The back is really important in training, but few bodybuilders give it the attention it needs. Effectively pumping up muscles in this area is the goal of every successful athlete!
Only an experienced athlete can pump up wide back, because this muscle group is very difficult to work out, so for an excellent result you will need all your skill and a lot of patience. If you have set yourself the goal of getting a truly pumped wide back, exercises must be selected carefully and wisely. No compromises, just work and more work!
The back includes some of the largest muscles in the upper body from the lumbar to the trapezius (you can read more about the anatomy of the back muscles in the article "". It is involved in almost every movement we make, from stabilizing the core during the bench press to barbell support during squats.
See how important it is to train your back, are you ready to train? If you are already in the gym and ready to start, we recommend 2 programs from our training videos. Further in the article, you will find several more program options.
Not everyone can boast of a wide, inflated back, and this is another argument in favor of the fact that its elaboration deserves special attention. Many athletes do countless sets of chest workouts but forget to make equal efforts to build a wide back. Probably one of the reasons is that the back is difficult to see when standing in front of the mirror. Why train what you can't see, right?
There are so many men with pectoralis major muscles, and quadriceps but few who can show a wide back, neck or triceps, pumped up to the size of powerful horseshoes. Their rounded shoulders protrude forward because the pectoral muscles are pushed forward, giving them a concave appearance. This means that the back has not been sufficiently and / or properly trained to bring the shoulders back and create a proportionate look. Balance is key. You have to create this balance of mass and strength in order to get an impressive, muscular, strong and harmonious body. The balance will improve the whole body and help you avoid the appearance of "rolling" from the side.
How to create a prominent back? The exercises and workouts presented are specially tailored to get the most out of each trip to the gym and build your wide back. Always follow the technique and do not use too much heavy weight for your safety.
Wide back - exercise
Wide and narrow grip pull-ups
Use a grip that is wider than shoulder width apart. Begin the exercise by slightly bending your elbows and pulling them towards your chest, focusing on bringing your shoulder blades together behind you. Arch your back and contract the muscles, then return to the starting position with your elbows slightly bent again. This will develop the best-selling width and amplitude in upper muscles back.
In the variant with either a loop or a parallel grip that is narrower than shoulder-width apart, about six 15 cm between the palms. Pull up as if with a wide grip, and lower down until the arms are locked. This exercise is aimed at strengthening and pumping the lower back muscles and creating thickening around the lumbar region, which will help create a visually wide back.
If you are having difficulty doing this exercise, there is one good trick. Choose a total number of repetitions, such as 40, and try to reach that number no matter how many sets you need. You can do 10 reps on the first set, 8 on the second, and 7 on the third. Continue until you've done 40 reps. When you can do 3-4 sets of 10 or 15 reps each, increase the total reps to 50 or more.
Barbell and T-Bar Raises
These shells help with overall muscle density while working towards our goal - a pumped-up, wide back. take shoulder width apart. Bend over, keeping your back in line with your hips and parallel to the floor, transfer your weight to your stomach and contract the muscles. Lower the bar slowly and repeat.
Follow the same rules, but try not to lose weight or bend your back. Keep your back straight, let your back muscles do the work, not lumbar.
If you are lacking in upper back mass, try lifting more wide grip, and pull the weight towards your lower chest. In this case, you will have to reduce the weight in order to do this exercise to pump up your wide back correctly and not get injured.
Lifting the block and pulling in the simulator
To really gain weight in lower muscles back (if you are, of course, interested in a wide back), try one of these exercises. To perform the exercise, take the starting position: sit and tilt upper part body forward, knees slightly bent. Pull on the handle at the same time and straighten the body perpendicular to the floor. Bring your shoulder blades together and pull the handle towards your abdominal muscles. Return to starting position and repeat.
An indisputable plus is that you can work on each side separately. Use the principles above and make sure to contract the muscles when returning to the starting position.
If you are uncomfortable lifting the barbell, attach wide handle to the block cable and lift it instead of the barbell, holding it with a grip shoulder-width apart (or slightly wider).
Parallel and Wide Grip Rows
To take the bar with a grip on top, and lower it to the top of the chest. Return the bar to its original position by lifting the weight with your shoulder girdle and keeping your elbows bent. In terms of the quality of pumping, this exercise perfectly replaces pull-ups, creating the desired volume and width of the back. Nothing works better on the round muscle! Grab the bar with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and bend your elbows slightly. Lower the bar to mid-chest and contract the muscles. Return to the starting position, feeling the weight push your back muscles up and out.
When doing any pull down, try to return shoulder girdle to the starting position. Drop your shoulders back slightly and arch your chest forward. This will allow you to fully engage your back muscles.
Dumbbell Pullover and Back Stretch
Both exercises are ideal for both standard back training and width-targeting workouts. To get started, lie on the bench top back, the body is perpendicular to the bench, the head hangs down from the opposite side. Hold the dumbbells over your chest with your elbows slightly bent. Lower the weight back and behind your head in an arc until the dumbbells are in line with your head and back muscles. Return to starting position.
