How to build a broad back and shoulders? Is it possible to pump the broadest muscles on the horizontal bar? How to make a broad back at home or at the gym? All these questions are asked, as a rule, by novice athletes who only recently connected their lives with bodybuilding. There is nothing surprising in their interest in back muscles: almost every athlete knows that a wide back is the hallmark of many bodybuilders. Not biceps, not legs, namely the back. In today's article, we will tell you about how to pump the latissimus dorsi muscles with dumbbells, barbell and horizontal bar. This article will be interesting to those who train at home, and those who work out in the gym or fitness center. Interested in? Then enjoy reading!
General facts and recommendations
Some people are interested in how to make a broad back and shoulders. Others, on the contrary, do not understand why this is necessary. Someone may ask: "Why do exercise your back muscles?" Why do you need to spend time working on this muscle group, if you can devote more time, for example, to the same biceps or the press? The answer is simple: to train the back is necessary not only for aesthetic beauty, but for health. The fact is that our spine and spinal muscles are heavily loaded during movement, heavy physical activity and when performing many exercises. On top of that, the latissimus dorsi muscles are involved in the movement of our upper limbs. Therefore, it is necessary to address the issue of strengthening these muscle groups in time, especially when you go to the gym, where there are all the necessary conditions for this.
To make your workouts as productive and safe as possible, you need to know a number of rules and recommendations:
- Be patient. It’s worth mentioning right away that you won’t be able to pump up a fast wide back. Many inexperienced athletes are often led to quack advertising tricks that promise them a perfect body in one week. In fact, to achieve any success in such a short period of time is simply impossible. If you decide to do bodybuilding, then you should be prepared for the fact that at first your results will be quite modest. It is important here not to be disappointed and not to leave this business halfway. Only perseverance and hard work will help you achieve your goals!
- No need to train every day. This applies not only to the muscles of the back, but also to your entire musculature in general. If your goal is to gain muscle mass without taking illegal steroid drugs, then you need to train your back 1 (maximum 2) times a week. Between hard and exhausting strength training, you need to take a break for 1-2 days. This period of time is necessary in order for your muscles and central nervous system to fully recover.
- Do not train your back alone. Another serious mistake for beginners is an excessive emphasis on a particular muscle group. If you want to know how to build a wide back in the gym, then you should also know how to train other muscles in your body. Remember that you can achieve a beautiful and athletic physique only if you train the whole body entirely.
- Have a full warm-up before your training session. Many beginners who are interested in how to make a wide back, for some reason forget about such an important training aspect, as a warm-up. Some novice athletes do not fundamentally do it, arguing that it takes away the strength and energy that could be spent on training. In fact, this is a big mistake. In power sports (especially when it comes to back muscles), you need to warm up before each lesson. Warming up improves muscle performance and avoids serious injuries.
- Increase the load. In order for the muscles of your body to grow, a progression of loads is necessary. If you feel that any exercise is given to you too easily (for example, you can easily do 15-20 pull-ups), then this suggests that you need to increase your training weight. Remember that with increasing strength, your muscle mass also grows.
- Do not neglect the rest. Many experts in the field of fitness and sports recommend taking a break from training for 1-2 weeks every 3-4 months. Also, do not forget about unloading training - less intense and voluminous than usual.
- Watch the mode. As mentioned earlier, restoration plays a huge role in bodybuilding. The fact is that our muscles grow during rest, and not during training. In order for the muscles to fully recover before the next lesson, you must sleep at least 8 hours a day, moreover, it is advisable to go to bed and wake up at about the same time.
- Eat right. This applies to both thin and fat guys. Like it or not, but eating buns, junk food and lemonades, you will not be able to build a beautiful and athletic physique.
- Do everything skillfully. The right technique is the key to success and safety. Before you begin to perform an unknown exercise, make sure that you have familiarized yourself with its technique, taking into account all the nuances. This is especially true for basic exercises in the gym, improper performance of which can seriously harm the joints and tendons.
