6 Best Back Exercises for Mass Building to Get a Thicker, Wider Back

Summary 

A quick overview of the 6 best back exercises for mass gaining!

1. Wide-Grip Pull-Ups: because of your joint placement, wide-grip pull-up offers a longer range of motion and works your upper lats.
2. Close-Grip Pull-Downs: this exercise fires up your mid back area.
3. Bent Over Barbell Deadlifts: although a complex exercise, it works your entire back muscles.
4. Barbell Deadlifts: this compound exercise is crucial for your back day workouts, targeting upper and lower back muscles.
5. Standing T-Bar Rows: allowing a full stretch, this exercise contracts your middle back and lats.
6. Wide-Grip Seated Cable Rows: this exercise engages your lats and upper back muscles.

If you’re a beginner and feel nervous around all the machines, you can always go for back workouts with dumbbells!

Elevate Your Back Routine with the Perfect Workout Clothes

You need men’s gym clothes for an elevated back workout experience. If you’re not comfortable in your gear, then you won’t feel at-ease during your lifts. Some of the best options for back day gym wear include:

• Stringers
• Tanks
• Gym T-shirts

Once you’ve picked out your breathable, performance gear, it’s time to hit those back muscles.

6 Best Back Exercises for Mass - Level Up Your Pull Days!

There are a number of back exercises you can perform, but all of them target different parts of the back and provide a different result.

The following six exercises are meant to provide thickness and broadness in your back making for a better bod frame and back strength.

Wide-Grip Pull-Ups

Targeted Muscles: lats, rhomboids, teres major, lower traps, biceps, brachialis, brachioradialis and abs.
Sets: 2-3.
Reps: 8 to 12.
Rest: 45-60 seconds
How to Perform Wide-Grip Pull-Ups?

• Whether you're starting out or pushing your limits, adapt the weight accordingly.
• Find a solid bar or one with handles, holding it comfortably.
• Engage your shoulder blades by pulling them down.
• Draw your elbows in toward your back pockets.
• Push your chest forward without over-arching your back.
• Lift yourself until your elbows hug your sides.
• Pause at the top with your chin above the bar.
• Lower yourself under control.
• Aim for 8-12 reps or challenge yourself until failure.

Close-Grip Pull-Downs

Targeted Muscles: lats, rhomboids, teres major and teres minor, lower traps or anterior deltoid, and biceps.
Sets: 3.
Reps: 8 to 12.
Rest: 1.5-2 minutes.
How to Perform Close-Grip Pull-Downs?

• Attach the V-extension to the pull-down machine.
• Adjust the cushion to your mid-thigh area for stability.
• Slightly arch your back.
• Pull down the V-extension, focusing on squeezing your lats.
• Keep your back arched as you pull the weight down.
• Control your negatives to feel the stretch in your back.
• Repeat for 8-12 reps.

If you’re at an advanced level, you can consider doing isolated lats workouts to get that massive, ripped back!

Bent Over Barbell Deadlifts

Targeted Muscles: lats, lower back, upper back, rhomboids, teres major and teres minor, lower traps or anterior deltoid, biceps, forearms, quads, glutes, and hamstrings.
Sets: 3.
Reps: 8 to 12.
Rest: 2 minutes.
How to Perform Bent Over Barbell Deadlifts?

• Load weights onto the barbell and stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
• Align hands with shoulders and use a double overhand grip.
• Keep arms just outside knees, tucked into side pockets.
• Hinge hips slightly and lift, driving feet into the ground.
• Retract shoulder blades as you lift.
• Push hips forward as barbell crosses thighs.
• Hinge hips again, back and chest parallel to ground.
• Brace core, row barbell to sternum, arms parallel to floor.
• Control the negative, repeat for 8-12 reps.

Barbell Deadlifts

Targeted Muscles: lats, lower back, quads, glutes, and hamstrings.
Sets: 3.
Reps: 8 to 12.
Rest: 45-60 seconds.
How to Perform Barbell Deadlifts?

• Stand close to the barbell, so it's over the middle of your feet.
• Reach down and grab the barbell just outside your shins.
• Push your knees forward without bending your shins and lower your hips.
• Stick your chest out and pull your shoulders back.
• Gently push your knees outward toward your forearms.
• Pull the barbell up along your legs by extending your hips and back to a neutral position.
• Lower the bar while hinging at your hips, keeping it in contact with your legs throughout.
• Repeat for 8-12 reps.

Standing T-Bar Rows

Targeted Muscles: lats, trapezius, rhomboids, teres major and minor, lower back, biceps, brachialis and brachioradialis.
Sets: 3.
Reps: 8 to 12.
Rest: 45 seconds.
How to Perform Standing T-Bar Rows?

• Stand on the T-bar platform and attach a narrow-grip V-bar extension.
• Add enough weight for a full range of motion that challenges your muscles.
• Slightly bend your knees to hinge at your hips.
• Keep your back neutral and your chest proud.
• Pull the bar towards your upper chest by driving your elbows to your sides.
• Maintain a solid stance; avoid using your pelvis for momentum.
• Don't go too wide with your stance to maintain balance.
• Lower the bar under control, focusing on the negative portion.
• Repeat for 8-12 reps per set.

Wide-Grip Seated Cable Rows

Targeted Muscles: lats, trapezius, rear delts, rhomboids, biceps, forearm flexors and rotator cuffs.
Sets: 3.
Reps: 8 to 12.
Rest: 45-60 seconds.
How to Perform Wide-Grip Seated Cable Rows?

• Sit down at the rowing machine with your shoulders back and chest out.
• Grab the long bar from the ends and keep your elbows close to your sides.
• Engage your back muscles to pull the bar towards your abs.
• Avoid using momentum to lift the weights; focus on your muscles.
• When lowering the weight, control the movement and let your back stretch.
• Repeat for 8-12 reps in each set.