To stand in front of a back row machine (or other overhead cable machine). Grasp the bar with a grip shoulder-width apart and hold it at about eye level, contracting your back muscles. This is the starting position. With straight arms, lower the weight down to your hips and contract your back muscles. Return the bar to its original position and repeat.
Also, these exercises can be used as a warm-up before working out the entire back. Three quick sets of moderate reps will do the trick.
Deadlift
The progenitor of all back exercises:! A healthy, strong, wide back loves this exercise! Generally, deadlift necessary for overall strengthening body from head to toe, but deadlifts are especially good for the back. Place your weight on the bar on the ground and grip about shoulder-width apart, bend your knees, keeping your back straight. Lift the weight off the ground with your legs first, and then begin to straighten your back until you are completely straight. Return the bar to the ground in reverse order.
If you find it difficult to do deadlifts from the floor, try the partial deadlift. It is distinguished from the usual deadlift by the point of the starting position: here the barbell begins to move not from the floor, but from the level of the athlete's knees, for example, in power frame or from the bench. Set the bar at this level and then just follow the usual lifting guidelines. This will relieve your back a little if you are tall or want to engage your leg muscles in the exercise.
Add these exercises to your workouts or use one of these professional programs to build a wide back. Listen to your body and adapt the load to suit your goals. Remember: pull-ups and vertical rods make the back wider, and horizontal and inclined rods give the back muscles thickness, increasing its density.
Wide back workout program
Upper back workout program
Muscle Growth Workout Program
Lower back workout program
Gross Weight and Muscle Growth Workout Program
If you find it difficult to do the deadlift from the floor, try the partial deadlift. Set the weight on the bar on the bench just below the knee and then just follow your normal lifting guidelines. This will relieve your back a little if you are tall or want to engage your leg muscles in the exercise.
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A wide and pumped-up back is the dream of every man, especially if nature did not endow him with this initially. But it is precisely due to the wide back that the bodybuilder looks strong and impressive, and the everyday worries of life become significantly and literally easier.
Workout program for pumping up a wide back
Pay attention to concentration and technique to avoid idling. Only use the muscles you need to build a really wide back!
Always follow your technique and do not use too much weight for your safety. Be sure to warm up before your workout and stretch after!
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Latissimus Dorsi Supplements
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For the pros
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Anabolic complexes
Without effective back development, you cannot build a massive and athletic V-shape. Unfortunately, it is with this - the second largest muscle group in our body - that people have the most difficulties.
The problem is that we are not used to working with the back muscles in everyday life, if we are talking about the lats, round, trapezius. Instead, we usually use our hands (to open doors, for example) and transfer this practice to strength exercises, trying to work with biceps, hands, but in no way stronger and larger muscle groups. As a result, the arms get tired quickly, and since the load is atypical for them, they develop poorly, and the back muscles practically do not work.
That is, it is extremely important to focus on the technique of performing the exercises. Especially girls. Due to physiological characteristics, ladies have a much higher risk of injury in movements such as traction than guys. vertical block to the chest, if you are trying to work with a progression in stress. But usually it does not even reach the progression, since the weak female hands(namely, the forearms) get tired much earlier than any load gets into the back.
It is necessary to learn to feel the muscles of the back, that is, to develop a neuromuscular connection. And this can be done only with correct technique performing the exercise. Thus, there is no need to rush anywhere and start working with minimal weight, even if you consider yourself a strong person.
First, the cerebellum needs to remember the correct movement, and this will take several hundred repetitions before starting to increase the load. Raise it ahead of time, break the technique, the body will remember the wrong movement, and as a result, either quickly hit the ceiling on the working weights, without achieving results in the development of the back, or you will get injured.
More movements with less weight - better results in the end with more
The muscles of the back are responsible for the pulling movements, as are the biceps, as well as the rear deltas. Most often, it is the hands that like to steal the load, so it is important to understand what exactly you need to reduce.
It is usually recommended to bring the shoulder blades together in the peak phase during movement in order to feel exactly the work of the back muscles and to strain what should be strained during the deadlift. But there is an ambush here. Due to the lack of a good neuromuscular connection, it is, in principle, difficult for a beginner to make the back work and bring the shoulder blades together - a person does not feel the muscles and pulls with what he is used to pulling, that is, with his hands.
The problem is solved with the help of an experienced instructor, and if this is not the case, then have the training partner touch the muscles that should be tense. Tactile sensations- this is an additional signal for the brain to tighten the necessary muscles and it will be easier to focus on their work.
Again, do not rush to increase the load. The weight should be felt, but not break your exercise technique. You will make several hundred movements in 3-4 workouts, get used to them, the cerebellum will remember which motor units to use in the exercise, after which you can start progressing with the weight of weights. This is important for any exercise, but especially for your back workout. Basically, the problem with the development of this part of the body is that people cannot learn to strain the right muscles for years, and they pull the weight with anything other than their backs.
