Why?



Simple, because a PROPER and I want to stress the word proper, back work out is not easy, it requires work, hard work to be honest, and that turns a lot of people off.

The reason I am focusing on back thickness in this article is because I feel it is an area that a lot of people are lacking in.

It really is a shame because a super thick back will help you stand out from the crowd, either at the beach or on stage.

O.K. lets get to it.

DEAD LIFTS

To me nothing symbolizes back training like dead lifts, they are hard, they work the whole back, and to me are a true test of total body strength, and trouble is you rarely see anyone doing them anymore.

While people like to throw around excuses, like they are bad for the back, I suspect the real reason is because of what I said above, dead lifts are hard, pure and simple.

Now it is beyond the scope of this article to outline the proper technique to use when dead lifting, but I would like to give a few tips.

First, and foremost, learn how to do the lift properly from someone knowledgeable. Then master the technique, and then and only then, start to add weight to the bar or dumbbells, depending on which variation of the dead lift you choose.

Second, make sure your body stays tight throughout the lift. Now I do realize that you may be able to get away with improper form when the weights are small, but when the weight on the bar starts to get heavy, any form problems you have will come to a head quickly.

BENT OVER ROWS

Really you could get away with doing just dead lifts, but the bent over row exercise is one that not many people do. Plus it is simply great for hitting the middle back, and most programs are woefully deficient in ANY form of rowing (and chins and pull ups do not count as rowing movements) so that is why it is included here.

The bent over row can be done with either a barbell or dumbbells, but for beginners I feel it is easier for them to learn proper form with a barbell. That is what I mostly recommend, but if you have been around bodybuilding for awhile and you simply have gotten away from this exercise, use whichever variety you feel is best.

With this exercise you want to really think two things stretch and squeeze, and by this I mean you want to give your back muscles a good stretch at the beginning of the movement and squeeze them hard at the top.

With the rows, do not worry so much about the weight, get a good stretch and squeeze and focus on pulling the bar to your lower pec line and you will be fine.

For variety and to work even more of the back (which is a good thing) you can also do bent over rows with a reverse grip (palms facing up instead of down with the regular bent over row).

A good way to fit this row into your routine is to do regular bent over rows for two weeks and then switch over to reverse grip bent over rows for two weeks, the change is not only good for your muscles but for your mind as well.

For the above three exercises I would recommend in the beginning sticking with the trusted 5x5 program, that is five sets of five reps per set, when you are just learning them. Then when you get the form down and are comfortable with them, feel free to try different rep ranges to see how these affect you.

CONCLSUSION

There you have it, three very basic but very hard back exercises, which if done properly, will add some serious thickness to your back FAST!

However, I would be remiss if I did not add this final point. Please, especially after any workout in which you do dead lifts remember to consume some form of post workout nutrition, (I prefer a formula which contains whey protein hydrolysate and maltodextrin) which will help to ensure that all your hard work will not be wasted.

HAPPY TRAINING!