Basic Back Workout: Five-Exercise Back Training Regimen for Back Muscles
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Of all the muscles that are exercised with progressive resistance, the major muscles of the back are the most commonly trained incorrectly weights
are heaved without control from point A to point B with little regard for the kinesiology that's taking place, as the lower back swings violently
to accommodate enormous training poundages. Ultimately, the lower-lumbar region takes the brunt of a work load that was designed to target the lats,
rhomboids and teres muscles. Couple this flawed technique with the fruitless exercises many beginning and intermediate bodybuilders rely on, and
you've got a textbook definition of zero-sum. In other words, you lose as much as you gain.
When it comes to effective back training, I believe that less is more; that is, you should stick to a few basic movements. Only through consistent
use of these quality exercises will you build your back to its fullest potential.
Let's examine what I consider to be the most beneficial exercises for building a broad, sweeping back. If at the end of this article you don't agree
that fundamental barbell and dumbbell movements are superior to multi-angular, cross-this-and-twist-that cable work, I'll grant you a reprieve from
the suggested routines.
CHINS No exercise can compete with wide-grip chins for developing broad, muscular lats, including wide-grip pulldowns. The motion of pulling your
body repeatedly upward is a greater challenge than sitting in a chair with your legs held in place and pulling the weight down to your sternum in an
awkward, unmanageable motion. I say "awkward" and "unmanageable" because those words describe the way pulldowns are routinely performed in the gyms I
frequent.
So many trainees ruin the exercise by bringing their lower backs into the movement and swinging their torsos in a sort of rhythmic motion. In short,
the pulldown becomes little more than an inverted hyperextension. Chins, by contrast, don't give you the opportunity to incorporate the powerful spinal
erectors, and as a result you work the target muscles with more intensity and ultimately get more benefit.
Because many people don't have the upper-body strength required to perform chin-ups when they begin pumping iron, I should point out that pulldowns are
useful for developing the power you'll need in order to progress to wide-grip chins. I'm just not a proponent of relying on this exercise over the long
term.
When you perform wide-grip chins, take a slightly wider-than-shoulder-width grip on the bar with your elbows positioned forward, which enables you to
execute the movement safely and get a maximum contraction. Your hands will most likely be just to the insides of where the bar's edges begin their
angular descent.
One way to enhance the contraction is to use wrist straps. By attaching your arms to the chinning bar in this way, you reduce the role of your biceps
and, consequently, force your back muscles, which are quite difficult to target, to perform more work. When you don't use straps, grasping the bar becomes
the primary challenge, and your forearms and biceps, muscles that are notorious for giving unwanted assistance in back work, become pivotal in the movement.
Although you may see trainees in the gym performing chins with a dumbbell attached to a belt or rope that's hanging from their waists, you should do
this exercise without using additional weight because technique is crucial here. Dumbbells tend to sway during the movement and seem to take the body
with them. For maximum results hold your body on the same vertical plane throughout the set.
Another key element is how you pull your body upward. Simply heaving it off the floor will do little to enhance your muscularity or back width, but if
you focus intently on your back-not on your forearms and biceps-as you pull yourself up, it will do the job every time.
Before moving on to the next exercise, I should point out why an ultrawide grip fails to train the lats as effectively as the grip described above. When
your arms are stretched outward as far as they can go, it becomes virtually impossible to work your lats. In this situation the kinesiology dictates that
the Outer pecs, delts and biceps pull the body up, which compromises the well-being of areas that are suscep tibl to injury. As someone who suffer from
chronic shoulder dislocation, I can't emphasize enough the need to keep your joints away from awkward redicaments and erratic movements. It simply isn't
natural for the body to be placed in an ultimate stretch and then be expected to perform a feat of strength.
BENT-OVER BARBELL ROWS Not many trainees use this exercise-and for good reason. The bent-over row seems to engage the ego more than the back muscles, as
novice lifters load far too much weight on the bar and end up doing the same type of rhythmic swing they use on pulldowns. The lower back gets most of the
stimulation, and the lats are reduced to also-ran status as they hunch their backs so they can move the weight a few inches. Consequently, they don't get
much back development Out of this exercise, and they stop doing it. When you keep your back straight and take the tension off your arms, however, few exercises
can compete with bent- over barbell rows for adding thickness and depth to the back.
When performing bent-over barbell rows, make sure that you lock your upper body into place before you start. Lower your glutes as far as you need to to
keep your back straight while you fasten on the-- you guessed it-wrist straps. Once again, the straps keep you from having to grip the bar so intensely,
which activates the biceps and forearms. A good pair of canvas straps will do wonders for both your technique and your muscle involvement. Although your
arms help lift the bar, the greatest portion of the work is performed by your major back muscles, which is the primary objective. To further reduce arm
involvement, try keeping your thumbs on the same side of the bar as your fingers, as opposed to wrapping them around the bar. This little adjustment
shifts tension from your forearms to your back.
To perform this movement successfully, you must hold your back straight throughout the exercise. You must also pull the bar to your abdomen-not to your
chest. When you raise the bar to your chest, you engage your arms and delts instead of your lats and rhomboids. In contrast, when you perform bent-over
rows with a straight back and bring the bar to your abdomen, you engage the designated muscles.
Many novice bodybuilders confuse a straight back with a highly arched back. In order to prevent the hunching that's considered to be bad form on this movement,
they err in the opposite direction. Such a move, unfortunately, is just as fruitless as hunching forward, and it compresses the vertebrae, which compromises
your safety. Learning to keep your back perfectly straight when you're lifting weights takes a great deal of practice, which is why beginning and intermediate
bodybuilders should forget about poundage and instead concentrate on pulling the bar to their abdomens with strict technique.
