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The 10 Best Back Exercise Machines for Building Strong Muscles
Get a gym-worthy workout in the comfort of your own home.
While muscle groups like the chest, biceps, and glutes tend to get an abundance of attention, no strong physique is complete without a well-developed back. All too often, however, we overlook back workouts in favor of endless bench presses, bicep curls, and squats, especially when working out at home.
You can always stick to bodyweight exercises to keep your back healthy, but many of us require—or simply prefer—a more targeted workout to efficiently strengthen back muscles, whether that means taking an instructor-led class or using a purpose-built exercise machine.
Back exercise machines are helpful because they let you progressively add more and more weight as your muscles grow, helping you achieve a truly muscular back right from home. With this in mind, we’ve rounded up the best back exercise machines on the market to help you tone up, improve your posture, and maybe even relieve some of that nagging back pain.
The Best Back Exercise Machines
What to Consider
Before you buy a back machine, it’s important to consider factors like the space you have available, your fitness goals, and your current physical condition. Here’s what to keep in mind:
Product Footprint
Back exercise machines can be quite large, eating up a lot of your living space. While this might not matter if you have a garage, spare room, or large apartment, opt for a more compact option like a curl bench or a boxing trainer, or one of our selections that can fold up when not in use.
Fitness Goals
While all of the suggestions below can deliver a solid back workout, some machines are tailored to specific goals. If you’re simply looking to maintain or improve back mobility as part of your normal workout, a machine with a variety of on-demand classes might be your best bet. For a bit of back toning, a straightforward rower will suffice. To bulk up your back, opt for a machine that offers plenty of opportunities to pump iron.
Physical Condition
How’s your back doing? If you're new to back workouts, you probably don’t want to jump straight to lifting weights—it can make your back pain even worse to overdo it. Instead, start by improving your mobility and strength with low-impact workouts like yoga classes or rowing machines. Once you've established some baseline back strength, weighted workouts are typically the fastest way to grow your muscles.
How We Selected
To find the best back exercise machines on the market, we researched the most popular models available and took into account price, versatility, accessories, and additional features. We also consulted thousands of customer reviews to settle on the 10 you'll find below.
Nick Hilden is a writer and fitness enthusiast who has written gear reviews and about health, fitness, and lifestyle in general for the likes of Popular Science, Men’s Health, Thrillist, the Daily Beast, the Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, Afar, Salon, Vice, Healthline, and many others; a dedicated runner, gym rat, and all-around health nut, he is constantly looking for new tools and methods of improving his wellness regimen.
Before joining Runner's World, Gabrielle Hondorp spent 6 years in running retail (she has tested top gear from shoes, to watches, to rain jackets which has expanded her expertise—and her closets); she specializes in health and wellness, and is an expert on running gear from head-to-toe. Gabi began her journalism career as a Digital Editorial Fellow for Runner’s World and Bicycling Magazine, and has since advanced to a Runner's World Editor specializing in commerce. She has a double degree in English and Media and Communication from Muhlenberg College where she also ran cross country and track.
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