The back is probably one of the most under trained parts on the body, especially for people new to training. I think this is partly down to the fact that it isn’t a ‘mirror muscle’, meaning you can’t see it when you are training. Sadly, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist and it also doesn’t mean nobody else can see your puny back. It's also no good for your posture if you overtrain your chest and arms continuously, without addressing your posterior chain. You will soon find that your shoulders start to roll forward and you resemble the likes of Quasimodo (okay not that bad but you get the picture).
If that hasn’t already convinced you to want to grow a big and powerful back, then knowing that it's one of the largest groups of muscles in the body and can help add mass to your frame, improve nearly all your lifts in the gym and improve your posture, should. That’s without even mentioning that a big thick back looks incredibly impressive.
The back has many muscles, some you may have heard of and some you may not be as familiar with.
The lats – these are the largest muscle of the back and are involved in horizontal and vertical pulling movements. The function of them is to help pull the arm down into the pelvis
The traps – this muscle runs down the top section of the spinal cord, starting at the base of the skull and attaching mid-way down the back. The functions of the traps are scapular depression, elevation and adduction.
Spinal erectors – a collection of muscles at the bottom of the back that provide support to the spine.
The rhomboids – these (major and minor) muscles attach to the scapula and assist the scapula in bringing the shoulder blades together.
So now you know a little bit more about the back muscles and how they work, lets get onto the more exciting part of growing a thick back.
The deadlift
A meat and potato lift. Have you ever seen someone with a big deadlift and a small back? Me neither. The deadlift is a brilliant compound movement that works the whole body, but primarily the posterior chain. All the muscles in the back are worked during a deadlift, especially the lats, spinal erectors and traps. The deadlift should be considered your go to for adding slabs of muscle on your back if it has previously been ignored in the past. Aim for 3-4 sets and between 6-10 reps. Be warned, when you hit that higher end of the rep bracket on deadlifts, expect to feel your lungs and forearms burning.
The pull up
Another movement that is going to work nearly all of the muscles in the back, but more specifically the lats. Be careful on this movement and make sure to keep rep speed controlled, as it's easy to shift some of the focus onto the biceps and away from the lats. Keep using your bodyweight on these until you can complete 3 sets of 15 comfortably. Once you can do that, your back should be in pretty decent nick anyway if they are all controlled, perfect sets. When you start to add weight into the equation, your back will explode with growth. Start with 3 sets of 15 at bodyweight as explained, then once you add weight into the equation start with 4 sets of 6, adding reps each time you t
The barbell row
Easy to perform and a staple for back thickness, the barbell row will increase the size of your lats, traps and rhomboids, whilst working your lower back, core and hamstrings that are contracting hard to keep your form nice and tight. Make sure that you keep a straight back throughout the whole of the movement and don’t use a weight so heavy that it means you end up using momentum lift the bar, as this could end In injury and also take the tension away from your back muscles.
Are you ready to build a bulletproof back?
