Aspiring Body Builders......

[oldfella]

I just wanted to give a solid piece of advice to some of the up and comers in the game and also to some that have been in it for a while.

With the recent spate of competitors hitting the stage lately and a bunch more getting ready for up and coming shows one thing that seems to be cropping up in the pics you guys are putting up.................BACK!!

Now this is all constructive criticism and not aimed at any one individual. But so many guys put up pics as they are prepping for shows and the one critique that I and others would definitely pick is the lack of thickness to your backs!! Is this a case of out of sight out of mind? Is it a case of not picking the right exercises to get the job done? Or is it a case of "Well it looks good enough to me" so I will focus on the rest of me, namely arms and shoulders. Guys, place a higher importance on your backs and leave the arms to themselves. It is a thick powerful looking back that will get you over the line more than a big set of pipes! Really spend some of your valuable time and hard efforts on improving this area of your physique. Take a leaf out of some of our recent members here like b-boy (now this man's got a back) Dusty ( another thick, strong looking back) Shelby ( one of the most dilligent guys here and look at his back). Ask any of them how they did it..............Heavy basic movements......deads, rows, chins. I would bet they all had one thing in common............they were religious about back training. Just get some honest critiques of your back poses, get some experienced eyes to really have a good look, do not be afraid of what you might here instead of the usual patronizing "bro you look awesome". Does our very own PHIL buy into the patronizing? No he does not. But at least the man will tell you what he sees and what he does not see!! SO STOP LOOKING AT YOUR DAMNED ARMS ALL THE TIME and get on to what you can't see very much of!!! YOUR BACK!!

I want to close by saying that we have some absolutely incredible talent on this board. We also have some brilliant up and coming stars in the making............take the good advice and knuckle down to the real deal of training. Hard and heavy builds thick dense muscle. Ask any of our guys or some of the top pros how they got there? I wish you all the very best in your pursuits of muscle and the unltimate physique!!

 

[Emery]

Thanks for the advice.

I know how easy it is to get wrapped up in arms and chest. I appreciate the advice!

 

[Thick1]

Good post Oldfella, I would just like to add that hamstrings fall into that back area category that seems out of sight out of mine, guys have nice sweeping quads but when doing side chest and back poses the weakness is revealed.

 

[BigChef]

Good to see you back Oldfella haha! Great advice! I always look at my arms and I guess you are right. B-Boy back is thick as hell!! What do you recommend for a good back excercise? I remember B-Boy was saying anything that is wide grip!

 

[b-boy]

Good to see you back Oldfella haha! Great advice! I always look at my arms and I guess you are right. B-Boy back is thick as hell!! What do you recommend for a good back excercise? I remember B-Boy was saying anything that is wide grip!

i guess i better make something clear... "as wide as you are comfortable with" if its uncomfortable then don't go that wide. I have always done wide chins, so thats what i prefer, but back thickness comes from excersises like deads and rows, when i was younger all i did was pullups, bent over barbell rows, and some cable rows, or t-bar rows. i didn't start really get into deadlifting until i was about 30 yrs old so i have only been deadlifting for the last 8 years.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

good post.


im an aspiring BB (currently plan on doing a show in early 2011) and back is my favorite part to train. i naturally have a thick waist so i really believe that making my back as wide as humanly possible (or at least that illusion) will help me. thanks for the advice man

 

[Shelby]

Good post Oldfella, I would just like to add that hamstrings fall into that back area category that seems out of sight out of mine, guys have nice sweeping quads but when doing side chest and back poses the weakness is revealed.

x2 for hamstrings

 

[BigChef]

i guess i better make something clear... "as wide as you are comfortable with" if its uncomfortable then don't go that wide. I have always done wide chins, so thats what i prefer, but back thickness comes from excersises like deads and rows, when i was younger all i did was pullups, bent over barbell rows, and some cable rows, or t-bar rows. i didn't start really get into deadlifting until i was about 30 yrs old so i have only been deadlifting for the last 8 years.

Thanks for the valuable advice B-Boy!