- Do not forget about breathing. This aspect is also not given as much attention as one would like. With improper breathing, the athlete's blood pressure rises, which, in turn, leads to a sharp deterioration in efficiency. Remember: you must exhale on the force, and inhale in the negative phase (for example, when lowering the projectile).
- Engage in the program. To achieve maximum results in bodybuilding, you need to create a competent training program. Random and inconsistent classes will not lead to anything positive, in this matter discipline and regularity are important. In training systems, as a rule, one muscle group trains on the same day as the other. Back muscles, for example, are best trained on the same day as biceps, pectoral muscles with triceps, shoulders with legs. Such a complex can be done both in the hall and at home.
- Focus on the muscles you need while working. A fairly common situation: a person does an exercise on one muscle group, and as a result, he feels the tension in a completely different one. For example, when pulling up with a wide grip, an athlete feels biceps instead of the widest ones. Like it or not, you can’t completely turn off the biceps in the exercises of this type, however, the main load should go exactly on the back. To achieve this, you need to bring the technique of each exercise to the ideal. It is most convenient to do this with light weight.
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Goals and objectives of the training, indications and contraindications
Before you start training, you need to decide on a goal. If you want to pump up a beautiful and voluminous back, you should be very diligent in training, and tune in to the following tasks:
- Exercise regularly without missing classes.
- Constantly progress in the balance in order to stimulate the growth of muscle mass.
- At the same time as the back, pay attention to antagonistic muscles, in this case, to the pectoral muscles. Lagging this muscle group can slow back growth.
If your goal is to strengthen your back muscles, then it will be enough to perform the exercises presented in a lightweight version.
Back muscle training is indicated for people of all age categories if they want to improve their health and tidy up their bodies. But, training with large weights is prohibited for people with:
- problems with the musculoskeletal system.
- chronic diseases of the organs of the cardiovascular system.
- the course of any pathologies in an acute form.
Latitude anatomy
How to pump a wide back at home or in the hall? It's simple: focus on the widest! The fact is that it is these muscles that are responsible for the width of our backs. Well-developed latitudes are also called “wings” because of their visual resemblance to bird limbs.
The wings begin from the vertebrae of the sternum, and are pumped into the lumbar region and sacrum. The upper bunches of the broadest are distinguished by the lateral passage, and the lower ones - lateral and upper. On top of that, there are also extra tufts - prongs covering the shoulder blades.
We already figured out the general facts, now let's move on to the main topic of today's article, namely, to exercises for the wide back at home and in the gym. Let's start with the pull-ups.
Pullups: variations and varieties of exercise
How to pump the broadest back muscles on the horizontal bar? This question can often be heard from beginner athletes. It is not surprising, since pull-ups on the crossbar are one of the most affordable exercises of all.
Immediately it is worth saying that if you are working on muscle growth, and not on endurance, then you need to work with additional weights. When the number of your pull-ups reaches 15-20 times in one approach, then you can begin to hang additional weight on yourself. It can be a regular portfolio full of dumbbell pancakes, books, bottles, etc.
Before learning about how to pump the broadest back muscles on the horizontal bar, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the video below (in the event that you can not pull yourself up even once):
Grip plays a big role in pull-ups. Which muscle group you load the most depends on your grip and position of the hands. Below we examined the most common and most effective grabs.
1. Pulling with a wide grip to the chest. This kind of pull-ups is aimed at working out the trapezius, round, infraspinatus, as well as the upper part of the latissimus muscles. This exercise is done in this way:
- Grasp the bar with a wide grip.
- Exhale tighten so that the upper part of the pectoral muscles touches the horizontal bar. Bring the shoulder blades at the top. Relax your biceps. The back should be bent above.
- Take a short pause in this position, and then, taking a breath, slowly lower yourself to the starting position.
2. Pulling with a wide grip on the head. Immediately it is worth saying that pull-ups with such a grip are not designed for everyone. If you have any problems with the shoulder joints, then it is completely contraindicated for you. In order to avoid injuries, it is better not to abuse such exercises. Remember that safety must be above efficiency!
