Men's Fitness Articles - Back Attack

Even the most casual gymgoers among us want the same results: eye-poppin’ bis, a Schwarzeneggeresque chest, and rippled abs that cause women to swoon—okay, maybe not swoon, but at least do a double take—when we pass by on the beach. Unfortunately, those glances won’t last longer than a cheeseburger on the set of Survivor II if you aren’t sporting a balanced physique. 

 

 

As reliable as muscles may be in attracting the eye of the opposite sex, you’ll never reach your full muscle-growth potential if you neglect your latissimus dorsi, or, in plain English, your back. The back is the largest muscle group in the body—which means it holds the most potential for packing on mass. And if size is your desired destination, there’s no faster or more efficient way to get there than by emphasizing back training. 

 

 

“There are all kinds of muscles in your back,” says Timothy C. Fritz, C.S.C.S. “If you neglect it, and a lot of people do, you’re not going to have any symmetry.”

 

For you guys into building display muscles—and you know who you are—that should be reason enough to make back training a priority. But appearance aside, there’s another reason that building a strong back should be high on your list of fitness goals.

 

“If you have a strong chest and a weak back, you can really start to have problems, because your muscle mass in the front is going to start pulling your shoulders forward,” Fritz says. “It throws your back out of whack, and, eventually, it can throw your whole body out of whack.”

THE WORKOUT
Because the back covers such a large area, it’s necessary to hit it from a variety of angles. That’s why we’ve come up with three moves targeted to work three of the back’s four regions—the upper, the middle and the outer. All are pulling movements, but each starts from a different angle: one from the top, one from the floor and one from the front.

 

“Every little change stresses the muscle just a little bit differently,” Fritz says. “In order to get the fullest, most complete development and stimulate as many fibers as possible, you need to stress any muscle from as many different angles as possible.”

 

We’ve also provided a variation for each particular movement. Try them all and come up with a program that best suits your body. Just make sure to hit each angle at every workout.