No matter what the muscle group, we all have our favorite exercises to train it. But are our favorites always the best choice? Just because you have a great bench press, does that mean you should spend more time on there? Should you continue to work on your strengths, or more time bringing up your weaknesses?
Realistically, you should always aim to choose your exercises (no matter what the muscle group), based on their overall effectiveness, and not just how good you are at it. Now this doesn’t mean just because you become good at a particular lift, you should drop it, and move onto the next challenge. What I’m saying is that everyone who is serious about seeing results in the gym should take the time to step back sometimes, assess their strengths and weaknesses, and start to work on balancing them out.
For a lot of guys and girls I see come into the gym, the muscles of the upper back tend to be a major weak spot. Guys tend to spend more time working on the muscles they can see in the mirror (chest and biceps), as opposed to the ones they can’t (the back). Girls will tend to shy away from big, effective back training movements like chin ups and bent over rows as they're afraid that doing them will cause them to become “too big” (another topic for another blog for sure)! Both of these excuses and the many more that I hear really don’t cut it! If you’re serious about gaining muscle, or losing fat, training the strong and powerful muscles of the upper back should be a staple in any training program (especially if it’s a weakness)! To get you started, below I’ve listed my TOP 3 exercises for an effective back training program:
3. Lat pulldown –
I really like the lat pulldown for 2 reasons. 1, because of its many variations (grip widths, varied attachments, uni-lateral and bi-lateral movements). And 2, It’s a great way for people to prepare for chin ups if they aren’t strong enough yet. Just make sure that when you perform these, you maintain a solid upper body position from start to finish of the set. Remember, the lat pulldown is not a ride, do your best not to swing around on it!
LIFTING TIP – whatever variation you choose, start the movement off by pulling your shoulder blades back and down. Having your shoulder blades positioned correctly will ensure the proper recruitment of the upper back muscles.
2. Bent over barbell row
Another great and versatile back training exercise. The bent over row can be performed with a stack of variations (wide, underhand, narrow, different grip widths, using an EZY bar, ect). But like the lat pulldown, this is one exercise that I commonly see performed incorrectly. When assuming your position for a bent over row, you want your shoulders positioned just above the height of your hips. Keep your lower back straight with a strong arch, and your knees slightly bent. Once you have this down, keep your position strong and pull the bar up to the abdominal area.
1. The Chin up
If you can complete them correctly, the chin up is your best bet for developing a strong and muscular upper back. Big, strong athletes have been using chin’s for years, so as the saying goes “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it”!
Performing chin ups with correct form will not only be a fantastic way to build on your lats, teres major, posterior delts, rhomboids and the middle and lower portion of your trapezius muscles. It is also an awesome exercise when it comes to bicep and forearm development.
If you find that you’re not quite strong enough to perform chin ups, get stronger! Park yourself over near the lat pulldown machine and start lifting. Find yourself a reputable trainer who can put a program together for you focusing on developing the strength required to start repping out those chins.
BIG BACK WORKOUT:
Here’s a quick upper back workout for the road. Try it out, possibly in addition to your chest, biceps or triceps training. Within this workout, you’ll be using the 6,12,25 method, first made famous by strength coach, Charles Poliquin. Do this properly, and you’ll find yourself struggling to brush your teeth the next morning!
A1. Underhand grip chin up (weighted if needed)
6 reps
REST 10sec
A2. Bent over BB row, over-hand grip
12 reps
REST 10sec
A3. Standing straight arm cable pulldown (using rope attachment)
25 reps
REST 2mins, then repeat another 3 times.
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