next level!

With just a few additions to your workout, you can target all your back muscles and build real power and strength.

Best of all, these cable back exercises include enough variation that you can workout for years and never get bored of training.

Now that’s a win-win in any trainee’s book!

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