Gold medal-winning boxer Ramla Ali coaches you through her go-to back routine—and how posture and posterior chain alignment will unlock your power.

When I'm in camp preparing for a fight, my back training is non-negotiable. Why? Because my back supports everything else that boxing requires. The same applies to you. Want to lift heavier? You need your lats and traps to support your spine. Want better posture that makes you look taller and more confident? You need to work on your alignment. Your back can also be a pain point, especially if you're regularly sitting at a desk, looking at your phone, or driving. Dedicated training is the answer to all the above.

The workout I’m about to share with you is my personal routine. Try it 1-2 times per week. 

THE WARM-UP (12 minutes)

1.  Foam Rolling Upper/Mid Back – 2 minutes

2.  Rock-Back Rotation – 8 reps each side

3.  Spider-Man Stretch with Rotation – 6 reps each side

4.  Resistance Band Face Pull – 15 reps

5.  Active Hang with Lateral Rock – 30 seconds

6.  Pallof Press with Resistance Band – 10 reps each side

7.  Overhead Medicine Ball Slam – 10 reps

8.  Air Bike or Rower – 5 minutes

THE WORKOUT (43 minutes). 

Try taking a screenshot of this for easy, on-the-go use. 

1. Wide Grip Pull-Ups – 4 sets x 6-8 reps (rest 2-3 min)

2. Rack Pulls – 4 sets x 5-6 reps (rest 2-3 min)

3. Inverted Close Grip Bent Over Rows – 4 sets x 8-10 reps (rest 90 sec)

4. T-Bar Rows – 3 sets x 10-12 reps (rest 90 sec)

5. Single Arm Cable Pull Down – 3 sets x 12-15 reps each arm (rest 60 sec)

6. Dumbbell Reverse Flys – 3 sets x 15-20 reps (rest 60 sec)

7. Kettlebell Swings – 3 sets x 20 reps (rest 90 sec)

THE HOW-TO

1. Wide Grip Pull-Ups – 4 sets of 6-8 reps

Rest: 2-3 minutes between sets

How to do it: Grab a pull-up bar with your hands wider than shoulder-width apart, palms facing away from you. Hang with your arms fully extended. Pull yourself up by driving your elbows down and back, bringing your chin above the bar. Lower yourself back down with control until your arms are fully extended again.

Why it’s #1:  I like to start with the most challenging movement when I’m fresh. Pull-ups require full-body tension and coordination, so doing them first ensures I can give them maximum effort.

What it does: Builds lat width (that V-taper), strengthens your grip, engages your core for stability, and develops your biceps and rear delts as secondary movers.

Form: Don't swing or use momentum. If you can't do 6 strict pull-ups, use a resistance band under your feet for assistance or do negative pull-ups (jump up and lower yourself down slowly over 3-5 seconds).

2. Rack Pulls – 4 sets of 5-6 reps

Rest: 2-3 minutes between sets

How to do it: Set the safety pins in a power rack at just below knee height. Load a barbell and position it on the pins. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, shins close to the bar. Bend at your hips and grip the bar just outside your legs. Keep your chest up, shoulders back, and core tight. Drive through your heels and extend your hips and knees to lift the bar. Stand tall at the top, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Lower the bar back to the pins with control.

Why it’s #2: After taxing the lats, I hit up the entire posterior chain with a heavy compound movement. Rack pulls allow us to load more weight than traditional deadlifts because of the reduced range of motion.

What it does: This builds trap development and grip strength, and teaches proper hip hinge mechanics. Creates that dense, powerful look across your entire back. The heavy load also triggers a strong hormonal response that supports muscle growth throughout your body.

Form: Keep the bar close to your body. Think about "pushing the floor away" rather than pulling the bar up. At the top, squeeze your glutes and pull your shoulder blades back and down. Don't hyperextend your lower back. Your spine should stay neutral throughout.

3. Inverted Close Grip Bent Over Rows – 4 sets of 8-10 reps

Rest: 90 seconds between sets

How to do it: Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a barbell with an underhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart. Hinge at your hips, keeping your back flat and core tight, until your torso is roughly 45 degrees to the floor. Pull the bar up toward your lower abdomen, driving your elbows back and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Lower the bar back down with control.

Why it’s #3:  I now look to target the mid-back with a rowing pattern. The underhand grip changes the angle of pull and your biceps get more involved here, which helps us pull heavier and focus on the squeeze.

What it does: Focuses on your lats, rhomboids, middle traps, and rear deltoids—the muscles that make your back look dense and powerful from the side.

Form: Keep your core braced tight throughout. Pull the bar to your lower abdomen/hip area, not your chest. Think about pulling your elbows back behind you, not just pulling with your hands. Squeeze hard at the top for a full second.

