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Deadlifting and Rows For a Thick Back

Author: Dane C. Fletcher
Date Posted: February 07, 2009

When beginning bodybuilders first enter the gym, they often see the lat pulldown bar as the best invention since sliced bread. They aren't yet able to complete bodyweight chin-ups or pull-ups, because their arms cannot pull their own body weight. However, they sure can pull down that very fun "cable doohickey" exercise, and they make the most of it. The attractiveness of the machine increases, as the newbie trainer notices his lats begin to flare for the first time, and discovers a hardness in the arms and shoulders that was never there before.

After a few months of training back using only able exercises such as lat pulldowns, a void becomes apparent. The back is getting wider and harder, but it's not getting thicker. As the chest, arms, shoulders, and legs become thicker; the back is only becoming a tad wider. It's not growing "out", attaining that surreal thickness that you see on bodybuilders standing still where they just look like two human beings stuck together. That kind of thickness doesn't arrive from lat pulldowns, no matter how heavy you go. For those exercises, you have to employ bodyweight and free weights. Let's check out the exercises which most allow for this kind of growth.

Bodyweight Pull-ups

Start with chin-ups using an overhand grip. This is the exact same movement as the pull-down using the lat bar, but it recruits a great deal more muscle fibers. As you become more and more advanced with this movement, you can begin hanging a few weight plates from your weight bench to increase the workload.

Deadlifts

Deadlifts are the cornerstone exercise for a thick, solid back. Always use a weight belt when completing this exercise. Be sure to use the hands as "hooks" when moving through this movement. Require the back to move the weight - not your arms. When you first begin deadlifts, use the 15-20 repetition range with a very light weight to get the hang of it. Add ten pounds per week to the weight being moved until you're in the 6 to 8 repetition range, using very heavy weights (for you). Deadlifts help protect the lower back from injury, and build up the back, glutes, and other muscle groups from secondary stimulation. This exercise can be completed with dumbbells as well, for variation or if a barbell isn't available.

Barbell Rows

This movement is risky, and should be started after you've become proficient in both pull-ups and deadlifts. Use your hands like hooks, bend over at a 90 degree angle perpendicular to the floor, and move the barbell is a slow, controlled manner. This movement works the upper back and lats, and is responsible for the highly muscled upper backs you see on many bodybuilders. You can also do 1-armed dumbbell rows on a flat bench to further isolate the lats and target different areas of the back based upon hand positioning.

Lat pulldowns are great, but they're only the start. Learn each of these movements, and complete them regularly using good weight and safe form, and you'll soon see your back exploding to new levels!

About The Author

Dane Fletcher is the world's most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit http://www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals.

Article Source: JKD Street Combat - online collection of bodybuilding articles.

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