Have you ever wondered what the
most effective ways to build back muscles are? There's so many exercises
to choose from that it can be confusing to know exactly which ones will
make your back stronger.
Over the last 16 years, I've done just
about every back exercise. Granted, not all the variations, heck, I
thought I knew them all but I'm continually shocked to learn a few new
movements that make me sore again like a teenager who hits the weights
for the very first time (breaks into Top 80's song by Madonna)....
After doing many back exercises myself,
the most effective back exercises you can do are the following:
• Assisted wide-arm chin up (or regular
pull ups)
* Assisted chin up ( or regular pull ups)
• Barbell rows
• Wide-arm lat pull downs
• Close-grip lat pull downs
• Dumbbell rows
• Wide-arm cable rows
• Close-grip cable rows
In that order! That's right. Not only
are those a list of the most effective back exercise but they are in
order of overall back development importance. Re-read this section again
until it soaks in. While you might have 10,000 exercises to choose from,
not all of them will be as effective in making your lats so wide it
will be hard to walk thru the door.
If you want big barndoor lats, then pull
ups are the king. Followed by barbell rows. You'll get a thick, strong
back just with pull ups. Add in the barbell rows and you are doing the
exercises most professionals do.
You will probably see a lot of males/females
on the cable row machine. And much like squats, you'll only see a handful
of people who can or will do pull ups on a regular basis.
Those are the ones who will have bigger
and better developed backs than the cable rowers or the people who use
those machines week after week. There's absolutely nothing wrong at
all with variety but a common mistake so many people make is sticking
with lesser known exercises and completely missing out on the foundational
exercises.
Hopefully you know that if you want the
best leg development possible, then you cannot beat squats. Just like
squats hit all the muscle of the leg, pull ups will work all the muscles
of the back.
Between the exercises listed above, you
will be doing the top-notch, fundamental exercises for overall back
development and growth by doing pull movements and row movements. Your
muscles will be forced to grow!
If anybody has ever told you that you
'have a hole in your back.' They won't after you start including these
in your weekly line up.
And if you think you can only do one style
of pull up it only takes a little imagination to realize that even pull
ups can be varied quite a lot to hit the muscle from different angles.
Even with rowing movements, you can row to the stomach for a completely
different focus on muscle then if you row to the chest or row to the
chin.
It's all back but the variety will really
stimulate the area. Next time you do any rowing movements, think about
where the bar is going. Lower, middle or higher. Each variation will
help with development and keep you from hitting that dreaded plateau!
Not only will your back become stronger
but you'll experience full development. That's exactly what you want
to do. Variety and sticking with the basics.
If you want the best back development,
you'll include pull ups. And then pick and choose from the list above
in terms of effectiveness after that. You can do any number of additional
back exercises for variety and variation.
Many people cannot or will not do pull
ups. But they will spend their time on every other machine or use all
kinds of isolation exercises to work the back muscles. They are simply
missing the point. Make sure you include pull ups and the other most
effective exercises in your arsenal and you are almost guaranteed to
boost your back development by a notch or two.
If you really want a challenge, see how
many high quality pull ups you can do or add weight. You'll bring yourself
to the next level.
Author Info:
Marc David is a bodybuilder and author of the, Beginner's Guide to Fitness
and Bodybuilding. You can get info on Marc's e-book at:
http://www.Beginning-Bodybuilding.com
To get Marc's free e-zine, visit:
http://www.JustAskMarc.com
