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Last Updated on January 7, 2021
Forget pull-ups and pulldowns for a day and use this barebones approach to building deep, grainy back thickness.
A great many lifters, when training back, spend a lot of their set equity on developing wide lats – everyone wants that great set of wings. But what often gets lost in this equation is the quest for back thickness – that deep, grainy, dense back that is the hallmark of so many great physiques. While vertical pulls are ideal for developing width, depth is achieved through the use of horizontal pulls and, yes, deadlifts.
Training hard and heavy with these kinds of moves can help you pack on the kind of mass that leaves your upper back looking like a den of coiled snakes. Or, you can go on training the way that you are and keep looking like a paper cutout. The choice is yours.
THREE MOVES TO RULE THEM ALL
Yeah, we just went all Tolkien on you. But the fact remains that a simplistic approach – with the right intensity, of course – can help you construct the kind of back aesthetic that you’re looking for. If you have a width-focused back workout, you can simply do the workout provided on a second day later in the week, which will greatly accelerate your gains. Or, if you’re a high-volume guy, you can go ahead and try adding these moves to your existing back workout on one, all-out back-a-palooza.
1. DEADLIFTS
All hail the deadlift! It is no coincidence heavy deadlifts are synonymous with great back development. The deadlift focuses on your erectors as you extend your torso to full vertical. This helps develop that bottom-to-top, Silverback-like thickness. But the better news is that the full-body load of deadlifts causes a surge in favorable hormones like testosterone and growth hormone that fill that area out while helping you add muscle and burn fat everywhere else.
After you are warmed up, you have 12 minutes to complete all deadlifts. Start with a weight you are capable of doing 8-10 reps with. For set one, do five reps. Rest 60 seconds and attempt five reps again. If you are unable to complete five reps do four, if you cannot do four reps do three, if you cannot do three reps do two, and if two reps is too much, do one. Always stop one shy of failure but do not exceedfive repetitions. Repeat this process for 12 minutes. The clock starts once you have completed your first set. On the last set, if you still have something left, go for an all-out rep max.
2. MEADOWS ROWS
Named for bodybuilder, John Meadows, this exercise is like a one-armed dumbbell row, but it is done with a T-bar instead. You’ll grab the bar outside of the weight on the thick end of the barbell – feel free to use straps if the wider grip makes it tough to focus on your lats – then assume a bent-over rowing position and pull.
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