This is the back program you can use in conjunction
with the bench/chest program I already laid out.
Because the back is a much larger muscle than chest,
training it requires more focus for more sets for a
longer period of time. If your just beginning try a
basic beginner's routine to build some conditioning
before you try any of my programs (unless your
particularly gifted).
The back is the second largest muscle in the body,
and has a variety of angles at which it can be
developed for a complete, well refined physique. You
need to have wide lats, a trim and powerful lower
lumbar, a thick middle back with the rhomboids and
trapezius and all of the smaller muscles clearly
developed and separated from the others. Having each
of these muscles clearly separated gives the back that
"rippling" look, where each muscles flexes and flows
into the next as the bodybuilder is moving from pose
to pose or just walking around shirtless. Because the
back is so large, so impressive, and makes you look
really BIG because of the width it adds to your upper
body, its the one body part you do NOT want to neglect.
If there were two body parts that make a physique look
aesthetic and appealing, it would be legs and back
because the create the "X" shape when developed to
their fullest.
Many people kinda fall into a rut in back training,
because for most its hard to "feel" the muscle
working. Often after a few workouts they get
discouraged and quit, going back to the simplicity of
chest training, where all they have to do is press the
bar up and their chest gets hit pretty hard. I know,
I was one of those guys, and my back has suffered a
lot for it. I wish I'd been working on it as hard as
my chest, I would look a LOT better right now. As I
trained with Jason, the weakness in my lats was
becoming more and more evident, and I couldn't ignore
it. I wanted a V-taper badly, and it didn't come
naturally to me because I have naturally wider hips
(34 inches) so I'd have to work for it. The pics you
see me in are pretty old, before I trained my back
seriously at all, now my lats have widened
considerably, and I have a much more complete
physique. My chest measurement is actually going up
because of the hypertrophy in my back, which is making
my 34 waist look smaller in comparison. All in all,
I'd say serious back training has done wonders for my
physique.
The important thing I have learned while training my
back is that form and feel are paramount. You have to
FORCE the muscles to work, otherwise you'll just move
the weight with momentum. Cheating is too easy on
most back exercises, so you have to learn to pull with
your elbows instead of your arms, or you'll just get a
bicep pump. Chins are also paramount, never do
pulldowns when you can do chins. When I first started
though, embarrassingly, I couldn't do 8 strict chins,
so if your in the same boat you should try what I did.
I started off EVERY back workout with one set of
chins to concentric failure, then did a negative.
Because many people have this same weakness, I've
included a program that's based on increasing your
chinning strength. If your already a strong chinner
just sub in chins/weighed chins for pulldowns. I'm
also going to write a second chest training article
for a more advanced routine to build the pecs after a
satisfactory bench is accomplished. I'll continue to
try new routines as my old ones get too easy and
continue writing the new ones that work the best here,
so that my training articles will go in a series from
basic to more and more advanced. So, without further
introduction, here's my basic back routine:
For those with weak lats/ weak chinning strength:
*Start out with 1 set of chins to concentric failure,
then perform a slow negative
If your a strong chinner, start with dumbbell rows and
do chins instead of pulldowns.
- * 3 sets of One arm Dumbbell rows 12 reps, 10, 8
- * 3 sets pulldowns w/ drop set, 12, 10, 8, strip about
25-35% of the weight and go to failure
- *3 sets close reverse grip pulldowns 12, 10, 8
- *3 sets seated straight bar rows ditto
- *3 sets seated close grip rows ditto
Ok, this is just a template, you should change things
every few weeks, just like in chest training, you can
put in barbell rows for dumbbell rows, T bar rows for
close grip seated rows, throw out the pulldowns and
let a partner spot you on full sets of them, instead
of straight bar seated rows you can do continuous sets
of one arm seated rows, etc. Use your imagination.
The one guideline that is vitally important is to get
this workout done in about 40 minutes. Yep, keep the
intensity, maintain that pump and keep your wind
goin'. The second guideline is to go to failure,
which I always do, there's no other way.
After this I normally train traps, side and rear
delts, and lower back. I never train my front delts
directly because they seem to grow easily. The way I
like to train these body parts is with a giant set,
because side delts, rear delts, and lower back just
don't get up a lot of intensity if you isolate them
correctly alone. So after I finish seated rows I do
this:
*Shrugs-lateral raises-weighed hyperextensions-bent
lateral raises for three sets nonstop.
That leaves your whole body feeling weak and is a
great way to pump you up before you leave instead of
leaving cold. If your looking for a more advanced
routine just hold on I'm workin' on it! That's about
all on back training, talk to you guys later.
Alton
beautifuldisaster420@yahoo.com
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