Build a Better Back

While the muscles of the back may not be classified as the “showcase” muscles, like that of the chest or arms, they are necessary nonetheless to building an impressive physique. A strong, well-muscled back can give the appearance of a wide frame and overall upper body thickness. Because of these aspects of the back muscles, it is necessary to train them for both thickness and width. The following back workout divides your training into two days, one which focuses on thickness and one to develop width.

Day One - Back Width:

Exercise #1: Wide Grip Chin-ups - This is a warm up exercise, to help loosen up the back, as well as the shoulder joints. I am not a fan of doing these with added weight. Perform these with perfect form, starting with your arms completely extended and with control (DO NOT SWING or JERK YOURSELF UP) bring your chin up over the bar.

Do 3 sets with just your body weight to failure.

Exercise #2: Wide Grip Cable Rows - Instead of using the typical triangle-shaped handle, use one of the wider gripped bars that are usually used for lat pulldowns. Also, while a typical cable row is done to the stomach, these should be done to the chest, about the same area as a bench press would come. When you bring the bar to your chest, your upper body should be perpendicular to the ground. You should not swing the weight.

Do 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps with a heavy enough weight that you struggle to perform all reps.

Exercise #3: Wide Grip Barbell Rows - Perform these just like regular barbell rows, with your knees slightly bent and bend at the waist at a slightly higher than 90 degree angle. If you’re upper body is close to being at a 45 degree angle to the ground, you’re too upright. Your grip should be about 6 inches wider for each hand, with an overhand grip. You will probably have to use less weight as well.

Perform 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps.

Day 2 - Back Thickness: I would wait about 2 days between back width and back thickness training sessions.

Exercise #1: Barbell Rows - These should be performed with the same form as the above wide grip rows, but with a narrower grip that resembles your typical bench press grip. Do these heavy with good form.

Perform 5 sets of 6 to 8 reps.

Exercise #2: Cable Rows - Use the traditional triangle-like grip and pull it to your stomach. Again, you should not swing the weight and your upper body should not go past perpendicular to the ground. Train heavy and with good form.

Perform 5 sets of 6 to 8 reps.

Exercise #3: Reverse Grip Pulldowns - You can use a typical wide handle pulldown bar or a smaller one. Your grip should be about shoulder width, with your palms facing you. Do not swing to bring the weight stack down. The motion should be slow and controlled.

Perform 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps.

This may not seem like a lot of work to train such a large muscle group like the back, but remember you will be training heavy and two days a week. You can group these workouts with your other muscle group training sessions as well. Additional ways to build width is to widen your grip on other exercises like the bench press, and work on developing round, full shoulders.

As always, proper nutrition is a must for muscle growth, so be sure you are feeding your muscles with sufficient protein and carbohydrates, and don’t forget to mix in other supplements like BCAAs and creatine. Within a few weeks, you may notice a significant difference in both your back width and thickness, turning it into your personal showcase muscles!