Training The Upper Back Will Build More Width And Thickness

Well, so many weight trainers focus on chest and arm exercises it’s the upper back that makes up most of the musculature of the upper body. From the muscles in the middle of the upper back to the large latissimus dorsi muscles, nothing will add thickness and width to your body like the best back exercises.

Upper back exercises are placed into two categories. One is the pull-down and pull-up exercises that have you focusing on building width in the lats. the other category is the rowing exercises that allow you to build thickness throughout the upper back. To get the back development you want, you need to focus on both types of exercises and keep them in your upper back workouts.

Pull-Ups

You can’t go wrong if you have pull-ups as part of your upper back routine. Since you are utilizing your body weight on pull-ups they are a superior exercise to many others. Also, there are many ways you can do this exercise to add variety. Once you get strong enough you can even add weight with a weighted dip belt. Unfortunately, many have an issue with not being able to pull up their body weight. If this is the case for you, try an assisted pull-up machine until you have the strength to do them unassisted.

My Favorite Versions of the Pull-Up

I like to do pull-ups with both the normal shoulder with an overhand grip and a v-bar grip. The normal grip version allows me to get a nice range of motion. When I do this version I try to pull my elbows in as I’m pulling up, which makes you feel the lats even more. for the V-bar version, I like to pull up and pull my body back to hit the lats better. I will do 3 sets of each version with about 90 seconds of rest between each set.

Bent-Over Rows

There is no exercise like the bent-over barbell row for building mass throughout the upper back. This exercise when performed properly will hit all those middle upper back muscles to help develop them. It is very easy to go too heavy on this exercise as you can straighten your body to pull up more weight. You just need to leave your ego at the door and focus on proper form. Pull your arms up as far as possible to really feel every rep in the upper back muscles.

Do Overhanded and Underhanded Rows

There are two versions of the bent-over row I like to do. The underhanded version and the overhanded version. There are different things I like about both versions of the bent-over row, so I keep both in my routine.

In the case of the underhanded version, I like to pull the barbell into my lower belly. This allows me to use a nice amount of weight and I try to keep my body at about a 45 or so degree angle. Keep the lower back arched to avoid injury, and pull the elbows up and back as far as possible.

For overhanded bent-over rows, I try to pull the weight more to my upper belly/lower chest. You can’t use as much weight here but you really feel it in your middle back muscles. I’ll start with the underhanded version since I can use more weight on them and do 3 sets. Next, I’ll go to the overhanded version and do another three sets. I try for 105 to 120 seconds of rest between each set.

One Arm Dumbbell Rows

One-arm dumbbell rows are a great unilateral movement and will always have a place in my upper back routine. They are done by rowing a dumbbell to one side using the lats and middle back muscles. These contribute to thickening the lats. I like to warm up to my heaviest weight on one-arm dumbbell rows. Then on each subsequent set, I will decrease the amount of weight by 5 or 10 lbs. I go for 5 sets with about 90 seconds of rest in between each.

There are multiple ways to anchor your body and lift the weight with one arm. You can use a bench to put your knee and hand on when you are lifting with the opposing arm. Another way to anchor is to have your hand on a higher bench or even the dumbbell rack. With the other arm, you row all the way to your side making sure not to cheat on the movement.

Barbell Corner Rows

To start put the end of a barbell in a corner. Many gyms will have an anchor that will allow you to do this as well. You then place a v-bar grip underneath the side of the barbell opposing the anchor or corner. To start the exercise, you bend over and grip the v-bar. Keep your body parallel and slightly angled up and pull the weight up towards your chest. Make sure to use good form and not allow your body to come up too far so you aren’t feeling the back muscles working.

One-Arm Corner Rows

I also like to do a one-armed version of the barbell corner row this is done by gripping the bar with one hand or even gripping the very end of the bar. I like to rip the very end of the bar in the thick end in the waste it allows you to pull the way as you’re going up it goes out a little bit so kind of gives you a different way to train the muscle.

Lat Pulldowns

Cable lat pulldowns are probably the most popular upper back exercise. This is likely because they are easier to do than pull-ups, but give you many of the same benefits. However, they are not as good of an exercise. you should definitely opt for pull-ups if you can do them. Of course, cable pulldowns still have their place and I personally use them often myself. I especially use them to finish off my lats and occasionally even train heavy on them.

Same Favorite Version As Pull-Ups

My two favorite versions of the cable lat pulldown are the same as they are with the pull-up. I like to do them with either the V bar or with a normal shoulder-width grip on the bar. One thing I do take advantage of on the cable lat pulldown is to superset starting with a very wide grip. When I hit failure I move my grip in a bit to get more reps or with less weight to really set the lats on fire.

Pushdowns and Pullovers

There is also a group of exercises that will work the lats while the arms remain straight or very slightly bent. These exercises are going to work most of the upper body muscles to a degree, but you can focus more on the lats if you tweak the way you do them.

Cable Straight Arm Pushdowns

Straight arm cable lat pushdowns are one of the most effective exercises for developing the lats. The straight arms help to keep the shoulders in a fixed position, which allows the lats to do a lot of the work. This exercise also helps to develop the stabilizer muscles around the shoulder joint, which can improve shoulder health. In addition, straight arm cable lat pushdowns can help to improve posture and prevent injuries.

Straight arm cable pushdowns are commonly done with a straight bar attached to the cable. However, using a rope attachment may be beneficial in giving your lats more of a stretch.

Dumbbell Pullovers

The dumbbell pullover is a classic exercise that seems to have been lost in time as you don’t see them done very often anymore. They are done by either lying normally on a bench or lying with just your lower back on the bench perpendicular to it, with your feet on the floor and your upper body hanging face up on the other side. You keep the elbows very slightly bent and pull a dumbbell from behind your head to overhead.

The thing about the dumbbell pullover is that it can be done as a chest exercise or a lat exercise. It really depends on what you’re going for.

Drop Set to Finish Off Upper Back Workouts

I like to use straight-arm cable pushdowns at the end of the part of my upper back workouts where I train the lats. I will take a weight I can do for about 20 reps and then do a drop set with one or two drops. this is a great finisher for a nice pump.

How I Set Up My Upper Back Workouts

I train my back muscles together for their own workout. This back workout is done once a week and almost always has me training the lats first and the mid-back muscles second. Basically, I do pull-up and pulldown exercises for the first part of the workout, then do rowing exercises after that. I finish off this workout by training the trapezius muscles with either dumbbell shrugs or upright rows.

Since the upper back is such a large area of the body, I think it makes sense to work it all during one workout. I also don’t train any other muscles that day as the back requires a lot of training.