Back Building 101: A Guide for Growing Back Muscles

Let’s start off by explaining the anatomy of the back. It’s not very complicated and not much to it. Once you understand how the back works along with the back muscles, you will find it easier to visualize your back workouts.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose any condition. It is recommended that you speak with your doctor before starting any exercise program, changing your daily nutrition, or adding any supplements to your regimen.

The Back Muscles

The Lats:

The largest muscle of your back is by far the lats. The latissimus dorsi starts all the way up at the upper end of the humerus, and runs all the way down to the pelvic girdle. The lats function is to pull the arm down towards the pelvis.

The Traps:

Another powerful muscle of the back is the trapezius. The traps run all the way down the upper section of the spinal cord and attaches at the middle of your back. The traps have a couple main functions including scapular adduction (bringing the shoulder blades together), scapular depression (pulling the shoulder blades down), and scapular elevation (shrugging).

Smaller Muscles:

There are also some smaller muscles that aid in the movement of the back such as the teres major and the rhomboids. The teres major is found at the outside edge of the shoulder blade and attaches all the way up at the humerus. The main role of the teres major is to bring the arm towards your back.

The rhomboids are found on the spinal column and they attach to the middle of the shoulder blade. The rhomboids are used to bring the shoulder blades together.

There are also a whole bunch of little muscles in the back, which run along your spine. There is the erector spinae, which includes the longissimus, spinalis, and the iliocostalis. The erector spinae is a group of muscles that are in and support the spine as well as extend the spine. The erector spinae muscles are actually attached to the vertebrae, pelvis, and also to the ribs.

Different Parts Of The Back

Different exercises hit different parts of the back. For instance, doing wide-grip pull-downs targets the outer back while doing close grip rows targets the middle of the back.

It’s important to hit all parts of the back to create overall back development. The last thing you want is imbalances with your back muscles. To create a nice V-taper you need overall development. By creating a fully developed back, you can still have a waist larger than you want and still look like you have a massive upper body.

RELATED: The Best Back Cable Workouts & Exercises for Width

Hitting the lats will help widen your back while hitting the middle of your back help pull out details. Bodybuilding is all about muscular development and creating an illusion that makes you look larger than you really are.

Look at any successful bodybuilder and you will see a well-developed back. Huge slabs of muscle popping out from every nook and cranny of their back. That is the look you want to achieve.

Different Back Exercises

• Wide-Grip Barbell Row
• Close-Grip Barbell Row
• Wide-Grip Dumbbell Row
• Close-Grip Dumbbell Row
• Cable Rear-Delt Row
• Lat Pull-down (to the front)
• Lat Pull-down (to the back)
• Bodyweight Pull-ups (different grip variations)
• Bodyweight Chin-ups (different grip variations)
• Assisted Pull-ups (different grip variations)
• Assisted Chin-ups (different grip variations)
• Weighted Pull-ups (different grip variations)
• Weighted Chin-ups (different grip variations)
• Barbell Deadlifts
• Barbell Stiff-legged Deadlift
• Dumbbell Stiff-legged Deadlift
• Smith Machine Stiff-legged Deadlift
• Straight-Arm Cable Pull-downs
• Reverse Flyes
• Barbell Pull-over
• Dumbbell Pull-over
• Barbell Upright Row
• Dumbbell Upright Row
• T-bar Row
• Wide-Grip Smith Machine Row
• Close-Grip Smith Machine Row
• Barbell Shrugs
• Dumbbell Shrugs
• Smith Machine Shrugs

Mass-Building Back Workouts

Workout 1

• Wide-Grip Pull-downs: 3×8-12
• Close-Grip Pull-downs: 3×8-12
• Wide-Grip Barbell Rows: 3×8-12
• Close-Grip Dumbbell Rows: 3×8-12
• Barbell Shrugs: 3×8-12

Workout 2

• Wide-Grip Pull-downs: 3×8-12
• Neutral-Grip Pull-downs: 3×8-12
• Wide-Grip Dumbbell Row: 3×8-12
• T-bar Rows: 3×8-12
• Dumbbell Shrugs: 3×8-12

Workout 3

• Wide-Grip Pull-up: 3×8-12
• Close-Grip Chin-up: 3×8-12
• Smith Machine Wide-Grip Row: 3×8-12
• Smith Machine Close-Grip Row: 3×8-12
• Smith Machine Shrugs: 3×8-12

Workout 4

• Close-Grip Pull-up: 3×8-12
• Wide-Grip Chin-up: 3×8-12
• Straight-Arm Cable Pull-over: 3×8-12
• T-bar Row: 3×8-12
• Barbell Shrugs: 3×8-12

Workout 5

• Assisted Pull-up: 3×8-12
• Assisted Chin-up: 3×8-12
• Barbell Stiff-legged Deadlift: 3×8-12
• Barbell Upright Row: 3×8-12
• Dumbbell Pull-over: 3×8-12

Conclusion

When it comes down to it you want to focus on the mind-muscle connection. You should really feel each rep and feel the muscle working. If you don’t feel an exercise in your back, then you are probably doing it wrong or are using a weight that you can’t handle and are using more than just your back.

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