Every gym trainee, at some point, has dreamed of being as shredded and aesthetic as those Greek sculptures. People back then only developed their bodies to such extent with functional movements, or, in other words- Everyday man chores!
Centuries later however, the usual lifestyle is not as intense and is rather sedentary. However, the human body still has the potential to look and perform outstanding, via all kinds of purposeful resistance training, with which, if you apply the right training principles, you will develop an optimally aesthetic YOU.
Without further ado, let us dive deep into this back workout, which doesn’t target a specific section of the back musculature, but works on all of them evenly.
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
|---|---|---|
| Bodyweight wide grip pull-ups | 3 | 10 |
| Weighted wide grip pull ups | 2 | 10 |
| T-Bar row | 3 | 10,10, 8 until failure |
| Cable row | 2 | 10 |
| Narrow grip lat pulldown | 4 | 12,12,10 and 10 until failure |
| Cable pullover | 2 | 15 |
Exercise map
Body-weight wide grip pull ups
Execution
- Grab on to the bar as wide as possible and hang freely
- Look up
- Pull yourself up, until your chin reaches the bar
- Hold that position briefly
- Let your body go down slowly and completely
Weighted wide grip pull ups
Execution
- Place the weight on the chain and put the weight belt around your waist
- Grab the pull-up bar as wide as possible, hanging completely free
- Look up and pull yourself up explosively, until your chin reaches the bar
- Go all the way down slowly and stretch the back
T-Bar row
Execution
- Step on your feet stably with the bar between your legs
- Bend knees slightly
- Bend over, keeping the back straight
- Grab the lever
- Raise the weight, keeping arms completely straight and body at a 75-80-degree angle – This is a static bent over position
- Pull the lever, keeping the elbows close to the body
- Hold the contraction at the top briefly
- Let the weight go down slowly
- Stretch the back before the next repetition
Cable one arm standing row
Execution
- Attach the pulley on the lower cable
- Grab the pulley and stand back 2 feet
- Bend over slightly, keeping the knees bent so that you are in a stable position
- Pull the pulley, contracting the back musculature (keep elbows close to the body)
- Let the pulley return to original position, stretching the back (note- the more you step back, the more you can stretch out)
Narrow grip lat pulldown (with rope)
Execution
- Grab the rope with an overhand grip and sit down
- Tuck your legs under the pads
- Keeping your back straight, lean back a tad bit so that you can feel your back tensing
- Pull the rope down to the lower portion of the chest
- Hold the contraction and release
Cable pullover
Execution
- Grab the bar at shoulder width
- Stand stably with your feet at shoulder width and back straight
- Looking forward, pull the bar down, contracting the back musculature
- Release and stretch
So, why exactly is this workout effective and who is it good for?
The workout revolves around intense principles, making it suitable for people who are looking to stack on serious muscle mass during their off-season.
It is recommended that you have a structured nutritional plan that will allow you to optimally recover from these heavy workouts. These workouts of course, will be the building blocks for a rock-solid musculature, which will later on get revealed completely once the shredding season starts!
The back as a muscle group is very demanding, as we cannot visually see it working as we can see the muscles on the front/side of our bodies.
This is exactly why a proper back workout requires laser-focus, which helps for the so-desired mind-muscle connection.
After each individual back workout, get flexing in! This is one of the best ways to develop mind-muscle connection with such muscle groups.
Try including 10 to 20 minutes of isometric contractions for the whole body, but focus on the back.
Read more about- Bodybuilding Posing.
