Back To Basics For A Bigger Back

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make during back exercises is that they aren't activating their back muscles at all. With improper form you'll be able to get a great biceps and traps workout but unfortunately that isn't the point of the workout. First of all think of your arms simply as hanger or hooks used to simply hold onto the weight. All of the tension and focus (mind-to-muscle-connection) should be placed on the particular part of the back that you are trying to target. Exercises such as chin up, lat pull downs, and rows, are great exercises to target your traps and the more tension you can place on them the more they will grow. For any muscle group to be activated and grow, you'll need need to place as much targeted tension on that particular muscle group to stretch and breakdown the muscle fibres.

A simple tip that i've learned for training back is to focus on opening and closing your scapula. The scapula is a floating bones that is attached by muscle tissue. Focusing on opening and closing it will allow you to work through the entire range of motion at any angle of a row or pull that you do.

Another great tip is to slow down.. it's not a race but rather a marathon to put as much tension on the working muscle. Slow down reps and focus on the contraction by squeezing as hard as you can in the shortened portion of the lift. By doing so you'll activate more muscle fibres which will lead to more growth.

Sample Back Workout That I Do.

Warmup: Wide grip Lat Pulldowns x 20 superset with x20 close grip Lat Pull downs (Repeat 3 Times)

Workload:
Wide Grip Chin ups 3x10-12 reps
Closer Grip Chin Ups 2 x failure
Wide Grip Cable Row 3x 12-15 reps
High Elbow Rope Pull to Face (Same machine as cable row with a cable attachment) 3x12
Hammer Strength Row 3x10 reps
Upright Rows 3x8-10 reps
Deadlifts 1x15 3x8-10 reps
Body weight back extension 3 x failure

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