4. T-Bar Rows – 3 sets of 10-12 reps

Rest: 90 seconds between sets

How to do it: Load one end of a barbell. Straddle the bar facing the weighted end. Bend at your hips and knees, keeping your back flat. Grip the bar with both hands by interlocking your hands under the bar. Pull the bar up toward your chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Lower the bar back down with control.

Why it’s #4: T-bar rows allow us to load heavy with a more stable position than bent over rows. By this point, our larger back muscles are nicely fatigued, so this exercise serves as a strength builder and a way to accumulate volume.

What it does: Hits your entire back. The fixed path of the T-bar allows you to load this movement and focus on the contraction without worrying about balance. You'll really feel your lats working here—they’re what create that sexy, tapered shape down your back.

Form: Keep your chest up and core tight. Pull the bar to your sternum, not your stomach. Don't let your lower back round. Think about squeezing a pencil between your shoulder blades at the top of each rep.

5. Single Arm Cable Pull Down – 3 sets of 12-15 reps each arm

Rest: 60 seconds between sets

How to do it: Attach a D-handle to a high cable pulley. Stand or kneel facing the machine. Grab the handle with one hand, arm fully extended overhead. Pull the handle down toward your side, bringing your elbow down and back. Squeeze at the bottom, then return to the starting position with control. Complete all reps on one side before switching.

Why it’s #5: Now I move onto unilateral (one-sided) work. This corrects any imbalances and allows us to focus on the muscle contraction rather than just moving weight. 

What it does: Helps develop that lat width and sweep. Working one side at a time also engages your obliques for stability. You'll often find one side is stronger than the other–this exercise fixes that.

Form: Think about pulling your elbow down and back. This keeps the focus on your back, not your biceps. Keep your torso stable–don't lean or twist excessively. Control the weight on the way up; don't let it pull your arm back up.

6. Dumbbell Reverse Flys – 3 sets of 15-20 reps

Rest: 60 seconds between sets

How to do it: Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Hinge at your hips so your torso is nearly parallel to the floor, letting the dumbbells hang below your chest with a slight bend in your elbows. Raise the dumbbells out to your sides until they're level with your shoulders, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Lower back down with control.

Why it’s #6: I now hit the smaller, stabilizing muscles. Reverse flys target the rear deltoids and rhomboids—muscles crucial for posture and shoulder health. We can accumulate quality volume; higher reps create that burning, pumped feeling that tells us that we've worked.

What it does: Isolates your posterior deltoids (rear shoulders), rhomboids, and middle traps. These muscles pull your shoulders back and down, counteracting rounded shoulders caused by sitting, driving, and looking at phones.

Form: Lift with your elbows, not your hands. Keep the movement controlled – don't swing the weights. You should feel this in the back of your shoulders and in between your shoulder blades.

7. Kettlebell Swings – 3 sets of 20 reps

Rest: 90 seconds between sets

How to do it: Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, holding a kettlebell with both hands. Hinge at your hips, keep your back flat, and your core tight. Explosively drive your hips forward, squeezing your glutes to propel the kettlebell forward and up to chest height.

Why it’s the finisher: Kettlebell swings are a posterior chain powerhouse, working your entire back, glutes, and hamstrings in a dynamic, explosive way—for me, it’s ideal after all the controlled, heavy lifting.

What it does: Kettlebell swings can actually help rehabilitate lower back issues due to the unique loading pattern that creates beneficial forces on the spine — the opposite of what most exercises do.

Form (critical): This is a hip hinge, not a squat. Power comes from snapping your hips forward, not from your arms. The kettlebell should float to chest height from the power of your hip drive alone.

Training Notes

Frequency: 1-2 times per week, with at least 48 hours of rest between sessions.

Progression: Add weight or reps each week. When you can complete the top end of the rep range with good form, increase the load by 5-10%.

Form over everything: If you can't maintain proper form, the weight is too heavy. Your back is too important to risk injury over ego.

THE COOL-DOWN (5 minutes)

1. Child's Pose – 1 minute

Kneel on the floor, sit back on your heels, and reach your arms forward on the ground. Let your forehead rest on the floor. This gently stretches your lats and decompresses your spine.

2. Cat-Cow Stretch – 10 slow reps

On all fours, alternate between arching your back (cow) and rounding your spine (cat). This mobilizes your entire spine after all that work.

3. Doorway Chest Stretch – 30 seconds each side

Place your forearm on a doorframe with your elbow at shoulder height. Step forward gently until you feel a stretch across your chest and front shoulder. This opens up your chest to counterbalance all the pulling work.

4. Seated Spinal Twist – 30 seconds each side

Sit on the floor with your legs extended. Bend your right knee and place your right foot on the outside of your left knee. Twist your torso to the right, using your left elbow against your right knee for leverage. This releases tension in your mid and lower back.

Editor’s note: This workout is adaptable. For an alternative flow, we can suggest starting with kettlebell swings to warm up your body and your muscles, completing the workout backwards if you wish. Listen to your body and do what works best for you.