Most guys is chasing width first. The V-taper… The big shoulders-small-waist physique.
Is something you want. It’s aesthetically appealing for good reason (it looks realy damn good). But width without depth can look flat, it looks like a hanger instead of person.
Building up true back thickness mean building up the vertical mass in your traps, rear delts and erectors. That’s what barbell is here to earn. The barbell enable loads that dumbbells simply do not compare with.
The spine can be steadily overloaded to form dense, structural muscle. It is not merely for mirror gazing but for developing a posterior chain capable of bearing heavy loads during other lift. The thicker the back, the more it stabilize the torso.
It shields lower spine. Transforms the upper body into a solid block instead of a bunch of loose part.
Best Barbell Exercises For Back Thickness
The Importance of Back Thickness
This one goes to the barbell bent-over row, the king.
Barbell Bent-Over Row
It apply a single load to the lats, rhomboids and mid-traps. Stabilizing the torso are the key. Aim for a hinge angle that lets you pull bar into your upper abdomen or lower chest.
Most folks begin too upright and it becomes sort of deadlift hybrid. Drop hips a little further down than before. Close the elbows near ribs.
This take the legs out of equation and isolates back muscles. This result in a pure pulling motion that builds density.
Yes, barbell pullovers may be old school, but there’s no better exercise to realy stretch lats when you’re loaded with weight.
Barbell Pullovers
It also works serratus anterior and long head of triceps, but mostly it open up the ribcage and widens the lats. The mechanics are quite easy: You lie across a bench and lower a barbell behind your head. That’s it.
The key is the stretch on the way down which is why many lifter do not use the eccentric phase. They whip the bar up in a hurry. Don’t do that.
Go slow. Let weight drag your arms back. It’ll create that sweeping, wide appearance typical of developed back.
Enter the Pendlay row: an explosive twist on the exercise beginning on ground with each repetition. It simultaneous build thickness and power. When performed correctly, the torso stay almost parallel to ground during the lift.
Pendlay Row
Pull directly into the sternum and lower under control. It’s harder on the lower back different than a traditional bent-over row. Due to weight starting at a dead stop, it use those fast-twitch fibers we sometimes don’t recruit during a normal row.
Go light and concentrate on explosiveness. This one’s going to get you breathing like crazy. But those lats are gonna thicken up.
For trap development, there is no getting around barbell shrugs. Your traps connect your upper back and shoulder muscle to your torso. If these muscles is weak, your shoulders will round forward and your posture will suffer.
Barbell Shrugs
Shrugs counterbalance this imbalance by building serious strength in these muscles. Use a pronated (overhand) grip on the bar. Maintain straight-arm position throughout.
Pull your shoulders towards your ears and pause at the top. Resist the urge to use momentum. Swing your hips if necessary to cheat the weight into place, but then you’re defeating the point.
These traps want tension, not speed. Heavy shrugs create the thick, yoke-like look that frames the rest of your body. Don’t try all of these variations at once.
Choosing Your Exercises
Choose one or two, or perhaps three, that target your weaknesss. Want stronger lats? Focus on bent-over rows and pullovers.
Need stronger traps? Throw some heavy shrugs into the mix. You should of tried them sooner.
Simplicity is key here. These exercises are brutally effective because they let you concentrate on the muscle-mind connection instead of learning a complicated technique. Develop the thickness before worrying about width.
Once those thick muscles exist, the rest will come. You’ll no longer have that canvas-like look to your back. You’ll be wearing armor.
