4 Killer Exercises For Your Upper Back Workout
Nov 29th, 2009 | By Todd Bowman | Category: Back, Exercises, Gain Muscle
How To Build A Massive Upper Back…
To be honest I’m actually quite shocked at how misguided most people who go to the gym really are.
One thing is for certain, just about everybody in the gym wants to build lots of muscle, but only a handful of them know how to guide their workout efforts so that they can get the body they really want. Let’s face it, finding an upper back workout that’s worth its weight in salt is really frickin difficult.
Having a strong thick and muscular back is critical for looking huge! For just about any middle aged guy in the gym, the only thing they think about is how go build a big chest or get huge arms. They’re not thinking about the thickness back muscles or how well developed their traps or lats are.
So what they do is focus just about all their energy doing bench presses and bicep curls trying to achieve their goals.
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Anatomy & Function Of The Back Muscles:There are lots of muscle fibers in the back used for lifting, twisting
Other lesser known back muscles include:
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Upper Back ExerciesDeadlifts
Hyperextensions (Roman Chair – Lower Back)
Bent Barbell Rows
1 Arm Dumbbell Row
T-Bar Rows
Seated Pulley Rows
Lat Pulldowns
Chin Ups / Pull Ups
Good Mornings
Hise Shrugs
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Trapezius ExercisesBarbell Shrugs
Cable Upright Rows
Bent Lateral Raises (also known as Reverse Dumbbell Flyes)
Face Pulls
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So let’s just say I’m not shocked when their muscle gaining dreams do not come true. Most of the bodybuilders or weightlifters seem to neglect other very important muscle groups in their workout routines and put all their energy on getting a big chest and ripped biceps. And these muscle groups only play a smaller role in contributing to the great overall larger physique that people want. I’m obviously talking about your back.
This is an upper back workout right? The muscles in your back are your traps, lats, spinal erectors, rhomboids and lower back muscles of course.
Getting on a quality upper back workout and keeping your back muscles strong will do wonders for your overall physique. It’s not a secret at all why most bodybuilders pay little attention to these all important muscles…
- The back is difficult to see in the mirror and it’s not a show off muscle. It’s not easy to “flex.”
- Getting on a stimulating upper back workout, can put more stress on the entire body than training your legs, chest or arms.
- I’d have to say 90% of bodybuilders or weightlifters don’t have any clue of just how important the back muscles are in your physical and muscular development.
Here’s a little secret…. For everybody who wants to look powerful, wide and thick in a small period of time, nothing will make this happen faster than building a strong back.
Note:
More than 70% of your upper body muscles is surrounding your back and is your back. Don’t you think it’s time to get on a great upper back workout? Not much can replace the thickening effect of gaining lots of muscles in your back like wide trapezius muscles and popping lats. I’m serious here people.
If you really want a strong and thick back, stop doing the bench press, treadmills and triceps machines, and learn a comprehensive upper back workout that will enable you to really pack on pounds of muscle quickly.
Below are the 4 main exercises you can do to develop a strong back.
1) Deadlifts
I cannot put enough importance on this particular exercise in your upper back workout. I know of no other back exercise that will even come close to rivaling just how effective this basic, bent legged dead lift is as far as gaining lots of muscle very fast. The dead lift helps to workout every area of your body and cannot be matched in terms of building a strong thick back. Because the dead lift works the upper back, middle back and lower back, it should be the core of your back workout.
2) A vertical pulling movement
This upper back workout will give you the wide “V” look from behind because you’re concentrating on your lat muscles. Some of my favorite vertical pulling back exercises are underhand and overhand chin ups, lat pull downs, and vbar pull down. If you really want to build a strong back this upper back workout will build back muscles faster than any other because of how stimulating it is to your upper lat muscles.
3) A horizontal pulling movement
This back exercise is more often called seated rows. The horizontal pulling movement stimulates the middle to upper area of your back and puts a little emphasis on your lat muscles. Here are some other back workouts to consider: dumbbell rows, cable rows, seated machine rows, and barbell rows. If your goal is to really gain a lot of back muscle fast I recommend to stay with a free weight rowing type movement. Barbell rows are ideal for this type of situation.
4) A shrugging movement
This should be your last upper back workout you do. It’s a great exercise but not nearly as important as the ones mentioned above. But focusing on your upper trap muscles will give you that diamond shape from the back. You can use either a barbell or dumbbell for this upper back workout.
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In summation...
- Deadlifts – 2 x 5-7 reps.
- Overhand Chin-Ups – 2 x 5-7 reps.
- Bent Over Barbell Rows – 2 x 5-7 reps.
- Barbell Shrugs – 2 Sets of 10-12.
This upper back workout will help you reach your goal of developing a strong back with lots of size as well. You may not think it seems like a lot, but if you do every rep to your absolute failure limit, this upper back workout will give you more than enough stimulation in order to get a huge back fast. To this day I still see big time progress in size and strength of my upper back. Make sure to keep a good log book to track your progress. Make sure you stay within the given repetition range and you’ll have a thick and strong back in 4 weeks or less. If you perform this back workout once a week, your upper body will be thicker, wider, and more muscular than it ever was.
