A killer back workout needs a stable grip.

The quality of your set depends on your grip. An unstable or uncomfortable grip will distract you and impair your focus. The back workout. After getting your grip squared away, you can think about what kinds of lat exercises you would like to include in you back workout. Below are a few exercises that I recommend for basic yet thorough back training. But make sure you see my comments at the end about including variety of different back exercises. Barbell Rows: After the warm-up, we will hit 4 sets of barbell rows, heavy to failure. You should bend reasonably close to a 90 degree angle and raise the barbell to your stomach. This will work a full range of back muscles better than if you bend only slightly, which I see a lot of bodybuilders doing. This slight bend focuses too much of the weight up onto your traps instead of your lats and lower and middle back where you want it. If your lower back feels unstable, try using a belt.

Wide grip Lat Pulldowns: This is easy to remember: wide grip back exercises build a wide back. So next, move onto a width exercise. This will help with that nice V-taper in back. Hit wide grip lat pulldowns for 4 sets, concentrating on each contraction. It’s often debated what the proper form is for cable pulldowns, but personally I lean back about 30-45 degrees. I feel you can lift more weight more comfortably in this position and I also feel it hits the whole lat more effectively. I almost always stick with 8-12 reps for 3-4 sets on this pulldowns. (NOTE: You do not want your torso to swing if you’re leaning back. You want pure, controlled movement of the arms in both directions – no jerking the weight. Your partner can place his thumbs over your traps to keep your torso from moving if necessary.) If you’d like to add this at the end of your workout instead, doing drop sets (work to failure, drop the weight and do another set immediately) for 3-4 sets will really get your back muscles pumped up.

For wide grip lat pull downs, select a weight that you can get for 12 reps. Do those reps, then drop the weight by 1/3 (i.e. from 200 to 140) and pump out as many pulldowns as you can get. (I have to say, here is where using Big Back Grips while doing these drop sets will allow you to effectively fatigue your lats, without the common forearm and bicep pump this exercise is known for.)

Close Grip Low Seated Cable Rows

It’s ok to lean forward at the end of the rep, then pull up to a flat back as you reach peak contraction. A well-executed close grip cable pull can really build thickness. If a wide grip gives you width, a narrow grip gives you thickness. I find low rows great for detail in the mid back area as well as for back thickness. For seated cable rows I keep the reps on the higher side with this, not usually going below 10-12. Do 3-4 sets of seated rows at 10-12 reps. Don’t lean back too much (or at all) while rowing. Instead, keep your body straight while pulling to your stomach. As you pull in towards your torso, make sure to concentrate on the muscle contraction, and squeeze your back muscles. It’s ok to lean a little forward at the end of the rep; it helps you hit the lower lats nicely as well. You can also do close-grip pulldowns on the lat pulldown machine. Both are good for back thickness. But you still want to keep That pure, controlled arm-movement with no torso swinging.

Dumbbell Rows

These are great for overall back work, as well as giving you the opportunity to work your back bilaterally. Choose a weight you can do for no more than 12 reps and rip out 8-12 reps on each side. While doing these rows, keep the same position as you did for barbell rows. Make sure you’re keeping a full range of motion and getting a good stretch in your lats at the bottom.

Deadlifts

The deadlift is the king of back lifts, and too many people ignore this essential back exercise. Those lifting for muscle quality often do deadlifts at the end of back day, as opposed to those looking to improve their deadlift strength. The reason for putting it at the end is that after you already focused on each area of your back, the deadlift will totally exhaust your entire back at the end of the workout. Keep the reps between 8-12 and lift as heavy as you can for this rep range. Do this for 3 sets, or 4 if you still have the energy. I prefer an overhand grip – you may not be able to lift as much, but it’s better for symmetry and less chance of injuring your traps and shoulders. If you want, you can try an opposing-hand grip using the Big Back Grips, and you’ll find you can focus on your back completely. Your secondary muscles should be fatigued by this point in your workout, so keeping a solid grip will be the key to the effectiveness of this exercise!

Warm up or else

Along with legs, back is probably one of the most injury prone workout days, putting stress on your lats, lower back (big problem area!), traps, biceps, rear delts, etc. So, as with every body part, it’s necessary to thoroughly warm up the back before hitting the weights hard. Always make sure you start with a few solid warm-up sets with a lighter weight before getting into the heavy stuff.

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