 

[Lenny]

I just wanted to give a solid piece of advice to some of the up and comers in the game and also to some that have been in it for a while.

With the recent spate of competitors hitting the stage lately and a bunch more getting ready for up and coming shows one thing that seems to be cropping up in the pics you guys are putting up.................BACK!!

Now this is all constructive criticism and not aimed at any one individual. But so many guys put up pics as they are prepping for shows and the one critique that I and others would definitely pick is the lack of thickness to your backs!! Is this a case of out of sight out of mind? Is it a case of not picking the right exercises to get the job done? Or is it a case of "Well it looks good enough to me" so I will focus on the rest of me, namely arms and shoulders. Guys, place a higher importance on your backs and leave the arms to themselves. It is a thick powerful looking back that will get you over the line more than a big set of pipes! Really spend some of your valuable time and hard efforts on improving this area of your physique. Take a leaf out of some of our recent members here like b-boy (now this man's got a back) Dusty ( another thick, strong looking back) Shelby ( one of the most dilligent guys here and look at his back). Ask any of them how they did it..............Heavy basic movements......deads, rows, chins. I would bet they all had one thing in common............they were religious about back training. Just get some honest critiques of your back poses, get some experienced eyes to really have a good look, do not be afraid of what you might here instead of the usual patronizing "bro you look awesome". Does our very own PHIL buy into the patronizing? No he does not. But at least the man will tell you what he sees and what he does not see!! SO STOP LOOKING AT YOUR DAMNED ARMS ALL THE TIME and get on to what you can't see very much of!!! YOUR BACK!!

I want to close by saying that we have some absolutely incredible talent on this board. We also have some brilliant up and coming stars in the making............take the good advice and knuckle down to the real deal of training. Hard and heavy builds thick dense muscle. Ask any of our guys or some of the top pros how they got there? I wish you all the very best in your pursuits of muscle and the unltimate physique!!

I am trying, I promise I am trying

Been working on some animal like workouts as of lately to try to spark a even better response!

But, very true on the "not see" muscles seem to a common lagging bodypart for many.

 

[ssdark1]

i guess i better make something clear... "as wide as you are comfortable with" if its uncomfortable then don't go that wide. I have always done wide chins, so thats what i prefer, but back thickness comes from excersises like deads and rows, when i was younger all i did was pullups, bent over barbell rows, and some cable rows, or t-bar rows. i didn't start really get into deadlifting until i was about 30 yrs old so i have only been deadlifting for the last 8 years.

hey bboy....how much of a difference do you think deadlifting made? its the one exercise that i neglect, honestly, out of laziness and the fact that i just dont like doing them. im diligent with the rows and pullups but deads are something i keep telling myself that i need to stop being puss and build up to some decent weight..,

 

[Emery]

I have been hitting heavy bent over rows and deadlifts for the past 9 months. My traps and lats have really started to take shape and get big!

I am not getting as sore anymore but damn... after a heavy back workout at the end of an already long day and I am just spent!!

 

[b-boy]

hey bboy....how much of a difference do you think deadlifting made? its the one exercise that i neglect, honestly, out of laziness and the fact that i just dont like doing them. im diligent with the rows and pullups but deads are something i keep telling myself that i need to stop being puss and build up to some decent weight..,

good question, one i can't really answer, I "think" that it helped with overall back thickness, but here is a pic of a young b-boy {20 something yrs old) and i never ever touched a deadlift, i use to think it was a movement that only fat ass powerlifters use to do...LOL "i really did think that" but all i did was pullups, bent over rows, cable rows, and t-bar rows, but i was one pullup doing mofo

 

[ssdark1]

thanks for the reply...

well, regardless of the exercises i do or don't do my back isn't going to look like that....but it does illustrate that you can build an awesome back on pull ups and rows....though a lot of that pic is just pure genetics, not saying you didn't work hard to get there, just that it might be pointless for me to try to take the fact that thats an awesome back without deads and compare that to my training and goals. my genetics might require some serious deads to look like yours without them...i am unsure

 

