The back is one of the most complicated and most difficult muscle groups to fully develop because of the sheer amount of muscles in the back. Our back isn’t made up of just the lats or the traps. And besides that, both the lats and traps require quite a bit of variation (especially in the angles or exercises) to be trained effectively.
The best program for back training – ahem, about to toot my own horn – is the Perfect V Solution (that you get for FREE with the PowerHowse Challenge. It’s a month long back training program that will hit the back from every angle, developing the muscle as it should be developed.
If you didn’t take the PHC, and you didn’t get that free program, here are some more tips that’ll help…
Back Variation
Let’s split the back into a few different planes.
Vertical
If you’re performing a pull (pull-up, chin-up, or upright row) you’re going to be working the lats or the upper trap. Make sure you’re staying vertical when training the lat – especially with pull-ups, this will isolate the muscle more effectively, helping you develop those “loaf of bread” lats.
Check out this video for some help on that front…
Flat/Rowing
We work the mid-trap, mid-lats, and well as the rhomboids (partially) when we’re rowing. The main thing to keep in mind with our rows, is to use a full range of motion at all times. We also need to use different grips.
Don’t just use a T-bar when doing seated rows, but add in a wider lat bar at times. Also, try snatch grip when doing bent over rows