Back development for rookies! Training the back muscle to a decent size will give you a “Hulk” like appearance. It gives people the impression that you’re a bodybuilder. In This article, you are going to learn what the back muscle is. You’ll learn the two primary portions of the back, and exercises for these two portions. Finally, you’ll learn the best way to incorporate your back workout into your training routine. Don’t expect to perfect your workout right away. As you gain experience, you should have a good idea of what needs to be done with your back.

Back Development For Rookies – The Back

The upper back consists of twelve vertebral bodies in the spine. The upper back is not designed for motion and injuries to the thoracic spine are rare. The thoracic spine provides stability and structural support for the upper back. It allows very little motion. The lower back is a complex structure of disks, vertebrae, and nerves. This includes the spinal cord and nerves, small joints, and six shock absorbers called disks. There are also five bones called lumbar vertebrae. Back development for rookies means you have to train both the upper and lower back.

Training the upper back is the same as training any other muscle group. Low reps build mass and high reps to tone up. The following exercises are the best back exercises to achieve whatever goal you are aiming for:

Exercises

• Bent-Over Barbell Row
• T-Bar Row
• Lying T-Bar Row
• Middle Back Shrug
• One-Arm Dumbbell Row
• Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row
• Palms In Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row 
• Seated Cable Rows

That’s a lot of rows. Let’s add some exercises for width for the lats (latissimus). This is the muscles right under your armpits. The lats give you that fabled V shape.

• Pull Ups
• Chin Ups
• Lat Pulldowns

The lower back is very small and simply cannot handle as much weight as that of the upper back. The following lower back exercises are useful in developing your lower back:

• Stiff-Legged Dumbbell Deadlift
• Hyperextensions
• Superman
• Stiff Leg Barbell Good Morning
• Stiff-Legged Barbell Deadlift

Back Development For Rookies – The Deadlift

Now’s the time to learn how to deadlift. This is one of the very best exercises you can do. Some will say it is the best. It’s a full body exercise that builds strength and size fast. BUT you need to know how to do it right. Ask a trainer at your gym to show you how. Then, move this great exercise to the top of your list. Do it first on back day. You won’t regret it.

How do you choose your back development for rookies split? You need to take into consideration that the back is considered a large muscle group. It should be separated from other large muscle groups such as the chest and quads. When training, perform deadlifts, one rowing exercise, and one width exercise. At the rookie stage, it’s more about form and technique, not heavy weight. Therefore, do your warmups. Then do 2 sets of 8 reps of each exercise. Use a weight that lets you get those 8 reps with a little bit of difficulty. Work on the form. Only add weight when you can do the movement with confidence. 

Zach Bashore

May 17, 2006