Most weight lifters, bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts spend most of their gym time focusing on pecs, delts, and biceps which are “showy” in nature. But serious trainees focus on building a huge back. The quickest way to look big and strong is to developing a wide, thick back and massive traps which is visible even wearing heavy clothing. It is perhaps the most standout body part a person can develop this is because the lats, rhomboids, traps, and spinal erectors make up the vast majority of the muscle mass above a person’s waistline. Shown below are 5 exercises that can be used to build a big back:

1. Pull-Ups / Chin-Ups

It is one of the best tests to build upper-body strength. It also helps to build wide lats. While similar results can be achieved with pull-downs, most trainees believe that focusing on pull-ups for the first few years of a person’s weight training pays great dividends towards lat size, back strength, and grip strength.

Pull-ups can be done in many ways. The three most common grips to use are wide and pronated (palms facing away), moderate width and supinated (palms toward you, often called a “chin-up”), and close grip and parallel. One should try all three to see which suits their lats the most. With time and practice one should start adding extra weight with a pull-up belt to make their exercise more challenging.

2. Barbell Rows

There are numerous ways to simulate the rowing motion in a gym, but perhaps the best all-around rowing movement is the barbell row. It allows the use of very heavy weights while still keeping acceptable form, and it actually aids many trainees’ bench press strength.
Barbell rows should be done with ones torso bent at about a 45-degree angle, and palms pronated, a moderately wide grip, and a belt and straps if needed .One should not be afraid to put a little jerk into the motion. As long as the exercise focused on the back there should be no problem.

3. Dumbbell Rows

Barbell rows are considered to be the best rowing exercise by most people but the dumbbell row can be just as effective. Because a person is using only one hand at a time, the other hand can be used to brace oneself and give themselves a little help when the movement gets harder. This would allow the trainees to use quite a bit more weight on each side than if they did both at once.

The best way to do dumbbell rows is to use straps, choke up on the handle, and really rip the weight up as fast as one can, similar to the motion a person uses to start a lawn mower. Most lifters normally use a flat bench to brace themselves, but a three-point stance can be taken as well, with the free hand on a dumbbell rack, and the feet spread wide and solidly placed.

4. Close Grip Pull-Downs

Pull-ups may be the best bet for building a wide back but adding cable pull-downs into the routine can also be of great advantage, especially when the back gets tired from other pulling movements. A lot of advanced lifers who have made the most out of pull-ups use pull-downs as their main lat-builder.

It has been found that by using the close grip, DD handle that most people use for seated rows works best for hitting the lats with pull-downs. Some people often complain that using the pronated and underhand variations never seem to work with their lats nor does their pull-up counterparts

5. Deadlifts

This last technique is not only the best back exercise that one can do, but it is considered one of the best all-around mass builders for the entire body. There are some people who prefer to use partial-range deadlifts to stimulate their back, but the best back-building results from doing the conventional (feet close), full range exercise. This technique allows most trainees to handle more weight than on any other exercise .It has also proven to be one of the best movements for the lats and traps. Evidence can be found by looking at any good powerlifter’s traps.

The best way to perform deadlifts is to use very heavy weights for low reps of 4-6 at most, and then drop the weight a little to do a set of around 8 reps. But using too high in reps on this movement will remove the benefit of using very heavy weights and will cause ones form to break down and possibly cause them injury.