I also warn in advance against some exercises that are supposedly easier to learn, but in fact they injure the shoulder joints, giving no advantage over safer options. These are any pulls and pull-ups behind the head. I talked about this in detail in the corresponding article:
Not only size is important, but also shape
A wide, but flat back visually loses much to a more compact, but bumpy and embossed one. The relief is gained with the help of a balanced diet, and I told a lot about this in the heading. But the tuberosity and visually massive form are the fruit of reasonably selected exercises and a well-constructed weekly microcycle. Let's talk about this in more detail.
The traditional division of back exercises into "width" and "thickness" is not entirely correct, although it is convenient for describing certain movements. Like, pull-ups with a wide grip or a similar pull of the vertical block to the chest is the width, and the pull of the block to the stomach narrow grip- thickness. It would be more correct to divide the exercises into those that form the total muscle mass of the back and separately - those responsible for its impressive shape. Moreover, these will be two separate training days in a weekly cycle.
Do not forget about the deltas, especially about the posterior fascicle, which also gives visual width. Although it works well in almost all traction movements on the back.
I think those who follow my sports column already know that in order to specialize in a particular muscle group, it is necessary to load it at least twice a week. Or build the cycle in such a way as to take into account the work of muscles as assistants. Who missed, take a look at the articles about and. In addition, periodization in the load is also important, it has been written about this, plus a reasonable selection of weights and. Accordingly, before moving on, I advise you to read the articles mentioned above.
We select exercises for effective back development
In fact, everything is simple. Lumpy and imposing appearance well-developed trapeziums are attached to the back, and not only and not so much their upper part, but the middle one, located between the shoulder blades. That is, it makes sense to allocate a separate day for the all-round development of trapeziums, and since the muscle group is not particularly large, you can add elaboration to it and, for example,.
Elaboration of trapezoids
By the way, working out the trapezoid is not as easy as it seems at first glance. If you think that's enough classic shrugs with dumbbells or a barbell, you are wrong. Although shrugs will be needed too for the development of the upper part of the trapezoid... Alexey "Shredder" Klakotsky demonstrates excellent technique for performing this exercise:
The main exercise for the effective development of the lower trapezium is T-bar deadlift:
Not in all gyms there is such a simulator, but the usual T-thrust, when it is enough to rest the end of the bar in the corner, and load the second with pancakes, will not work. In this position, it is difficult to strain the inner part of the back due to the load on the lower back. An alternative would be link arm…
... Or rowing dumbbells on an incline bench:
To permanently sway the inner back, do pull of the block to the chest with a rope handle:
In all these movements, the back delta works the same way. Great exercise there will be a combined thrust of the lower block for the trapezoid and the rear delta (watch from 23 minutes):
The last exercise also makes sense if you decide to swing the deltas along with the traps.
Formation of a powerful and broad back
A separate day should be devoted to formative exercises for the back. That is, those that will give you the bulk of muscle mass.
There is no need to invent a bicycle here. The best exercise would be wide grip pull-ups- we put it first in training:
Pay attention to the deflection in the lower back and to the fact that it is necessary to reach for the chest, and not pull up exactly like a "soldier", as taught in school. In addition, I do not advise you to fully unbend your arms in the lower range of motion, let alone relax your back. Firstly, it is traumatic, especially when you start pulling up with a weight on the belt (you can jerk your triceps and round muscles). Secondly, the arms are too overloaded during the undermining from the bottom point and as a result they get tired before the back muscles are effectively loaded.
An excellent formative exercise to do right after the pull-ups (or vice versa) - barbell row (dumbbells or dumbbells) in the slope:
All the most important things Yaroslav told in the video, I will only add on my own so that they do not forget to bring the shoulder blades to the maximum. You can also make a slightly less tilt and hang noticeably more pancakes on the barbell in order to load the inner back more and hit the rear deltas, but this is provided that the technique for performing the exercise has already been studied perfectly and you feel the work of the muscles well.
With the next exercise on this training day, you can continue to expand your back by doing pull of the upper block to the chest(I apologize for the vertical video and some confusion in the narrative, but it was in this that I told everything important points- what can be done, what is not, range of motion):
A good alternative for girls (less load on the hands) - reverse grip pull of the upper block:
Another option is thrust horizontal block (and again a vertical video, but if you are worried about your lower back and want to really learn how to do this exercise correctly, watch the entire video):
How to build a microcycle with an emphasis on your back
I note that the options below and any splits are, in principle, focused on more or less experienced people with at least six months or a year of experience with good muscle tone and set exercise technique. Until then, full-body workouts will work great for you, and will be much more effective for basic corset formation.
The most convenient way to do four day split of the following format (I personally worked like this for four months at the end of last year):
- Monday- chest + traps + deltas (one basic type of dumbbell press, one for the back delta to finish it off after the rows).