Pull-ups with a wide grip on the head are worked out by the trapezius, round, infraspinatus muscles, as well as the upper and middle parts of the latissimus dorsi. They are great for people who were interested in the question of how to make the upper back wider.
Technique of execution:
- Grasp the bar with a wide grip.
- While exhaling, slowly rise upward, holding the whole body strictly perpendicular to the floor. The elbow joints should be pointing down.
- At the top, the horizontal bar should be behind your head.
- Take a breath in the IP.
3. Pull-ups with medium straight grip. The most common form of exercise. Suitable for almost all athletes - both experienced and beginners. When performing this exercise, the back muscles, biceps and brachial muscle work.
Pull-ups are performed with an average straight grip as follows:
- Grasp the bar so that your arms are shoulder width apart.
- As you exhale, bringing the shoulder blades, pull up so that the chin at the top point is higher than the crossbar (it is advisable to touch the chest of the horizontal bar).
- Slowly lower down for a breath.
4. Pull-ups with a narrow straight grip. How to pump up the lower latissimus dorsi? If you are interested in this question, then you are very lucky! Pull-ups with a narrow straight grip work out the bottom of the widest, as well as the dentate and shoulder muscles.
Technique of execution:
- Grasp the horizontal bar with a narrow grip.
- While exhaling, bend in the back and slowly pull up to the crossbar according to the same principle as in the previous version.
- Taking a breath, go down to the starting point.
Deadlift
How to pump a wide back on the horizontal bar? We think that everything is clear with this question. The horizontal bar is a universal projectile that can and should be used by everyone: both street athletes and visitors to fitness centers. So how to make a wide back using equipment from the gym? Let's find out!
You can start with deadlift. This is a basic exercise, during which several muscle groups are involved. It can be said that this is the most important and important exercise for the development of the lumbar and latissimus muscles, as well as the biceps of the thigh. In total, one can distinguish the following types of deadlift: classic and sumo. There is also a half-sum, which is an intermediate option, but, as a rule, everyone focuses on the two previous ones.
Differences between classic and sumo:
- in classic, the bar must be pulled almost the entire range of motion up to the top point;
- in sum, the lion's share of the effort is disruption: it was ripped off, it passed the dead center, and then the projectile by inertia, having passed a short amplitude, is already at the final point.
To whom is the classic more suitable, and to whom - sumo?
- classic - for those athletes who have balanced back and legs. In addition, it is important that the back is able to withstand sufficiently large loads;
- sumo - to those athletes whose legs are better developed, and they can make a great explosive effort;
The execution technique in both cases is essentially the same:
- Grasp the bar with a direct grip at the level (or slightly wider) of the shoulders and sit down so that the pelvis is maximally bent back. Thanks to this, the shoulders and knees will not extend beyond the bar. The shoulder blades must be reduced and the shoulders brought back out of the neck.
- The legs should be kept in a bent state, the gluteal muscles should be pulled back as much as possible, the back should be leveled and tilted slightly, the shoulders should be straightened, and the knees should not be pulled out of the neck.
- The whole body must be strained as much as possible, hands should hold on to the shell with all their strength. On exhalation, you need to pull the bar up in a single explosive movement.
- Locked in this position, for inspiration, uncontrollably lower the projectile to its original position.
The classic deadlift technique:
Despite its effectiveness, deadlift is a very traumatic exercise if it is not done according to the rules. That is why it is extremely important to do it with the most correct technique and not chase the scales.
Inclined rod pull
This exercise significantly increases the lateral muscle, pumps large round, rhomboid and trapezius muscles.
Technique of execution:
- Take the bar with a straight grip with a slight slope. The lower its angle, the more actively the latissimus muscles work. As with deadlifts, the back should be as even as possible!
- Lean forward, hold your elbows and exhale pull the bar to the body. At the top point, tighten the shoulder blades.
- On inspiration, lower the projectile to its original position.
