Over the years I’ve come to realise that I’ve been neglecting my back compared to the rest of my body. I’ve started to add some exercised to for rear delts in my workouts because of some shoulder problems. But now I’ve come to the conclusion that my entire back needs more work than the rest of my body.
For instance, I can bench about 275 but can’t get close to that with bent over rows. And my chin-ups and pull-ups are not very impressive (mind you I am tall, 6’2", with long arms but still … ).
So … with that in mind, are there any programs that address this issue or are “back specific”?
Over the years I’ve come to realise that I’ve been neglecting my back compared to the rest of my body. I’ve started to add some exercised to for rear delts in my workouts because of some shoulder problems. But now I’ve come to the conclusion that my entire back needs more work than the rest of my body.
For instance, I can bench about 275 but can’t get close to that with bent over rows. And my chin-ups and pull-ups are not very impressive (mind you I am tall, 6’2", with long arms but still … ).
So … with that in mind, are there any programs that address this issue or are “back specific”?
Thanks, jumpoff[/quote]
I have a great one you will really get a lot out of. PM me your email.
[quote]tw0scoops2 wrote:
What kind of program are you doing now?
Why not just add in more back work rather than just dedicate a few weeks to working back?
Definately throw in different variations of rows. Heavy deadlifts help a huge amount to overall back mass.[/quote]
I’m currently doing the Velocity Diet 3.0 workouts to get my bodyfat down to around 8%. However, my goal is to concentrate on my back and shoulders after this diet is done.
I know I can just add more work to my back workout, but I wanted to see if there was any specific prgram that people here have followed with success.
[quote]jumpoff wrote:
tw0scoops2 wrote:
Thibs has some good specialization programs.
Excuse my ignorance, but I have not been a regular on this message forum. Who is Thibs?[/quote]
Since you are new, maybe you could just use the search function then? If it’s a program you want, there are plenty to be found easily. Then you could pick the one you like.
cueball
Edit: Guess your not “new”. Your join date is '04.
[quote]jumpoff wrote:
tw0scoops2 wrote:
Thibs has some good specialization programs.
Excuse my ignorance, but I have not been a regular on this message forum. Who is Thibs?[/quote]
Wow, come here often? j/k … kinda…
Thibs is Christian Thibaudeau, a contributing author to this site for… I dunno, at least the last 4 years. Good author, knows how to build a serious physique.
John Roman’s always got good advice, so you should seriously look after that email he sends you.
My 2 cents—
If you want to build a back, you have to be wiling to focus on it and put other things in the background for a while. The back is one of those muscle groups that takes time and LOTS of effort to mature. This doesn’t mean you should stop pushing/benching totally obviously, but does mean you should focus more on your back than anything else for a fair period of time.
I think you should work the back 2 times a week, at least. You can get fantastic results by working it 3 times a week, but this might put your other body parts at too much of a disadvantage in terms of training time. Pick different exercises for each session obviously, but that should do the trick.
[quote]Aragorn wrote: jumpoff wrote:
tw0scoops2 wrote:
Thibs has some good specialization programs.
Excuse my ignorance, but I have not been a regular on this message forum. Who is Thibs?
Wow, come here often? j/k … kinda…
Thibs is Christian Thibaudeau, a contributing author to this site for… I dunno, at least the last 4 years. Good author, knows how to build a serious physique.
John Roman’s always got good advice, so you should seriously look after that email he sends you.
My 2 cents—
If you want to build a back, you have to be wiling to focus on it and put other things in the background for a while. The back is one of those muscle groups that takes time and LOTS of effort to mature. This doesn’t mean you should stop pushing/benching totally obviously, but does mean you should focus more on your back than anything else for a fair period of time.
I think you should work the back 2 times a week, at least. You can get fantastic results by working it 3 times a week, but this might put your other body parts at too much of a disadvantage in terms of training time. Pick different exercises for each session obviously, but that should do the trick.
[/quote]
Thanks twOscoops2. I was thinking of training back 2 times per week, but I figured I would check to see if there were any specific programs that were written to address a neglected back. I’m sure this issue has come up for many weight trainers and if a program exists that people have had success with, why reinvent the wheel (or in my case, experiment with trying to make a new wheel LOL).
