Question specifically for people that turned their BACK from a weak to a good or even a strong bodypart

[massephase]

As the title says - I am interested in hearing from people that struggled with developing their backs, especially their lats, who changed their approach in some way and as a result brought up their back significantly.

I would prefer that everyone reflect themselves before they post their opinions on whether:
1) they actually had a weakness in their back compared to the rest of their bodyparts (vs. just a general lack of development everywhere) and
2) whether they actually ever achieved good overall development from a bodybuilding POV.

Thanks ^^

 

[traininsane11]

3) before and after photos of said back must be present for evidence

Sorry bro just ruled out 80% of the forum from contributing

 

[Sully1234]

Your Guide to a Mountain Dog Back

For elitefts advisor John Meadows, back training started as a mystery. Years ago, John considered his back a weak point and, as a result, has made sure to prioritize it in more recent years. To do so, he utilized the basics: barbell rows, chinups, and deadlifts. But even with these great...

elitefts.com

This came to mind but that's all I'll comment.

 

[td]

Your Guide to a Mountain Dog Back

For elitefts advisor John Meadows, back training started as a mystery. Years ago, John considered his back a weak point and, as a result, has made sure to prioritize it in more recent years. To do so, he utilized the basics: barbell rows, chinups, and deadlifts. But even with these great...

elitefts.com

This came to mind but that's all I'll comment.

I personally haven't solved this puzzle yet but the @mountaindog discussion was immediately what came to mind for me too

 

[ninetynineHGH]

Learn to contract your lats in the exact motion of an exercise, say for example rows. Imitate the movement with no weight, just flexing and contracting your lats. Then do the same thing with weight in your hands.

 

[bbxtreme]

1. Learn to control the eccentric.
2. Always be progressing on force production.
3. Limit cables and machines. Focus on plate and dumbell rows with 1 and 2.

Once you learn to truly pull from the lats and control the eccentric things will take off.

One trick Toney Freeman taught me for dialing in muscle engagement that’s stuck with me over the years is to imagine that you are pulling your elbow into your rhomboid as you perform each rep on a back movement.

Training back should be just as hard as training legs IMO.

 

[Testabolin]

My back sucked until a few a years ago,
Biceps were huge but no back engagement.

Learned to push with the elbows not pull with the arms.

As said above , control the eccentric , with that said use manageable weights and don’t bounce the weight , just engages the golgi tendon bodies and muscle spindles, doesn’t lead to more hypertrophy.

Get set up right, engage the muscle throughout the whole length, concentrate only on the muscle being worked, nothing else matters at that moment.

Every set and every rep counts, no slop!

 

[AllOkJumpmaster]

one of my favorite videos, and techniques of all time. I do this before every pull day.

Joe Bennett has also some good videos about activation of the lats before your work sets. Nothing on my body is worth a shit except my legs, the best I have been and will be is winning a middling WNBF pro show. But that Meadows video really helped me change feeling my back on rows, and ensure I was rowing properly and using too much arms.

 

[Testabolin]

 

[neutrino]

2 words: barbell rows.....lots and lots of barbell rows. My back was ok. Started doing barbell rows regularly over the past year. Recently I dug a shirt out of the closed that I had not worn in a minute and back was tiiiiite - lats were stretching the shit out of it. Granted, it was only an XL

 

[hawkmoon]

Only specific exercise adjustment I made was rack pulls for overall thickness.

Biggest improvement was achieved by forgetting about the weight and resetting expectations, prioritizing form. I used what I call the "Yates rule" - if you cannot freeze the load midway in the path of the movement, you do not have control and it should be reduced and built back up. I do this in every movement.

At 48 I had the best back of my life.

 

[AllOkJumpmaster]

Only specific exercise adjustment I made was rack pulls for overall thickness.

Biggest improvement was achieved by forgetting about the weight and resetting expectations, prioritizing form. I used what I call the "Yates rule" - if you cannot freeze the load midway in the path of the movement, you do not have control and it should be reduced and built back up. I do this in every movement.

At 48 I had the best back of my life.

View attachment 256704

holy shit dude, I have seen your pics before in other threads, but this back shot is ridiculous.

 

[hawkmoon]

holy shit dude, I have seen your pics before in other threads, but this back shot is ridiculous.

Very kind, thanks

 

[massephase]

2 words: barbell rows.....lots and lots of barbell rows. My back was ok. Started doing barbell rows regularly over the past year. Recently I dug a shirt out of the closed that I had not worn in a minute and back was tiiiiite - lats were stretching the shit out of it. Granted, it was only an XL

Interesting, I had the opposite experience actually. How much do you barbell row for reps now?

 

[Fleezy]

Figure 8 straps

 

[maxrep24]

John had some great articles on t-nation years ago, this one he talks about how his back was a weak point and how he brought it up

A Monstrous Back: The Mountain Dog Way

by John Meadows Does your physique disappear from behind? Coach Meadows says you need a healthy dose of the two P's: perseverance, and pain tolerance. Back in the Day In my early days of competing, I modeled my leg training after Tom Platz as he had the best legs in the world. Not surprisingly...

t-nation.com

 

[slayer37]

As the title says - I am interested in hearing from people that struggled with developing their backs, especially their lats, who changed their approach in some way and as a result brought up their back significantly.

I would prefer that everyone reflect themselves before they post their opinions on whether:
1) they actually had a weakness in their back compared to the rest of their bodyparts (vs. just a general lack of development everywhere) and
2) whether they actually ever achieved good overall development from a bodybuilding POV.

Thanks ^^

2-3 years between the small back and the bigger back.
Learning how to connect with the lats by focusing on driving the elbows into my pocket was the key. I eventually got to a point where I could get through a whole back workout without getting a bicep pump.

 

[massephase]

2-3 years between the small back and the bigger back.
Learning how to connect with the lats by focusing on driving the elbows into my pocket was the key. I eventually got to a point where I could get through a whole back workout without getting a bicep pump.

thanks but it looks like you grew pretty proportionally to me, at least from the pictures you posted.

 

[alfresco]

Prone weighted chin-ups

Any kind of rowing movement.

 

[Brahma]

Started every back day with a single arm lat low with bench pulled up to cable stack . I picked them up from Jason Lowe ( RIP ) . After smoking this movement first. Everything after really gets in those back muscles deep. Finally got this back growing again