- Tuesday- legs (plus any lagging groups at will, for example - the neck).
- Wednesday- recreation.
- Thursday- back (formative exercises) + deltas (emphasis on middle delta, for example, pulling the bar to the chin + swinging dumbbells to the sides).
- Friday- arms (2-3 exercises for triceps, 1-2 for biceps, since he did a good job on deadlifts on Thursday).
- Saturday- recreation.
- Sunday- recreation.
Too lazy to visit the gym four times a week, or you simply do not have enough strength, then here three day split:
- Monday- chest (two exercises, for example, bench press and push-ups from the uneven bars or dumbbell press on an inclined bench at 30 °) + trapezium + deltas (two basic exercises, for example, army press and barbell pull to the chin).
- Tuesday- recreation.
- Wednesday- legs (3-4 exercises) + triceps (2 exercises, for example, press with a narrow grip and French or extension of the arms in the block).
- Thursday- recreation.
- Friday- back (formative exercises) + deltas (one exercise for the back beam) + biceps (a couple of basic exercises like PSHB and lifting dumbbells while sitting on an inclined bench).
- Saturday- recreation.
- Sunday- recreation.
Don't chase the mass, but work on the form
Mass is a relative concept. You can be large, but at the same time look not very aesthetically pleasing due to the significant amount of fat. And it's not very good for health. And you can be of medium size, but due to the good shape and relief, look much more spectacular and feel better.
Eroded up to 118 kg (with a height of 190 cm) in a massive "rolling grunt", but the state of health is not so hot, shortness of breath, sweating and other troubles. Now I weigh 103 kg, I feel great, and due to the systematic work on the form, I do not look much more compact than myself when I am 118 kg. And is there any point in chasing the result on the scales, if there is horror-horror in the mirror?
can be divided into three groups: exercises for the long muscles of the back, exercises for the width of the back and exercises for the thickness of the back. In bodybuilding, there are two groups that are effective for the back, since it makes no sense to work out the accentuated muscle of the back. The bottom line is that long muscles do not form the width of the back and visually increase the volume of the waist, therefore the training of this muscle should be su-gu-bo fa-cult-tive. However, if it comes about powerlifting, or about the work of power indicators, then in this case the training of the long muscle of the back is already becoming pri-o-ri-tete-ny. It goes without saying that we are talking about such a well-known exercise as the deadlift, as for training the long muscles of the back while gaining mass or "drying", then for this there is such a wonderful exercise as hyper-ek- s-ten-ziya.
Recommended materials: how to pump up your back; back specialization; back exercises;
Exercises for the back must be grouped because they cannot be used all at the same time. The fact is that, having trained the long back muscles well, you will no longer be able to train the lats, therefore, in fact, it is not recommended for bodybuilders to train the long back muscles. Exercise Effectiveness for latissimus the back also falls with each subsequent exercise, as the athlete loses strength. Accordingly, if you have trained well for the thickness of the back, then you simply will not be able to work out the width well. That is why experienced athletes who use periodization alternate the load from training to training: on one they train hard for width and easily for thickness, and on the other, the opposite is true.
The effectiveness of back exercises is also highly dependent on the correct technique of performing the exercises, since almost all of them involve many muscle groups, and therefore, it becomes necessary to deliberately concentrate all the load in the target muscle group. The main problem is the inclusion of the biceps, this is especially true in exercises for the width of the back, where the biceps often steals the lion's share of the load. This can be avoided with the help of a developed neuromuscular connection and various tricks, which are called " correct technique". It should be noted that the bone and muscle constitution is different for everyone, so with experience you will learn to individualize the technique for yourself, but novice athletes should strictly adhere to all recommendations.
Effective exercise for back width
Wide grip pull-ups - this is the best exercise for working out the width of the broadest muscles of the back, the exercise is basic, so if you know how to pull up, pull up, if you do not know how, learn! Key point This exercise focuses on the concentration of the load in the back muscles, therefore, if you have genetically developed biceps, you should use an open grip or a parallel bar. If it is difficult for you to keep your body on the horizontal bar, then use the straps.
Upper block thrust is a basic block exercise for building up the mass of the latissimus dorsi. Many consider this exercise to be the identical under-cha-gi-va-ni-yam, but this is not so, this effective exercise for the back plays its indie-di-vi-du-al role in training and it can use in conjunction with pull-ups. The bottom line is that during the pull of the block, your muscles contract in a different way, that is, the load is accentuated on different parts of the lats, which is exactly what we need!
Dumbbell row is a basic exercise for working out the width of the back, it is also suitable in order to increase the strength of the athlete. A large number of working joints and muscle groups allows you to effectively progress the load in exercise, so it can be used both while building muscle mass, and during the development of strength indicators and even during "drying". If you want to build a wide back, use the bent-over dumbbell row!
