Hey fellow T-men. I have always had trouble putting muscle on to my back, mostly my traps. Lat pulldowns and cable rows dont seem to be doing anything for me, neither do pull ups. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to get some size on my back ?
Everyone will probably tell you to do deadlifts. If chin-ups are not helping, maybe your form is bad. There are several articles discussing different kinds of chin-ups. I don’t recall what the articles are called, but you can find them with the search engine, or I think in the FAQ section. Oh yeah, for the traps, try power cleans too, or other similar movements (hang clean, clean & press, ect). Hope this helps.
Deadlift, change your hand spacing, deadlift again, change your pull speed, deadlift again, change your starting height, deadlift again. If you are looking to pack mass on your back, then you need to deadlift. Read through Ian King’s Limping series to find out the various versions of deadlifts.
Well, the movements you mentioned are all lat and rhomboid movements. If you want the traps to grow, try shrugs, heavy deadlifts, overhead presses.
This is a frequent inquiry. Type TRAPS into the subject window then click the word subject to bring up a list of past postings.
The O-lifts and their variants are great for upper back (including the traps) strength AND size.
What’s your current back training frequency? Do you train your back more than once a week? And if so, is this a normal routine? Maybe you should also rethink the frequency? If you train your back once a week, try adding another day. If it’s more than once a week, cut out a workout and on your one back day, concentrate on form. I think the issue may be form. And maybe also amount of sets? Alot of sets? Cut them down and train more intensely.
And yes, try deadlifts. They have been a back staple for me and definitely work. ALOT of variables to consider.
Close-grip seated rows have worked well for me. I also do plenty of chins, deadlifts and occasionally cleans, shrugs and other forms of rows.
I currently train the back once a week, so Ill look into doing it twice a week maybe. I never got itno deadlifts that much, but Ill get back into them if it will help, thanks all