Westside Barbell Back Training
Developing the back muscles should be a top priority for all athletes regardless of sport or training goals. These muscles play a significant role in strength and sports performance due to the role they play; supporting and stabilizing the spine. As we know, having a stable and adequately supported spine is the key to force production.
During any lift or sporting task, the spine will experience varying degrees of flexion and extension. While some flexion and extension are tolerable and will have no significant impact on performance, too much flexion or extension will lead to reduced nerve conduction, leading to a loss of force output and reduced performance and ability. It's simple if you want to be as strong and athletic as you can be, you need a strong back.
At Westside Barbell, we have recognized the importance of a strong and properly developed back for many years. Whether we are training a powerlifter, a football player, or a golfer, developing a strong back will always be one of our main training priorities. This will provide the athlete with improved force output capabilities and will also enhance an athlete's durability due to the spine being better supported and braced during the execution of sporting tasks.
No matter how you look at it, you cannot go wrong prioritizing strengthening the back muscles. To ensure you get the most out of your training, you must know how to select and program exercises. Here is how we train the muscles of the back at Westside Barbell.
Lower Body Training Days
The value of lower body training days when focusing on developing the back cannot be overstated. Whether the exercise is a primary or an accessory exercise, almost every lower body exercise trains the muscles of the back to some degree. The squat, deadlift, and good morning all place great emphasis on the back.
Unlike an upper body training day, where all movements that directly target the back will be featured as accessory movements, lower body training days will feature main and accessory exercises that train and develop the back. This is valuable, considering all of the back work performed on lower body days will pay off for all lifts. The more back work performed, the stronger the lifter.
Here are some back exercises we commonly perform on lower body training days, along with the rep range recommended for each:
Main Exercises
Squat / Deadlift (all variations), work up to a top set of 1-3 reps.
Good Mornings (all variations), work up to a top set of 3-5 reps.
Accessory Exercises
Barbell Rows (all variations), 3-5 sets of 5-8 heavy reps.
Good Mornings (all variations), 3-5 sets of 5-8 heavy reps.
Romanian Deadlifts, 3-5 sets of 5-8 heavy reps or 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.
Rack Pulls, 3-5 sets of 3-5 heavy reps.
Good Morning Machine, 3-5 sets of 10-15 reps
Reverse Hypers, 4-6 sets of 15-25 reps.
45 Degree Back Raises, 2-4 sets of 20-30 reps.
KB Swings, 3-5 sets of 15-25 reps.
Upper Body Training Days
As we mentioned above, the difference between lower body training days and upper body training days is that lower body training days feature back exercises as main and accessory exercises, while upper body training days feature back exercises as accessory exercises only. Is this to say that all bench press variations do not affect back strength? Of course not. The bench press can help strengthen the mid and upper back. However, these movements are less effective than a heavy squat, deadlift, or good morning.
The upper body back training will typically feature exercises considered old-school bodybuilding movements that have been proven to work for decades. As an athlete, you want the biggest and strongest back you can build to allow your spine to remain as neutral as possible while also being resistant to injury.
Here are some back exercises we commonly perform on upper body training days, along with the rep range recommended for each:
Accessory Exercises
Barbell Rows (all variations), 3-5 sets of 5-8 heavy reps.
Chest-Supported Rows, 3-5 sets of 8-10 reps.
Lat Pulldowns (all attachments), 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.
Seated Cable Rows (all attachments), 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.
Pull-ups, 3-5 sets of 12-15 reps, or AMRAP.
DB Rows, 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps.
Face Pulls, 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps.
How to Program
As you can see, there are quite a few exercises you can choose from to train your back. When you consider the variations you can create with many of the exercises mentioned above, the amount of exercises at your disposal becomes rather significant. This means you should have no trouble getting effective back training accomplished each week.
The main exercises will train the back automatically on lower body training days. Outside of the main exercises, you will want to select at least one, up to three, back exercises each lower body training day of the week. The rule of thumb is easy; if your back is weak, increase the training volume.
Upper body training days will call for two to three back exercises each day during accessory work. You should always feature different exercises for each of the training days of the week. The goal should be to select exercises throughout the week that target the back in different ways and from different angles to ensure your back training is as comprehensive as possible.
As an athlete, you must develop a strong back. If you want to hit hard, run fast, and jump high, you need to have the ability to support and stabilize your spine to allow the muscles to produce the force required to accomplish sports tasks and defeat your opponent.
Sources:
Simmons, L. (2007). Westside Barbell Book of Methods. Westside Barbell.
Verkhoshansky, Y., & Siff, M. C. (2009). Supertraining. Verkhoshansky.