[b-boy]

well, regardless of the exercises i do or don't do my back isn't going to look like that....but it does illustrate that you can build an awesome back on pull ups and rows....though a lot of that pic is just pure genetics, not saying you didn't work hard to get there, just that it might be pointless for me to try to take the fact that thats an awesome back without deads and compare that to my training and goals. my genetics might require some serious deads to look like yours without them...i am unsure

well if i had a back pic from my jr. year of wrestling when i was always lean you would see that i had your average joe back! I honestly did not have anything like that till i was about mid way through my senior year, cause i remember my sister telling me "damn your back is getting big". when i got out of highschool and joined the army and ran into some local north carolina bodybuilders and started training with them is when my back REALLY transformed! now here is the kicker of it all, if you look at all of my local workout partners they ALL have excellent back development! EXCELLENT! so now is it genetics or training?

 

[tkav1980]

Big Back = Big pulls. Thats it. Nothing more. Get strong in all your back movements ESPECIALLY DEADLIFTS, and youll have a big back.

 

[tenny]

Big Back = Big pulls. Thats it. Nothing more. Get strong in all your back movements ESPECIALLY DEADLIFTS, and youll have a big back.

this is a bullshit statement

i do deads 2 times a month

405 for 15
495 for 10
585 for 5
650 for a double
and regularly do widow maker deads with 315 for 30+ reps

and my back sucks

 

[oldfella]

I believe what t-kav and others here are saying. Nothing will produce muscle density for back than heavy ass pulling movements. Deadlift being the Jewel in the crown. Next time you get to sit down and ask a question to one of the top in our game "How did you build your back"? The answer will most likely be "Deadlifts" "heavy and lots of em".

I will ask you this b-boy...........Once you started doing big lifts from the floor would it be safe to say, that is when you sprouted your wings?? I still mean this when I say "Take a look at Ronnie Colemans Back in a back dbl bi and look at b-boy's....................striking similarity"!! Ask RC how he got his back that big..........Deads!! It is a brutal exercise to do but will yeild the greatest benefits as far as muscularity. Shelby?? Would you agree that in a line up viewed from the back it is easy to pick out who trains back with deads vs the non deadlift guys? Just keep in mind when you train on back days..........Give it the best chance possible to grow!! Put your heart into it!

I always had the opinion of since I can't see it very well I will train it extra well so I do not get caught short at a showing!!

 

[tkav1980]

this is a bullshit statement

i do deads 2 times a month

405 for 15
495 for 10
585 for 5
650 for a double
and regularly do widow maker deads with 315 for 30+ reps

and my back sucks

Id bet dollars to doughnuts your is much better than mine because your lifts are all much bigger. but im workin on it so get off my as of yet not so large back...lol

 

[cecray3]

What you're saying is the absolute truth! I've NEVER seen a TRULY BIG dude without a big back!

 

[b-boy]

I believe what t-kav and others here are saying. Nothing will produce muscle density for back than heavy ass pulling movements. Deadlift being the Jewel in the crown. Next time you get to sit down and ask a question to one of the top in our game "How did you build your back"? The answer will most likely be "Deadlifts" "heavy and lots of em".

I will ask you this b-boy...........Once you started doing big lifts from the floor would it be safe to say, that is when you sprouted your wings?? I still mean this when I say "Take a look at Ronnie Colemans Back in a back dbl bi and look at b-boy's....................striking similarity"!! Ask RC how he got his back that big..........Deads!! It is a brutal exercise to do but will yeild the greatest benefits as far as muscularity. Shelby?? Would you agree that in a line up viewed from the back it is easy to pick out who trains back with deads vs the non deadlift guys? Just keep in mind when you train on back days..........Give it the best chance possible to grow!! Put your heart into it!

I always had the opinion of since I can't see it very well I will train it extra well so I do not get caught short at a showing!!

to be honest NO! my wings got huge with weighted pullups, the heavier i was able to go the wider my lats got, I will stand by pullups and bent over rows for back development. deadlifts were just icing on the cake for me! made everything a lil thicker and nastier..LOL