A final note about barbell rows involves standing on a wooden block to increase the overall stretch at the bottom while creating a greater range of motion.
Generally, you should use less weight than you would use without the block, for the greater range of motion tends to encourage the lower back to assist in
the move.
DUMBELL ROWS This exercise resembles bent-over barbell rows, and the principles discussed above apply. The most common mistake bodybuilders make on dumbbell
rows involves the way in which they pull the 'bell upward. As with the barbell version it's important to pull the dumbbell directly to your abdomen-not to
your chest-so that the entire latissimus dorsi contracts instead of just the upper portion.
To better understand this principle, put one of your knees up on a chair as if you were going to perform dumbbell rows. Bend your torso as you normally
would and, holding a pencil in the hand that would normally hold the weight, raise it first to your chest and then to your abdomen. Feel the natural movement
of the latter and the awkwardness of the former. This one adjustment can mark the difference between a futile effort and a productive exercise.
Another mistake trainees frequently make involves the amount of twisting they do at the top of the exercise. If you find yourself staring at the gym ceiling
after each rep, you're performing the exercise incorrectly. Again, you should keep your back straight-not hunched or overarched-throughout the movement. The
same applies to your neck, which is susceptible to nagging injuries like pinched nerves and strained muscles. When the torso and head are twisted in an awkward
manner, the potential for injury is great and exercise success is modest. The only way to make gains with dumbbell rows is to use a controlled, full-range
motion.
DEADLIFTS Because of its compound nature this exercise can give you a complete workout by itself. When it comes to promoting overall growth throughout the
traps, lats, rhomboids, glutes and hamstrings, nothing can compete with the deadlift. It takes tremendous force to pull a heavy bar off the ground repeatedly,
and it's this type of exertion that promotes growth. You won't get such -growth from one- arm cable rows and Nautilus pullovers, and you won't get it from
the exercises I've discussed above. While the above movements are indeed most beneficial, they pale in comparison to the deadlift. If you need evidence,
check out the dense backs of the Olympic lifters and powerlifters who roam your gym. That mass comes from years of pounding heavy iron and exploding upward
with the entire body; it doesn't come from sitting in a chair stretching your serratus anterior.Consequently, it's my belief that anyone who can perform
the dead-lift should do so.
Unfortunately, physical ailments prevent many athletes from doing this exercise properly. Athletes who are prone to back pain, weak joints, hernias and
severe hemorrhoids, as well as those who've had reconstructive surgeries of certain kinds, are best advised to forget about the deadlift, as its benefits
will most certainly be offset by aches and pains, if not serious injury. It would be foolish to compromise certain parts of your body while expecting growth
from others, and although the deadlift does promote growth, it can punish important tendons and ligaments. Recognizing your limitations is not the easiest
thing to do, but it's an important element of strength training and is something all weightlifters must do if they're looking for long-term success.
As with rowing movements you shouldn't hunch or overarch your back when performing deadlifts. To trigger stimulation in both your legs and back, lower your
glutes on each rep and power up in a fluent motion. This technique takes plenty of gut-busting practice, of course, but the end result is worth it.
One of the best ways to get your body down at the start of each repetition is to practice the pause dead-lifts. By making each repetition its own entity,
you reduce inertia and momentum and engage your entire musculature. Too often deadlifts are bounced off the floor and the trainee's lower back becomes a
sort of hinge, swinging the weight from the floor to the overarched, locked-out position. When you wait a beat, however, your body seems to lower itself
naturally, as if it realizes that the impending repetition will take the concerted effort of all its muscles, not a select few.
I highly recommend using a power belt when you perform dead-lifts. Not only will it help to keep your back straight, but it will also hold your abdomen stationary,
which keeps your internal organs neatly in place. As wrist straps won't work on this movement, it's also beneficial to use chalk, which makes it easier to work
with the one-hand-over/one-hand-under grip. Try to wear thin-soled leather workout shoes that have good, rubber traction, as deadlift platforms and gym floors
are often caked with dust and/or oils. This may seem to be a trivial detail, but it's the compilation of details that builds a greater whole-in this case a
successful deadlifter.
NARROW-GRIP PULLDOWNS With the exception of this exercise you won't catch me recommending cable movements, because they simply don't offer the kind of benefits
that free weights do. Narrow-grip pulldowns are on my quality-exercise list because, when performed properly, they target the lower portion of the lats quite
effectively and ultimately help to build a wide, sweeping back. Narrow-grip pull- downs are the perfect counterpart to the wide-grip chins discussed earlier,
primarily because they hit the lats at a different angle and offer the lower lats a better workout than wide-grip chins do.
The most important component of this exercise is position. Remember that your body will do everything possible to make things easier on itself, which in this
case means that your lower back is apt to start swinging immediately if you let it and your lats will receive little stimulation. To execute narrow-grip
pulldowns correctly, concentrate on keeping your torso stationary while pinching your shoulder blades together as you pull the weight down. By doing this,
you reduce the involvement of your arms, something you can further reduce by using wrist straps.
As your arms return to the starting position, try spreading and flexing your lats as if you were hitting a pose. This will give you a great stretch, thereby
pulling the entire latissimus outward. You'll feel the difference between sets, as your arms rest atop your inflated lats.
Back-to-Basics Guidelines
For rugged rear-view development, then, keep in mind the following key points as you put together your routine:
1. Stick with the basic exercises.
2. Keep your spine straight as you work through the movements. Don't hunch or overarch, as these positions create stress in the wrong places, which leads to injury.
3. If you don't already have them, purchase a pair of wrist straps and use them during your back workouts.
4. Forget about how much poundage you have on the bar and instead try to visualize your muscles working as you perform each exercise.
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