For various reasons, your back will likely require more total weekly volume than your chest and pushing muscles. There are many ways to accomplish this whether it be more sets, or more exercises, or greater frequency. The other thing to think of, is if you aren’t deadlifting, and are able to, you should be.
There are literally thousands of different programs out there that will help you build your back, so rather than seeking the perfect program, make sure you are doing the right exercises.
Deadlifts / rack pulls
Pullups / chinups
Pulldowns
Rows
Isolation exercises (pullovers, facepulls, etc.)
If you are training those exercises and progressing, hitting them with significant volume, and gaining weight, then your back will grow.
Also, I have found that for most exercises, the back responds best to heavy loading.
Pick some of these exercises and get brutally strong on them:
dead lifts (any variation)
rack deads
bent over BB rows
DB rows
chin ups
pull ups
BB/DB Shrugs
Pick maybe 3 exercises per back session. Warm up, ramp the weight up to your heavy work set, and do that for as many reps as you can.
Ex:
deadlift:
warm up with 135, 225, 315
Your workset: 375 for 6-10 reps.
Move on to another back exercise (or add in a “back off” set of deads, less weight for a few more reps). Follow the same approach (can have 2 worksets if you want).
Next time you hid deadlifts again, either increase your reps (if you got only 6, go for 8-10) or increase the weight and get as many as you can.
Repeat for many months and your back should be bigger.
This goes for pretty much any bodypart, unless you are pretty advanced and have already gotten real strong on all the basic proven exercises and perhaps you need something more advanced.
What would you recommend in place of chin-ups/pull-ups for someone who can’t really crank out more than 3-5 in good form. Any good suggestions for getting better at these?
I’ve read that pull-down strength doesn’t necessarily translate to pull-up strength.
[quote]jumpoff wrote:
What would you recommend in place of chin-ups/pull-ups for someone who can’t really crank out more than 3-5 in good form. Any good suggestions for getting better at these?
I’ve read that pull-down strength doesn’t necessarily translate to pull-up strength.[/quote]
Pulldowns are great for back width. Just get stronger and stronger on them.
As for increasing your efficiency at pullups/chinups, you can do one of two things:
do lots of chin ups/pull ups, every time you’re in the gym. However don’t go to failure. Just do plenty of sets, short of failure. I think they call this “greasing the groove” (pavlov?). Shoot for about 200, and don’t forget your BCAAs (ignore this last sentence it’s a joke).
You can try doing negatives, if you have a partner do assit you or one of those machines which support your feet.
You’ll get better at pullups the more you do them, and the better your deadlift gets.
If you can do 3-5, then there is nothing wrong with doing 8-10 sets of 2-3 reps. And pulldowns are great for higher reps in the 10-15 range.
Experiment with different grips, and stick with the one that is easiest for a while. Once you can do about 8-10 pullups with good form, work on one of the harder versions.
[quote]MeinHerzBrennt wrote: jumpoff wrote:
What would you recommend in place of chin-ups/pull-ups for someone who can’t really crank out more than 3-5 in good form. Any good suggestions for getting better at these?
I’ve read that pull-down strength doesn’t necessarily translate to pull-up strength.
Pulldowns are great for back width. Just get stronger and stronger on them.
As for increasing your efficiency at pullups/chinups, you can do one of two things:
do lots of chin ups/pull ups, every time you’re in the gym. However don’t go to failure. Just do plenty of sets, short of failure. I think they call this “greasing the groove” (pavlov?). Shoot for about 200, and don’t forget your BCAAs (ignore this last sentence it’s a joke).
You can try doing negatives, if you have a partner do assit you or one of those machines which support your feet.[/quote]
Pavel/Pavlov was that intentional?
The greasing the groove method involves say, doing pull ups several times a day, several days a week. The main principle is you stay well away from failure, but “practice” your pull ups often, thus getting your body and nervous system more accustomed to the exercise. I have used it successfully in the past to boost pull up reps.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to use this “GTG” method for a couple of weeks and then switch to the more frequent back training as has been suggested after a week or so of normal training. When you go back I would add weighted chins as soon as you can manage, this will really boost the number of pullups you can do, and is a great mass builder.
