By Sean Nalewanyj
http://musclegaintruth.atozfitness.com <= Build Muscle Naturally!
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Let’s be honest here…
For most aspiring lifters, an impressive physique is all about a
huge chest and arms. Week after week they slave away on endless
sets of bench presses and barbell curls in search of the rippling
muscle gains they want so badly.
Not surprisingly, those gains never appear in any significant
form.
While a well developed chest and arms is clearly an important
part of any complete physique, the truth is that these muscles
only play a small role when compared to a much larger, much more
intricate muscle group that most people severely neglect in their
training programs.
I am, of course, talking about the major muscles of the back:
the lats, traps, spinal erectors, rhomboids and lower back.
Allow me to let you in on a little secret…
If you want to appear as wide, thick and powerful as you
possibly can, nothing will allow you to achieve this goal faster
than a well developed back.
In fact, 70% of your upper body muscle mass resides in this
area!
Please, get up off that bench press and put down that EZ-curl
bar for just a moment and let me share a simple, step-by-step
workout that you can use to build the muscular back you so
desperately need.
There are 4 major movements that you must perform to properly
develop your back…
1) Deadlifts
I cannot possibly stress the importance of this lift enough.
There is not a single exercise out there that can even come close
to matching the effectiveness of a basic, bent-legged barbell
deadlift.
The deadlift will work you from finger to neck to toe and is
irreplaceable in developing strong, thick back muscles.
2) A vertical pulling movement
These exercises mainly target the lat muscles and will help you
to attain that wide, v-tapered look from behind. Examples of
vertical pulling movements are chin-ups (overhand or underhand),
lat pulldowns and v-bar pulldowns.
3) A horizontal pulling movement
Otherwise referred to as “rows”, horizontal pulling
movements place their emphasis on the upper/middle portion of the
back and also stimulate the lats. There are a ton of different
rowing movements to choose from: bent over barbell rows, dumbbell
rows, seated machine rows and cable rows just to name a few.
4) A shrugging movement
While not quite as important as the above mentioned lifts, a
shrugging movement should still be performed at the end of the
workout to target the upper traps and develop that mountainous,
diamond-shaped look from behind.
Okay, let's put it all together…
Deadlifts – 2 sets of 5 to 7 reps
Overhand Chin-Ups – 2 sets of 5 to 7 reps
Bent Over Barbell Rows – 2 sets of 5 to 7 reps
Barbell Shrugs – 2 Sets of 10 to 12 reps
For optimal gains in back size and strength, the above routine
is ideal.
It may not seem like a lot, but as long as you take every set to
muscular failure and focus on quality rather than quantity, this
routine provides more than enough stimulation for maximum back
growth.
Perform this workout once per week with full effort and I
guarantee that your upper body will appear thicker, wider and
more muscular than ever before.
Sean
=============================================
Lewis, Publisher
Sarah, CPT
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