Effective exercise for back thickness
Bent-over barbell row - This is the best exercise for increasing the thickness of the back, since the exercise is not only effective, but also basic, thanks to which the athlete can progress the load without hindrance. You probably already know that exercise progression is the key to muscle hypertrophy, so when you gain muscle mass, it is necessary to use basic exercises, which also stimulate the secretion of growth hormone and other stress hormones.
Row T bar is also a basic exercise, but not as effective as a barbell row. Yes, the deadlift on the T bar allows you to better load the middle of the back, but the working weights in this exercise are less, the stress is also less, respectively, the anabolic response is worse. But this does not mean that you should not use the T bar deadlift in your training program, this is a very effective back exercise, just not as effective as the bent over row.
Horizontal block pull - This is one of the best block exercises for working out the thickness of the back, in addition, the exercise allows you to stretch the muscles well, so it is recommended to do it at the end of the workout. In general, the exercises are arranged in the order in which it makes sense to use them during training, although, of course, novice athletes should not use them all in one workout. Beginners can use 3-4 exercises per workout, and athletes of a more advanced level can use up to 8.
Effective exercise for long back muscles
Deadlift - This is a basic exercise for working out the long muscles of the back, the exercise is strength, in powerlifting, competitive, but, as already noted above, there is no need to use it in bodybuilding. For its purposes, the deadlift is a very effective exercise, but bodybuilding does not set the tasks for the athletes that the deadlift is designed to solve. If you still want to use this exercise, then it is best to do it at the end of the workout with a little weight.
Hyperextension is excellent and very effective exercise to work out the long muscles of the back and buttocks, which is recommended for athletes of all skill levels and gender. The bottom line is that while long back muscles do not deserve specialization during muscle gain, they still need to be trained, since they stabilize and relieve the spine in other basic exercises and in Everyday life, so be sure to include this exercise in your training split!
Make your back bigger, wider, stronger and more prominent, creating a solid foundation for future growth.
If you are competing or a bodybuilder (well, or you want to do it), then I will not surprise you with how important it is to have a well-developed back. As for the rest, I'm sure the following should convince you. You can't see your back when you look in the mirror, and people don't see it when you walk into a room, unless back training is your priority when exercising in the gym.
But ask yourself, what do people see when they stand behind you? There is emptiness between your shoulders: a flat space without muscle, oozing weakness, or a wide, massive shield of muscle?
You must respect your back, so we have selected the best back exercises in the gym for men and put together six set for you to train under different goals... Choose one (or more) that suits your individual needs and then do it for 4-6 weeks to pump everything up. muscle groups back of the upper body.
- The following training programs do not involve a warm-up. Do so much warm-up exercises, how much you need, but no need to warm up up to muscle failure.
- Choose a weight with which you will achieve muscle failure for the number of repetitions indicated in the exercise.
- Keep fit and don't let your lower back spin.
- Use a weight belt for deadlifts, deadlifts, and bracelets to enhance your grip.
The techniques below show not only how to pump up a man's back, exercise complexes are designed to increase the width of the back muscles, their mass and volume, improve relief and even strengthen the lower back.
The best gym workout programs
Target: total back mass
If you haven't devoted as much time and energy to your back in the gym as to your other muscle groups, chances are it is lagging behind. To pump up a lagging group, focus on a weight-gain workout program.
Building mass comes down to hard work, mostly with free weights... Do sets of 8-10 repetitions, resting between sets, usually 90-120 seconds, to regain your breath and strength. Deadlifts may require an extra minute of rest.
A set of exercises for gaining back muscle mass
If you can't do 8-10 pull-ups, use a machine. And if 8-10 times is too easy for you, put on a weight belt to add weight. 5 sets of 8-10 reps |
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5 sets of 8-10 reps |
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5 sets of 8-10 reps |
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5 sets of 8-10 reps |
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Purpose: Increase back thickness
Aside from the general developmental lag in the muscles of the back, the most common problem is also "two-dimensionality": your back has a good width, but it is flat like the prairie in the Midwest. You need to strengthen it and make it thicker so that it eventually becomes voluminous.
This is where the wrist straps come in. You won't be able to build your lats well in this workout without straps. At some point you will run out of breath, your workout will be disrupted, as will your lower back. Deadlifts are what it takes to get a brutal back. The wrist straps will make sure you can achieve a lot!
A set of exercises to increase thickness
3 sets of 8-10 reps (bottom grip) 3 sets of 8-10 reps (top grip) |
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4 sets of 8-10 times per arm |
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4 sets of 8-10 reps |
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5 sets of 8-10 reps |
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Objective: Increase the width
A wide back is a great chance to have a V-shaped silhouette. In this set of back exercises for men, you will focus on the top of the V, that is, on the upper muscle groups. Various pull-ups and horizontal rows will serve this purpose.