Dumbbell Dumbbell
How to pump the broadest back muscles with dumbbells? So we come to one of the most interesting questions in our article. When it comes to high-quality isolated study of the broadest muscles, many professional bodybuilders prefer this exercise. To do this, you need a dumbbell and bench. It runs like this:
- Lean with your left hand on the bench, bend your left leg at the knee joint and put forward, your right leg also needs to be bent at the knee. Hold the dumbbell in your right hand.
- While exhaling, keeping your back in a straight position, pull the projectile up to chest level.
- Taking a breath, lower it to its original position. After making the required number of repetitions, repeat the same algorithm with the other side.
In more detail, the technique of performing dumbbell pulls in an incline is described in the video below.
Dumbbell Pullover
This exercise is used both for pumping the latitudinal and for working out the pectoral muscles. As we said earlier, it is important to focus on the back muscles in order to achieve maximum results.
Technique of execution:
- Pick up a shell, lay your back on a bench. The dumbbell must be held perpendicular to the floor.
- As you inhale, lower the projectile behind your head without bending your elbows. You should feel the maximum stretching in the latissimus dorsi.
- As you exhale, lift the dumbbell to its original position.
Upper Block Rod
How to pump a wide back with dumbbells, barbell and horizontal bar? We think this is clear. Now we would like to tell you about the exercise, which requires a block simulator. The thrust of the upper block perfectly works with the broadest, brachioradial, large round, diamond-shaped, as well as biceps muscles of the hands. The scapular zone of the back is maximally involved in the work. This exercise is a good alternative to pull-ups on the bar.
It is done like this:
- Sit on the simulator, place your hips under the roller, place your feet on the shoulder line. Feet should rest on the floor.
- With a direct grip, grasp the handle with your palms. The elbows should be slightly bent, the head slightly lowered, and the gaze fixed.
- With the shoulder blades pulled together, while breathing in, pull the bar by the head until you touch the back of the head.
- On inspiration, return the hands to their original position.
Features of execution:
- The cable should always be in a vertical plane;
- Elbows must be pulled along one trajectory;
- Mentally, you need to concentrate on the muscles of the back, and not on working hands.
Performing the exercise in the correct technique, the entire back will be uniformly loaded.
Number of sets and reps
How many sets and reps do you need to do in one exercise? It should be understood that the number of repetitions when working on endurance and when working on mass are very different. When working on endurance, the emphasis is on small weights and a large number of repetitions. When working on mass, on the contrary, you need to perform exercises with large weights and for a small number of repetitions.
How to make a wide back at home without additional equipment?
We will not reassure you in vain, but right away we’ll say it as it is: it’s almost impossible to pump up a large and embossed back without additional equipment. If you have no barbell, no collapsible dumbbells, no horizontal bar, then it will be very difficult for you to train for mass (and this applies to all muscle groups). As mentioned earlier, to "start" anabolic processes in the body, you must constantly progress in the balance. Therefore, it is very important that you have some improvised objects at home with which you can imitate exercises from the gym (for example, you can use sand / water / stones bottles instead of dumbbells).
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How to pump up the latissimus dorsi with push-ups? Also a question that relates primarily to home training. It’s worth mentioning right away that push-ups are aimed at working out the pectoral muscles, triceps and deltoid muscles, and the widest ones are involved only indirectly. But, nevertheless, with a special setting of the hands, you can properly load the back muscles.
Lesson plan and monitoring positive dynamics
In order to pump your back as efficiently as possible, you need to draw up a clear lesson plan. The training program for the back can be as follows:
- Day 1: Pullups, deadlift (classic), dumbbell pullover.
- Day 2: Slant barbell pull, sumo-style deadlift, upper block pull.
You need to train your back no more than twice a week. Choose the appropriate weights and watch the dynamics. After 2-3 weeks, progress should begin in the number of repetitions, this suggests that you are on the right track. To clearly monitor the dynamics of training, you need to have a special diary.
Conclusion
An article was presented to your attention on the topic of how to make a wide back in home and street conditions, as well as in a gym. We hope that this publication was useful to you and you learned a lot of interesting facts. Using this information in practice, you can achieve great results. We wish you good luck in your training!