Does your back have both Width and Thickness?

Most think that Legs are the biggest muscle group of the body but the Back is really. While the Legs are for sure the strongest muscles, lifting the most weight, it is the Back that is so very diverse and loaded with a variety of muscles.

Commonly when we think Back we think Lats. And yes you are correct; Lats is a big part of the back. But the back also is smaller muscles in the lower back, the Serratus (those muscles that look like shark gills on the side) and some would argue that the Traps are closely related. Traps are often worked with the Shoulders but they certainly can be part of you Back development program. Traps will not be cover in this article.

Back to the Lats

The amazing thing about Lats is that not only are they very large muscles but they need to be worked for both width and thickness.

Width is that V Taper that we all desire. You know what I mean, the muscles that taper tightly at the waste and flair like a cobra's head at the upper back under the arms.

When people follow a bodybuilder from behind, immediately they notice a wide back. The back is as impressive and important from the rear view as the chest is from the front view. Lats are the muscles that hold the Arms out from the body as they rest on the upper Lats.

Lat thickness is defined as the depth and density of muscle when viewed from the side. Generally you will have to lift your arm overhead to see the thickness. Massive thick Lats not only compliment the Width of the Back but also give the overall rib cage that muscular size from the side.

So How Do You Get Both a Wide and Thick Back?

A good rule of thumb is that wide grip back exercises give the Back the V taper width. Close grip exercises give the density and side muscularity.

For width and thickness, work equal numbers of both wide and close grip exercises. You got a lot of muscle to work with so don’t think the back can’t 6-8 exercises (3-4 for width and 3-4 for thickness)

Here are some choices for Lat Width.

• Wide grip chin ups (See Picture Below and note bar is straight with angled ends)
• Wide grip bent over barbell pull ups
• Wide grip overhead cable pull down (similar to Wide Grip Chins except done with body stationary and bar moves down)
• Wide grip seated cable rows with bar
• Wide grip pull to chest on back machine

Here are some choices for Lat Thickness

• Close grip seated cable row (use small V bar that keeps hand close together)
• Close grip bent over barbell pull ups
• Close grip overhead cable pull down to chest (same V bar above)
• One arm bent over dumbbell pull ups
• Close grip on the back machine

Let's Turn your attention to the Serratus.

Picture Below. See the muscle right at the base of the Lats near the Abs.

No, I am not going to give you a class in muscle names but this muscle deserves some attention since they compliments the Abs. The Serratus are those small finger like muscle of the Back that individually attachd into the ribs. Remember I said they look like the gills on a shark, rippling and notched to the ribs. I think these muscles are cool and are fun to work. Now I am sure the Serratus get hit somewhere along with other back exercises but it’s worth doing one exercise that targets these little good looking muscles.

Here's how you hit ‘em (I wished I had a picture because it is worth at least a few hundreds words to describe).

Go to the cable crossover machine. Take one side of the cable machine with the pulley located in the up position over your head. Put a small straight ~ 18” bar on the clip. Grab the bar on the ends or shoulder width. Step back from the pulley so that the arms are pulled upward. At the waist, angle the torso with the chest toward the ground at about 45 degrees.

So here’s the position in summary (see picture below for start position):

• Legs vertical
• Torso 45 degrees toward ground
• Arms straight and pulled upward toward the top cable machine

Here's the exercise:

• Keeping your Legs, Torso and Arms fixed, pull the weight down toward the knees. The rotation is at shoulder. The work is provided by the Serratus to get the weight down. Allow the weight to come up fully to stretch the Serratus and fully down to almost touching the Legs. (Wow I hope you understood this. If not write me and maybe I will photo someone doing this one)

Tricks to doing this exercise right.

• Don’t move the arms or you’ll end up with a Tricep exercise
• Instead of gripping the bar with your hands, try placing the wrist over the bar with you hands wrapped around and under. This will help you avoid Forearm fatique.
• Legs need not be completely stiff but can have a slight break angle at the knee

Okay on the lower back.

Lower back if often over looked but an essential to complete back workout. Your vertebras are supported by the back muscles and lower back pain can be a result of these muscles being overlooked. Here are some choices of exercises for the lower back:

• Dead lifts
• “Good Mornings”- Barbell on shoulders while taking a bow. In other words, rotate the chest to be parallel to the ground while holding the barbell on the shoulders.
• Hyperextensions on the Roman Chair

Let’s put it all together:

• Do 3-4 exercises for the Width of the Back
• Do 3-4 exercises for the Thickness of the Back
• Do 1 exercise for the Serratus
• Do 2 exercises for the lower back

How many sets and reps? …Read this for that discussion.

Get with your Back exercises and the next time you swagger down the street, those following will notice!

Sweat eventually hardens to Muscle".....Scott

This article is property of Bodybuilding Program Zone and may not be reproduced without written permission from Scott Jameson. Besides it wouldn't be right....Scott