Important Tips for Muscle Activation to Build a Huge Back

If you’re struggling to activate your back muscles, you should look into practicing these exercises with lighter weights or bodyweights. In addition, you should try to understand back muscles anatomy. This will help you develop a strong mind-muscle connection when you’re lifting weights. As a result, you’ll be able to engage your muscles to the max!

Benefits Of Having a Broader Back

Some of the benefits of building a strong, broad, and huge back include:

Functional Strength

With a strong back, functional tasks such as carrying the groceries, lifting heavy objects, and doing any kind of pull or push movements feel like a walk in the park. This assists you in your daily life and minimizes the risk of injuries.

Structural Importance

Neglecting the muscles in your back leads to more than just physical imbalances—it can have far-reaching consequences for your overall well-being. Your back plays a pivotal role in supporting your body's structure and function. If you fail to strengthen these muscles, you’re at a risk of:

• Pain in the neck and shoulders
• Poor mobility and flexibility
• Postural problems
• Injuries

Creates Balance in the Body

Achieving a well-balanced physique isn't about developing the muscles you see in the mirror. It's about ensuring harmony and symmetry throughout your entire body. This is especially true if your chest, shoulders, and bis and tris are well-built.

Imagine – how odd would it look to have a well-earned overall physique with poor back muscles? Putting those muscles to work to get a huge back not only adds to structural and functional strength of your body – it also adds to your body’s overall balance.

Aesthetic Appeal

When it comes to muscle-building, it's easy to focus on the muscles you admire in the mirror—your biceps, chest, abs, and more! These are the "show muscles" that grab your attention right away. But here's the deal – neglecting your back means missing the key to that broad, impressive frame you want.

Your back muscles are your secret weapon in creating a striking and powerful physique. So, if you want not just the structural and functional benefits but also the aesthetic beauty, you gotta work that back!

4 Insider Techniques to Bulk Up Your Back

When it comes to building a mighty Titan back, the secret lies in the details of your training – especially your technique. There are a lot of people who it the gym daily but don’t see results despite putting in the time and work. The reason? terrible technique!

If you want to supercharge your back muscle growth without getting injured, then here are 4 ways you can master your technique!

1. Mix Up the Rep Range:

• While the 8-12 rep range is the muscle-building sweet spot, don't paint yourself into a corner. Your genetic makeup and muscle fibre types are unique, so let your training program reflect that.
• Our back-blasting program is all about diversity. We recommend hitting your back multiple times each week, cycling through rep ranges like 5-10, 10-20, and 20-30 reps. This eclectic approach guarantees turbocharged back strength and size.

2. Master Your Motion:

• Prioritize range of motion over weights. If racking up weights prevents a full range of motion, then it's better to go lighter with optimal range of movement.
• As you master a full range of motion, you’ll be able to target muscles in your back you’ve never worked before. This creates maximum tension in your muscles, especially during the lengthening phase under load.
• Opting for a full range of motion not only amps up muscle activation but also delivers growth without causing stress on your joints.

3. Excel Your Eccentrics

• To boost muscle tension, control your eccentrics or your lowering movement.
• By prioritizing your eccentrics, you’ll also prevent injuries that could be fatal to your back gains.
• With controlled negatives, you’ll feel the burn as you guide the weight down and feel your back muscles stretch, preparing for the next rep.

4. Pause for Emphasis

• With purposeful pauses during your lift, you’ll be able to crank up the intensity of your lift without even adding weights.
• 3-5 second pauses during contracted position maximize your muscle engagement, turning your regular workout into an explosive one.

Too shy to try out techniques at the gym? Then refine your lifting techniques with basic, bodyweight back workouts at home.

Workout Routine – From Beginner to a Pro

Keeping the above exercises in mind, here’s a quick back workout routine for you when you go for back day at the gym. If you’re new working out, it’s important for you to set a realistic workout routine to get that huge back all the ladies love.

Start off slow, steady, and light by incorporating the 6 best back exercises for mass mentioned in this blog. An ideal back workout routine should look like:

• Light jogging to HIIT running (based on your stamina)
• Pull-up and pull-down movements for width
• Rowing movements for thickness
• Variations of grip using different extensions to target different muscles
• Cool down exercises

Most gym rats train two muscle groups in a day. If you’ve decided on the push, pull and legs split, then you can do a full back and biceps workout on your pull days!

Back Exercises for Mass - Your Go-To Routine

Takeaways

Your back needs just as much attention as you give your abs, chest or arms, so don’t neglect your back because if you ever want to show off your strength, your back is what you will need to support you. 

FAQs

What is the best exercise for a bigger back?

For a bigger back, you need to incorporate multiple movements in your pull-day routine. Pull-ups and chin ups, barbell bent over rows, bent arm dumbbell pull overs, lat pull downs, standing T-bar pulls, single arm upright rows, seated rows, barbell shrugs and barbell deadlifts are some of the best back exercises for mass gaining.

What muscle makes your back thicker?

Your back comprises different muscle groups. Primarily, the lats are responsible for a thicker back. Secondary muscles that make your back thicker include traps, rhomboids and even your rear delts.

Do deadlifts give you a thick back?

Yes, deadlifts give you a thick back as this is a compound exercise and targets your lats, rhomboids, traps, and erectors (or lower back). However, it is important to note that you can’t build a thick back with deadlifts only. You need to incorporate the best back exercises for mass gaining such as pull downs, pull-ups, and rows. You also need to play with your grip to get fully engage your back muscles for that thick, jaw-dropping look.