Full disclosure: Most of what we perceive as back width is just a visual factor in your bone structure. If you have wide collarbones, especially if you also have a narrow waist and hips, you will create the illusion of a broad back even if you don't have much muscle mass. However, anyone can make their back wider if they work with correct exercises like those listed below.
For all movements in these exercises, place your hands a couple of centimeters behind your shoulders on each side. If you try to use as much distance as possible, such as grabbing the very ends of the bar for deadlifts, you will not achieve full range of motion or full contraction of your back muscles.
Don't go wide! Use the bottom grip when doing these exercises, excluding the deadlift. To do this, use the neutral position of the palms facing each other.
A set of exercises to increase the width of the back
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Note: Do 4 sets with an upright torso. then lower yourself at a 45-degree angle to the floor and do 8 more reps toward your chest. 4 sets of 8 reps (and 8 more reps) |
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4 sets of 10 reps |
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4 sets of 10 reps (use the wide handle) |
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Note: choose a weight that you can only do 10 times, and then do 6 more, overcoming yourself. 4 sets of 10 reps (and 6 more reps) |
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Purpose: Increase the relief of the back
Assuming you've already built a decent back mass, this workout will hone and perfect it. We will increase the number of reps and sets and target all parts of this large and complex muscle group, which we simply call the "back."
Fact: The more fat you have, the less detail will be seen across all muscle groups. By being thinner, you will be able to display more prominent muscles, but there are several long-standing methods for developing back width regardless of body fat level.
As you exercise, do your best to focus more on squeezing and feeling the muscles stretch. This may mean slowing down the execution of approaches in order to realize this reduction. Your goal is to feel this squeeze in the depths of everyone muscle fiber so if you have to slow down for that to happen, take a break.
A set of exercises for back detailing
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Note: This exercise has three sets. Choose a weight you can do 10 reps with and then reduce it to one with which you make ten more. 3 sets of 10 reps (and 10 more reps) |
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Note: Do 10 times slowly and calmly, and then 10 times quickly and without pauses, both at the beginning and at the end. 4 sets of 10 reps |
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4 sets of 12 reps
Note: Use the same weight you use for the vertical pull. After the last 12 reps, immediately kneel down and pull the bar towards your sternum for 12 reps. Add the weight needed for more stability 4 sets of 12 reps |
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4 sets of 15 reps |
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4 sets of 15 reps per arm |
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4 sets of 20 reps |
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4 sets of 12-15 reps |
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Objective: to protect the lower back
If you've never had a lower back injury and aren't dealing with at least occasional lower back pain, consider yourself lucky. Few things are as painful as lower back problems. For those of us who strive to improve the quality of execution physical exercise, these problems can have a very negative and limiting effect on learning.
This is especially important when it comes to leg or back workouts. When your lower back is in pain, you just can't do whatever you want - the exercises that everyone else does. This does not mean that you need to stop training your back until your lower back is healed, it just means that you need to have a plan and remember what to avoid.
All types of pull-ups and horizontal rods, in contrast to the pulldown and deadlift, are safe exercise for the lower back, because they do not place the lumbar spine in a loaded position. To make your rowing movements safe, use chest support so you can't bend your back too much.
The key to a safe and productive workout is to stay on the cushion during all rowing movements. If you allow the torso to lift off the pillow as you reach back, you will destroy the support target.
A set of exercises for the lower back
4 sets of 10 reps |
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4 sets of 10 reps |
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4 sets of 10 reps |
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4 sets of 12 reps |
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4 sets of 12 reps |
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4 sets of 15 reps |
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Goal: to lay the foundations
Finally, a basic procedure for those just starting out. It should be simple yet functional, like the time-tested exercises that have helped generations of bodybuilders lay a solid foundation for a big back.
Beginners are best helped by hard work on only a few productive exercises. Avoid the temptation to take more and sacrifice form in a misguided attempt to speed up progress. If you are gaining weight too quickly, you can shift the weight, but you will not gain muscle mass properly.
More often than not, trying to change weight too quickly too early results in injury. Manage your form and try to develop muscle memory. The back is the most difficult area to achieve this connection, so take your time and concentrate on each exercise.
Do the workouts in the same way as they are given. Avoid the temptation to add more exercise or approaches, and avoid resorting to any heavy-duty best practices such as supersets or forced replays. You will soon be able to do this. For now, master the basics and work on getting your back muscles to contract and stretch with each exercise.
A set of exercises for pumping your back for beginners
3 sets of 10-12 reps (wide grip) 3 sets of 10-12 reps (narrow grip) |
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4 sets of 10-12 reps |
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4 sets of 12 reps |
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4 sets of 12 reps |
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4 sets of 10-12 reps |
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(17
estimates, average: 4,76
out of 5)
Back workout has always stood out in the program of any builder. After all, this is a huge layer of muscles and a central link that participates in all exercises. A developed wide back is not only beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, but also functional, in view of the fact that a strong and strong back will allow you to progress for a long time in almost all exercises.
