Ideas on my Back Workout

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

For back, I feel there’s 4 parts.

  1. lats
  2. traps
  3. lower back
  4. mid back

As Charles Poliquin had said in one of his article, for maximal hypertrophy some muscle soreness is required.

The only time that my lats really sore was when i do 100 reps of BW chins in an hour. Doing the chins and other back within an hour is impossible.

For traps, heavy cleans really work them.

For lower back, heavy deadlift.

For middle back, rows.

My queries is should i separate my back workout. AM: lower back, mid back, traps. PM: chins 100 reps an hour. Or ideas how to make my lats really sore?

Any input in welcomed,

Sijun

2

I wouldn’t seperate. You will still run in to limitations with a tired muscle group. Rotate your work across your training schedule.

I would pick a day to begin with a specific chain and really work it. Then finish the other exercises as best you can. Next time focus on another etc.

Or, re-design your plan.

Maybe use different excercises. On deadlift days, work your lats with chins or lat pulls.

On heavy chin days, sub good mornings for deadlifts etc.

3

I really don’t know why people over-analyze things!

Back happens to be my favorite training day.

You are correct in that the back is broken down by bodybuilders into 4 parts. Some people would also treat rear delts as part of the back musculature.

Keep in mind that vertical pulling exercises (lat pulldowns, pullovers, straight arm pulldown, chinups, and pullups) will get you far more sore than your rowing exercises, just as horizontal pressing (chest workout) will get you more sore than overhead pressing (shoulder workout).

If you are progressing from one workout to the next, regardless of soreness, than you are making gains!

I think an important thing to ask when designing a routine is…

“Do any successful bodybuilders do it like this?”

“Has this method stood the test of 60 years of bodybuilding history?”

“Does this even sound rational to me - that is to me - and not some famous PT or poster on T-mag?”

If you answer no to these questions, don’t do it!

Do any bodybuilders break up their back workout aside from traps on shoulder day? ALMOST NONE!

DO a normal back workout like everyone else. Here is my routine:
Pulldowns
Dumbbell rows
Pullover machine
Seated row
Rear delt raises
Deadlift or partial deadlift

Shrugs (done on shoulder day)

That’s 2 for width (vertical pulling), 2 for thickness (horizontal pulling), 1 for rear delts, 1 for lower back. Nearly every successful guy with a big back does it this way.

4

I really don’t know why people over-analyze things!

Back happens to be my favorite training day.

You are correct in that the back is broken down by bodybuilders into 4 parts. Some people would also treat rear delts as part of the back musculature.

Keep in mind that vertical pulling exercises (lat pulldowns, pullovers, straight arm pulldown, chinups, and pullups) will get you far more sore than your rowing exercises, just as horizontal pressing (chest workout) will get you more sore than overhead pressing (shoulder workout).

If you are progressing from one workout to the next, regardless of soreness, than you are making gains!

I think an important thing to ask when designing a routine is…

“Do any successful bodybuilders do it like this?”

“Has this method stood the test of 60 years of bodybuilding history?”

“Does this even sound rational to me - that is to me - and not some famous PT or poster on T-mag?”

If you answer no to these questions, don’t do it!

Do any bodybuilders break up their back workout aside from traps on shoulder day? ALMOST NONE!

DO a normal back workout like everyone else. Here is my routine:
Pulldowns
Dumbbell rows
Pullover machine
Seated row
Rear delt raises
Deadlift or partial deadlift

Shrugs (done on shoulder day)

That’s 2 for width (vertical pulling), 2 for thickness (horizontal pulling), 1 for rear delts, 1 for lower back. Nearly every successful guy with a big back does it this way.

5

The back is one of those muscle groups that most people find just doesnt get sore all over. The lateral delts are the same way.

Training a bodypart with the specific goal in mind of just making it sore is taking the completely wrong approach here.

Doing 100 reps of chinups for an hour is STUPID and isn’t going to make your back significantly larger. I would have thought you learned something useful from your other thread?

Get with the program man.

What is going to make your back bigger is selecting a handful of good exercise (eg: deadlift, chinup, barbell row, barbell shrug) and adding weight as often as you can without compromising good form, in a moderate repitition range.

6

heres what i do

rack pull **havent done rack pulls in a couple weeks cause of lower back

close grip on cable row for traps

medium grip angeled on cable row for lats

shrugs dumbbell, smith machine, or barbell

very close grip attachment for lat pulldowns

single hand attachment for standing lat rows done on the lat pulldown.

7

[quote]DO a normal back workout like everyone else. Here is my routine:
Pulldowns
Dumbbell rows
Pullover machine
Seated row
Rear delt raises
Deadlift or partial deadlift

Shrugs (done on shoulder day)[/quote]

I can’t even imagine doing deadlifts after all that other stuff. Do you go light or just accept the fact that your body is already fried, so the weight has to be submaximal? Not dogging ya, but that is alot of volume BEFORE performing deadlifts…

8

While I recall Ronnie doing 2 seperate back sessions, 1 for width, and 1 for thickness, you are nowhere near his league, in experience, genetics, or drug regimen (just a guess though -lol). Brick laid out some great advice, I’m no Ronnie COleman, but I train in the manner outlined above.

S

9

thanks for the inputs! :slight_smile:

10

100 chins in an hour… On chest day, you could do one set of push-ups to failure every 30 minutes as outlined in this article:

Seriously, just do heavy deadlifts and buy a dipping belt and do weighted chins, progressively add weight and you’ll get stronger and bigger. Stop worrying about muscle soreness as an indicator of progess, because if you got stronger, you’ve made progress.