If you want to the best back workout for increased muscle size, thickness, and definition, then this article is for you.

In the beginning, I neglected my back training.

As a result I had a baby back. My back was straight, narrow, and skinny.

It resembled a long rectangle rather than the desirable upside-down triangle shaped back.

My condition was self induced because I focused primarily on building big arms and a strong chest.

I only cared about the ‘show muscles’ when I first started working out.

Things seemed great until my chest began to overpower my lagging back muscles.

This led to unbalanced upper body muscles which started a chain reaction of problems.

My shoulders slowly rolled forward and my posture began to get worse.

It wasn’t until I began to get pain in my upper back that I realized something had to change.

I dedicated many weeks to researching how to train my back. I spent many more weeks ‘field testing’ my findings.

After a lot of study, trial and error, I’ve finally creating the best back workout for muscle size and strength.

If you too have lagging back muscles, you’re not alone.

Most people have an underdeveloped back. This is even the case for folks who spend a lot of time in the gym.

This is simply because they cannot see their backs.

Out of sight, out of mind, I guess.

That’s too bad…

The fact of the matter is that a strong back is the foundation for every lift.

A strong back helps move massive poundage and enables you to make gains everywhere.

Try to squat 300 pounds with a weak back and you’ll crumple.

A weak back leads to bad posture, which creates all kinds of nasty health problems.

In this article I will show you exactly how to build a big, strong, muscular back, with quite possibly the best back workout ever conceived by man.

How to Get a Ripped Back

Getting an attractive looking back requires a basic understanding of what makes your back look good in the first place.

Balance and symmetry are key components of a great back. Other features of an attractive back are:

Strong traps that are the perfect tallness and thickness. If your traps are too big, they will overpower your back. Too small and your whole upper back will look underwhelming.Nicely shaped traps slope naturally from the neck to the shoulders.

Wide Lats that create the coveted V-Taper.

Lower Traps and Rhomboids to give thickness and shape to the middle back.

Well-developed teres major and infraspinatus muscles between the lats and rear shoulders.

A ‘Christmas Tree’ shaped lower back, made visible by strong erector spinae muscles and thick lower lats.

The best back workout trains all of these muscles adequately.

Back Muscle Activation

Before we get in the exercises that make up the best back workout, you need to understand how to get the most out of them.

You must feel your muscle working in over to achieve maximum muscle growth.

Back muscle activation can be tricky. But there are a few cues you can use to get maximum muscle activation and build mind-muscle connection:

Puff your chest out to put your back in a natural position.
Imagine sliding your shoulder blades down into your back pockets.
Instead of focusing on pulling your hands, focus on pulling your elbows back during rows and down during pull-ups.
Use a ‘false grip’ when training back. Meaning do not use your thumb to grab the weight. This will transfer the weight load to your back muscles instead of your arms.

The Best Back Exercises

Not all back exercises are created equal.

Some build back width while others build thickness and depth.

It’s best to train your back with many different motions and many different angles. This ensures complete back development.

I do several different varieties of each exercise to stimulate all of my back muscle fibers.

These exercises are the absolute best for getting ripped back muscles.

Deadlift

What muscles do Deadlift work?

All of them.

Deadlifts work your lats, traps, spinal erectors and lower back muscles.

While performing the deadlift, keep your back straight, chest high, and lats flexed hard.

Then pull the slack out of the bar sitting back and raising your torso upright until your arms are straight over the bar like cables holding up a suspension bridge.

Drive your heels into the ground with all your might while pushing up your hips and shoulders.

Control the weight on the way down if able. (unless you’re lifting very close to your max, you can drop the weight to prevent injury.)

Deadlift Variations

I’ll perform four deadlift variations:

Conventional, Sumo, Snatch Grip, and Rack Pull deadlifts.

Each allow me to train my back differently.

Changing the type of stimulation limits back muscle adaptation response over time. Thus keeping my workouts highly effective.

Changing up the routine also has mental benefit of keeping things fresh.

The amount of weight I can deadlift varies greatly depending on which deadlift variation I use.

So don’t worry if you’re not moving as much weight with a snatch grip as you do with sumo wide-stance deadlifts.

Your muscles will receive the message and grow accordingly.

Pull-ups

Pull-ups are one of the best back exercises for total development.

They can be performed at a variety of grips to enhance the exercise.

You can tilt your body back to provide further variation and enhance the potency of the pull up.

My advice to any weightlifter is to master the pull-up as quickly as possible. Begin them immediately and do them often.

Bent-Over Rows

Bent-over barbell rows are amazing for building the back muscles.

With rows, you focus on your lats, middle back and upper back.

Your lower back will get a great workout as well because it holds you in the row position.

You can row with your torso parallel to the ground or with a bent at your hips. Different degrees of bend trains each back muscle differently.

Each angle presents back muscles with increased intensity.

Be sure to eliminate body english while slowly moving the weight in a controlled manner.

A full stretch is required for best results. You know you’ve achieved a maximum stretch when your lower lat feels the weights.

Pull-Downs

Pull downs are perfect for isolating your back muscles.

They allow you to fully concentrate on working your back muscles.

Compared to the pull up, which is an easier exercises to ‘cheat’ by having your arms and traps take over the lift.

(The doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do pull ups. You absolutely should. Pull-downs are compliments to pull-ups, not a replacement.)

There are two main variations of pull-downs:

Wide Grip pull-downs – Great for building wide lats and back.
Close Grip Pull-downs – Also great for building wide lats and also a thick upper back. Think the muscles between and around your shoulder blades.

T-Bar Rows

T-bar rows are excellent for building back thickness.

Having the bar anchored to the floor allows you to focus on contracting the back muscles, rather than having to balance like regular rows.

The tight contractions help create a ‘3-D’ back with deep definition lines.

Dumbbell Pull Overs

I recently ‘discovered’ dumbbell pull overs. These are an amazing old school exercises to build enormous lats.

Dumbbell pull overs give you a great stretch in the back, chest, shoulders and arms. They truly are an upper body builder.

Dumbbell pull overs are one of the only exercises that can make your lats ‘pop’ from the front. Thus creating a wider upper body and V-Shaped Torso.

The Best Back Workout for Size, Strength and Definition

Here it is. The ‘best back workout’ routine on Earth.

I typically train back twice a week.

3-5 days between each back workout.

Alternate these workouts for as long as needed. Try to complete the workout in 60-75 minutes maximum.

Back Day Workout A

Conventional Deadlift Stance – 5 sets by 3 reps (Go heavy! Each Rep should be a challenge.)
Pull ups – 5 sets by AMRAP
Pull Downs – 5 sets by 12 reps
Bent Over Row 4 sets by 10 reps
T-Bar Row 4 sets by 8 reps

Back Day Workout B

Deadlift Rack pulls (5 sets by 6 reps)
Pull ups – 5 sets by AMRAP
Pull Downs – 5 sets by 12 reps
T-Bar Rows – 5 sets by 12 reps
Dumbbell Pull overs – 5 sets by 12 reps (Go reeeeally slow and engage your lats to move the weight.)

That’s basically it.

Now all that’s left is to eat and get huge.

Other Notes

Like I mentioned before, I like to use a lot of variety.

Sometimes I keep it simple. If I’m pressed for time but still want a great workout, I’ll do 5-6 sets of heavy deadlifts followed by 100 pull-ups, performed in as few sets as possible.

I owe the majority of my back development to Deadlifts and pull ups.

These two exercises are my favorite back muscle builders.

Eat a lot and you will gain muscle mass quickly. Cut and you’ll chisel fine details for a muscular back.

That’s all for this article. Get back at me with any questions or comments you have. I’m happy to help you out.