A Rear Deltoid Workout:
Your rear deltoid’s muscles are really a part of your shoulder muscles. These muscles cover the shoulder bone and are located more on the back of your shoulder. So it’s kind of a hybrid area of the body because it’s in two different places, your shoulder and your back. In this case we’ll call your rear delts a part of your back.
Here are 4 exercises I really like to workout your rear deltoid muscles.
Face Pulls
This is basically done with a seated row machine and you use the roped balls as the attachment so when you do the row motion you pull the two balls up to your face and this works your rear deltoid’s.
Bent Over Lateral Raise
This is similar to a flye but you are standing up using dumbbells for this rear deltoid workout. Keep your feet shoulder width apart and keep your torso parallel to the ground and bring your arms forward while you arch your back.
Lateral Raise on an Incline Bench
This is similar to the bent over lateral raise but you’re facing stomach down on an incline bench.
Rubber Band Reverse Flyes
This is done using rubber bands and you start with your hands and arms straight out in front of you and you bring your hands out to your sides against the resistance of the bands and this is a very effective rear deltoid workout.
The Best Lat Workout:
Working out your lat muscles is critical if you want a huge upper back. The Lats are easy to workout.
Here are some of the best lat workouts and exercises for your back I have found.
Stiff Arm Pullover
If you like super setting, a stiff arm pullover between sets is gratifying and productive. A moderate+ weight allows you to stretch and revives the muscle cells and adds immensely to upper lat building. Keep the secondary pullovers at 6-8 reps.
Weighted Wide Grip Chins
Starting from a fully extended hanging position, pull the body up to the chin, deliberately arching and contracting the lats throughout. Lower slowly, extend, and continue. Form is everything, pure and controlled. Lat contraction is your purpose, not going up and down roughly any way you can. Here we have lats totally engaged, outer and lower. (Pull downs work well, but chins are merciless: no possibility of cheating without silly body contortions.)
After a warm-up set, hang an appropriate weight from your waist using a strap or belt, to give you a 12, 10, 8, 6 rep sequence. Not everyone is remarkable in chinning. Give it your committed best and you may develop remarkable lats. Added attractions are bicep peak, grip strength, linear abs and minor pec action.
Bent Over Rows
If the back was a domain, bent over rows would be king. Performed with the Olympic bar, hands gripped collar to collar, this monster movement provides mass, power and width. Sounds good to me. Warm up, set your groove and focus on five sets. You’ll notice I like a 15 (warm-up), 12, 10, 8, 6 rep sequence with the appropriate weight increases. Pulling the bar to the mid waist with an arched back contraction promotes muscle growth in the mid and low back with specific low lat involvement. Now you’ve got it.
Chins Behind The Neck
This modification shifts the resistance from the lats primarily to the inter-muscular activity of the upper back and deltoids. Not your target, but not bad. Good alternative on those rare slump days when change is sweet.
Reverse Grip Barbell Row
Lower lat sweep is accomplished with this unique and compact movement. Performed with a bent bar, close grip, pull the bar tight to the waist, arching the back to engage full low back, low lat muscle mechanics. Moderate weight allows safest and surest articulation of this demanding form movement. Sets of 6-8 match the demand.
Close Grip Pulldowns
This pulley movement has a great appeal and serves well as an off day antagonist superset movement (example: dumbbell inclines with close grip pull downs). Full range of motion from extension to contraction. Upper lat and mid back respond well to this good feeling movement. An alternative worth its weight.
Seated Lat Rows
These “low pulls” are a loveable exercise. Nice positioning, energizing catlike stretching and extending, followed by might in the controlled contraction. The reliable 12, 10, 8, 6 sequence with intense muscle work, 55 mile per hour pace, tight arched contraction, no pointless leaning back or dangerous excessive forward lean. Mid back and low lat sweep are the direct targets of this all-time standard.
One Arm Dumbbell Rows
This potent exercise stands alongside barbell rows in mass and power building seriousness. Executed with the same intensity, they are wisely done as alternatives to the wide grips. Stabilized in a powerful tripod stance – none of this knee on bench stuff – one arm rows remove the load from the lower back, enabling you to tough your way through lumbar overload. Relief in this overworked area is priceless. In all your exercises focus, form, and practice yield perfection.
The Best Trap Workout:
The best trap workout is one that you actually do on a consistent basis. Your trapezius muscles have upper, lower and middle components. Having weak traps can lead to posture problems because they can cause you to lean or lunge forward.
This cause you to have a bent over upper back that older people have. You want to have great posture and a strong upper back. So it’s important to exercise and workout your trapezius muscles at least 2 days per week.
Here are the best trap workouts I’ve found.
- Shoulder Shrugs
- Upright Row
- High Pulls
- Dead Lifts
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