Back workout or how to build a wide back
The topic of the article is how to build a wide back. It is from it that you will learn how to properly build your back workout, which exercises for the back muscles are effective, what to look for and how to protect yourself from injury.
Introduction: how to build back muscles
The muscles of the back are the largest muscle group in the upper body (the second in the whole body, after the legs). Namely, because of their size and strength, the back muscles are capable of doing hard and big work, and they love it.
If you want to build up your back muscles, then discard all sorts of things like pumps, drop sets and the like. Heavy with heavy working weights - that's what you need and nothing more.
The rep range for back to weight training should be 4-6 in basic movements. It is this range that will allow taking large weights, and you will finally feel how your back muscles ache after a workout. If you are adding any simple single-joint exercises, do up to 8 reps while keeping general principle- heavy working weight.
All of this will not work if you do the exercises in disgusting technique. Firstly, it is simply traumatic, and secondly, it is ineffectual (the load, as a rule, is sprayed on the whole body, and you pull the weight, only in order to stretch, and not in order to work out the muscle group - there will be no growth).
The extreme rep should be heavy, but in perfect technique. The weight does not go - throw it!
Stay true when training your back to the principle of load progression (about progression and other factors for successful muscle growth). Increase your working weights, do 1-2 repetitions more than in the last workout, rest less between sets, but increase the load from workout to workout.
Do not tear yourself one place. If the weight doesn't go, quit. Once you injure your back, you will cancel all subsequent workouts while recovering your injury. And this can be very long. We only did 3 reps today instead of 6, and okay. Do more on the next one. This approach is the least traumatic and will keep the progression.
The muscles of the back are paired muscles that braid back part our corps. The back muscles can be conventionally divided into two groups:
Internal- rhomboid, large round, adductor scapula muscles and others. They are located deep under the outer ones and, with proper development, push out the outer ones, creating a thickness and depth of the back.
External- latissimus muscles, trapezius muscle, dentate muscles, back extensor muscles. These muscles are located on the surface, which means that you should pay attention first of all to them.
When they talk about the development of the back muscles, firstly, they mean the development of the broadest muscles. These are the largest muscles in the back. They form the coveted V-shape. Therefore, the priority in back training should be on exercises that develop primarily the lats.
For effective training latissimus muscles, it is necessary to understand the functions that they perform in our body. The main functions are to bring the upper limbs to the bottom of the body from the front, from above and from the side. In a simple way, these are cravings for oneself. It is the deadlifts that should become the basis of the training of the broadest.
The most natural, functional and physiological, and also wildly effective exercise for training the muscles of the back and specifically the lats are pull-ups. Throw away light pullups, pullovers in machines, and focus on heavy pull-ups.
Secondly, the trapezius muscle is responsible for the volume of the upper back. She is in the middle. Due to the points of attachment in the neck and shoulder joints, the developed trapezium forms characteristic tubercles on the sides of the neck.
The function of the trapezius muscle is to bring the shoulder blades to each other, lifting them up and down. Indirectly, the trapezoid works in many back exercises. there is a constant movement of the shoulder blades and their reduction. Most suitable exercise for the development of the trapezoid, these are shrugs (straight and oblique).
The two elongated muscles that extend from the lower back to the upper back along the spine are the extensors of the back (long back muscles). Their function is simple and consists in bending and unbending the body back and forth.
Don't forget about the back extensors. Developed extensors provide a powerful base for back stability in many exercises and allow you to progress for a long time.
The most effective exercise for back extensors is the deadlift. Without question - this is the best exercise for working out the whole body, including legs, back, arms. You will wildly pump the thickness and depth of the back, strengthen the ligamentous apparatus, because the working weights are the largest in the deadlift. The only drawback of the deadlift is that by doing it you will not make your back wide (for many, this will be a revelation).
Finally, the dentate muscles, which connect to the oblique muscles of the abdomen. Thanks to the small layer subcutaneous fat(), developed serrated muscles create an additional plus to the athletic appearance of a person.
The most effective for their training are varieties of pullovers and diagonal crunches on the press. However, you shouldn't bother too much with their training. They will grow after the main body of the back.
Exercises for back muscles
Before you figure out which exercises for the back muscles are better and which are worse, determine your priority muscle groups. Almost nobody does this. Decide what you want? A narrow waist and a wide upper back or a powerful, strong and deeply worked back. Based on this, you need to select the appropriate exercises.
Most Effective Trapezius Exercises: dumbbell or barbell shrugs
The most effective back extensor exercises: Deadlift is one and only. There is nothing better than her (no hyperextensions or bends with a barbell on the shoulders and will not stand next to).
An important point that is constantly being repeated on the pages of this blog is that in any back exercises the back should be straight and the loin bent... This position, with the pelvis retracted and the chest pushed forward, ensures, firstly, the safety of the lower back, and secondly, in this position the back muscles contract correctly and most fully.
