How To Get A Wide Back – Complete Guide

Alright, listen up, gym bros, today we’re gonna talk about airplanes, aka the lats that will make you fly, but first, you need to know how to get a wide back!

Ever look at those shredded dudes with backs that look like an Airbus? Yeah, me too. But here’s the secret – building that impressive V-taper silhouette isn’t just about endless lat pulldowns. It’s about understanding the key muscles and incorporating the right exercises.

Understanding the Muscles for a Wide Back

It’s All About the Lats

The latissimus dorsi (lats for short) are these massive muscles that run alongside your spine and are responsible for pulling your arms down and back.

They’re the powerhouses behind exercises like pull-ups and rows, and when trained properly, they’ll give your back that impressive width.

Other muscles may help develop the image of a wide back like the rhomboids but not in the same percentage as the lats. Your traps are for a scarry look, and the lower back muscles for striation and that “Christmas tree” shape.

Best Exercises to Build a Wide Back

Here is your arsenal for back-day domination:

Any form of Pull-Ups: The king of back exercises

Wide-grip pull-ups target the outer portion of your lats, ideal for building width. Close-grip pull-ups emphasize the inner lats and bicep activation, while chin-ups hit both the lats and biceps with a neutral grip.

Barbell Rows: These delicious exercises come in different flavors – seated, bent-over, and Pendlay rows. Each variation offers a slightly different challenge, but they all work wonders for building a wider back.

Seated rows provide great isolation for your lats, while bent-over rows allow you to use more weight for overall back development.

Pendlay rows are a more advanced variation that emphasizes proper rowing mechanics.

Dumbbell Rows: Don’t neglect these OG rows with dumbbells! You need them just in case you have to pick up your drunk brother home like a bag of groceries:)

Single-arm rows allow for unilateral (one-sided) training, which helps address any strength imbalances.

If you feel a bit more hardcore, literally, try one-arm rows with your knee on a bench – this forces your core to engage for added stability.

Tips for Effective Backwork

Don’t be that guy with ego lifting, I mean, it’s good to test your strength from time to time, but not every day!

Here’s the thing, bro: proper form is crucial for maximizing results and preventing injuries. A back injury may be very tricky and can persist throughout your life! Don’t be that guy in the gym who throws around weights with bad form – you’re setting yourself up for trouble, AKA injuries, long periods for recovery, and so on.

Here are some key tips:

Mind-Muscle Connection: you know what this is but you don’t focus enough when doing your exercises!

Maintain Proper Posture: You know when you are going to do some forced reps, and that’s ok, but don’t do the entire set with the wrong form just to lift 20 pounds more.

Scapular Retraction: Think about pulling your shoulder blades back and down during exercises. This helps to activate your upper back muscles and ensure proper shoulder mechanics.

Controlled Movements: Don’t just fling the weights around, feel something, that’s why I told you about the mind-muscle connection. Do slow reps, concentrate on the negative side of the rep.

Exercises For a Wide Back

Ok, so now that you’ve read all that “nonsense” (in your mind reading everything until this point, is a waste of time, I know) here are the exact exercises that you need to do.

Sample Routine: Try this – 3 sets of 8-12 reps for each exercise:

• Wide-Grip Pull-Ups
• Seated Cable Rows
• Bent-Over Barbell Rows
• Dumbbell Rows

Frequency and Sets/Reps: Aim for 2-3 back workouts per week, allowing enough rest for recovery. Adjust the sets and reps based on your experience level and goals.

Progressive Overload: the more you advance the more weight you’ll need to maintain a challenge for your muscles. Growth happens when the muscle is put to the test, to hard work and failure.

Additional Tips for Building a Wide Back

Ok now that you know what to do in the gym, let’s see what else you can improve in your quest to get a wider back:

Stretching and Mobility: The back is one of the body parts that is the most predisposed to injuries ( except the left shoulder). So you need to always warm up before and stretch after in order to keep it in optimal condition and not wake up the next day with some kind of pain that will persist for 1 week. You know that muscle strains or God forbid some pinching nerves due to heavy load and pressure on your spine.

Proper Nutrition: If you want to have a gorilla back, you’ll have to eat like a gorilla! It’s easy, calculate your normal calories and then add 20% or even 30% extra to your daily intake. Creatine and proteins help too! Use 1 gram of creatine for 1kg of bodyweight, or 1 gram for 2 pounds.

Rest and Recovery: Your muscles grow and repair themselves during rest periods. You need at least 8 hours of good sleep, and maybe a rest day after you trained your back. Or at least do something easy the next day, like arms or shoulders.

Remember that back, especially the lats, are one of the slowest to grow, or at least to be seen at the point that people see you as “big”, so don’t expect fast results, unless you are on gear:)

That’s it: hit the gym, put in the work, and watch your back grow!