It is worth saying that in all exercises on the back, biceps work part-time. If performed incorrectly, it takes up most of the load, and since is a small muscle, compared to the back, it gets tired quickly, limiting your progress.
That is why, the priority is the technique of performing exercises, during which the target muscles work to the maximum, and the biceps are turned off. This is achieved by the correct mechanics of movement, good brain-muscle connection, when you consciously know how to contract what is needed.
If, after training your back, your biceps hurts the next day, then you still have room to grow technically. Improve your technique constantly, do not abandon this business, work through every little thing to such an extent that the body automatically performs the necessary movements and contractions.
Learn the technique of exercises at home without weight (or use improvised means that simulate a barbell or dumbbells), work out the movements slowly and at full amplitude. This approach gives real results, because strengthens the neuromuscular connection.
Pull-ups
To analyze the best exercise for the latissimus dorsi (but what can I say, the entire back, including its width and depth), I urge you to read the article "".
Briefly her findings:
- The grip is wide enough to turn off the biceps and force the lats to work.
- The grip of the hands of the crossbar is straight, with all five fingers on top.
- Pull up to your chest, so you load the entire triangle of the back.
- Do not think about your arms, your task is to take your elbows back behind your torso.
This is a lighter version of pull-ups (learn the technique of pulling the vertical block). If you are a beginner, then this is a decent exercise option (because you can take a weight less than your own), which will teach you how to the right approach to contract the necessary muscles and will give a good start for the future. However, if you can perform at least 5 technically correct pull-ups, then you don't need a vertical block pull.
The professional lifter can also benefit from the deadlift. Firstly, using this exercise in various super series or drop-sets to increase the intensity of the training. Second, by using vertical block traction to deeply work out individual muscle segments. This exercise allows you to deflect the body back more than in pull-ups, which means the ability to work out the bottom of the lats higher.
Pay attention to the pulling technique of the vertical block, because there are several non-trivial points that few people pay attention to.
- The projectile cable must move strictly vertically at any point in the amplitude.
- The cable should, as it were, enter the chest at the lowest point and descend along the spine.
- The points of the elbows and the cable should move in the same plane (down). It is unacceptable to take your elbows back or forward. The elbows are wound down behind the body, due to its deflection in the thoracic region.
Bent-over barbell row
Learn the technique of performing bent-over barbell rows. Pay attention to such little things as the grip (its width and orientation are straight, reverse), the inclination of the body (the closer to the horizontal, the better the back muscles work, but the more negative load on the lower back), the trajectory of the bar (we pull along the legs to the very bottom abdomen) and elbows (elbows are wound behind the body).
May be a more effective back exercise than bent-over rows. The mechanics of movement are preserved, but the T bar deadlift trainer allows you to unload many of the stabilizer muscles, which means an increase in working weights.
God forbid you to train on inclined or horizontal sunbeds - the sunbeds themselves, firstly, limit the range of motion, and secondly, it is very difficult to learn how to contract the muscles of the back in this position (due to the impossibility of arching the back). Output: Do the T bar row only while standing!
One-arm dumbbell row
Due to the fact that the exercise is one-sided, it is easier and easier to perform it. In addition, the execution amplitude also increases due to the lack of a rod in the middle of the body. It becomes possible to wind the dumbbell far beyond the body at the top point and stretch the lats as much as possible at the bottom. For a technical understanding of how to perform a one-arm bent-over dumbbell row, check out.
Horizontal block pull
Exercise works on the middle and lower back by pulling the cable towards the lower abdomen. However, if you grab a wide handle and pull towards your chest, the exercise will stimulate your upper back as well. Read more.
- Choose the optimal length of the rope overhang, because sitting far away, it will be difficult for you to maintain a straight back position.
- At the lowest point, stretch your back muscles, pushing the body forward.
- At the top, the back is perpendicular to the floor. It is unacceptable to tilt the body back.
Shrugs translated from English are a shrug. This is the exercise that makes our shoulder blades move. The trapezius muscle is precisely responsible for such movements, which means that shrugs are a favorable exercise for developing the volume of the trapezoid.
Shrugs can be performed by acting on the trapezium in different ways for its fullest stimulation. You can pull the weight by lifting the shoulder blades up. Or perform shrugs in a slope, in which the shoulder blades will be reduced to each other.
This exercise can be done with dumbbells or a barbell. With a barbell, it is more convenient to progress in weights. It is more convenient to hold dumbbells on the sides. An alternative would be a dumbbell handle simulator, on which you can increase weights with the help of pancakes.
Shrugs are an exercise for more experienced athletes. Beginners will have enough chin-ups, deadlifts and different types horizontal rows, in all these exercises, the trapezoid also works great.
Don't make the stupid mistake of many visitors gyms that perform shrugs, rotating their shoulders for some reason. This is a direct path to injury because stress on shoulder joint increases, and the trapezium is not anatomically adapted to perform such complex movements, and even with a heavy weight.
Deadlift
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