Ready for an efficient workout to build your upper body by creating a more sculpted chest and a more muscular back? Rethink your training week and step away from the usual workout split. Training chest and back in the same session lets you use agonist-antagonist supersets — a high-dollar term for exercise pairings that hit
back workout
The lat pulldown and the pull-up are staples across many training programs — sometimes even coexisting within the same workout. Both exercises train the “vertical pulling” movement pattern and can be highly effective for targeting your back muscles, which is why some lifters regard them as nearly interchangeable. Despite how visually similar the movements may
How do you develop killer lats? First, you need to do lat pulldowns. Then you need to do pull-ups. After you’re done with that, try some rows, and then finish off with some pullovers. Or… you could just perform the reverse-grip bent-over row and get nearly the same results as combining a series of back-focused
Simple bodybuilding programs are a little too easy to find. You could pull them from fitness magazines — those ghost-written workouts that your favorite bodybuilders supposedly follow. You could roll the dice and ask an artificial intelligence chatbot to generate one for you. Or, you could attempt to develop one for yourself. Just a few
Due to their prominence, well-developed back muscles have been described as wings. Want wing-like back muscles? On the short list of things that allegedly “give you wings” are energy drinks, good deeds, and upper body vertical pulling. After consuming energy drinks throughout my younger years, I can dispatch the first claim. Alertness and insomnia? Yes.
The lat pulldown can be a reliable and effective alternative to back-training staples like chin-ups or pull-ups. Pulldowns can be useful for novice lifters who may not yet be strong enough to perform high-quality repetitions, as well as more experienced lifters looking to minimize the role of their core or lower body while zeroing in
“The Beast” is crafting his bodybuilding back. Written by Robert Zeglinski Last updated on February 22, 2023 As one of the greatest strongmen of all time, former 2017 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Eddie “The Beast” Hall has probably earned the right to try his hand at almost any competitive venture. As such, with Hall now
Pairing your back and biceps in one workout has been a classic muscle-building session for decades. It’s a time-tested approach that’s reliable, effective, and it simply makes sense — the majority of rowing and pulling-type movements that target your back also recruit your biceps. Credit: MDV Edwards / Shutterstock Even when your biceps aren’t getting
“Doubling up” can be a good thing — A doubleheader at the ballpark, double meat in your burrito bowl, and a double shot of espresso to jump-start the day. But it can also be, well, double trouble — Double vision, double traffic fines, and double-dipping your chip at a party. But how about doubling up
The pull-up is what many experienced trainers refer to as the “king of upper body exercises.” Although the common gym narrative is to test your worth by finding out how much you bench press, there’s so much more athleticism, utility, and overall transfer from testing your pull-up ability. It’s a movement that can truly separate
There aren’t many muscle-building or strength-focused training programs that leave out the traditional lat pulldown. Many effective workouts include this classic, and for good reason. Pulling in a vertical pattern strengthens your back, shoulders, and arms, while also building the muscles that support and stabilize your shoulder blades. This maintains healthy joint function which, in
Exercises like the chin-up and the deadlift are seen as the kings of back-builders by many lifters, but they are only the meat and potatoes. You have to add some seasoning if you want the best final product, and the extra flavor (and extra results) will come from your exercise choices. The problem is that
Most shoulder exercises involve pressing a weight overhead, while most back exercises involve pulling a weight toward your body. The upright row is a little bit of both. This unique vertical pulling exercise targets your shoulders as well as your upper back. Credit: Benoit Daoust / Shutterstock This movement forms the basis of the Olympic
Few exercises can be as daunting as the pull-up. Having the strength necessary to perform one single repetition is a challenge for many. Yet, it is a milestone everyone should strive for. It’s frustrating to struggle performing pull-ups, but it’s even worse to leave them out of your program entirely. Credit: tsyhun / Shutterstock This
Pull-ups are often called the king of upper body lifts — but do you know what is even more worthy of the crown? Adding resistance and doing more pull-ups. There will come a point when bodyweight pull-ups won’t provide you the gains they used to. When that happens, simply doing more reps will be less
Bodyweight exercises are often shunned by “hardcore” gym-goers who only deem worthy exercises when you lift heaps of hard-cast iron. Yet they forget that bodyweight movements can be very beneficial, and even humbling. Some would argue that being able to lift a proverbial ton isn’t very worthy if you can’t lift yourself and master your
They say, “you gotta row to grow.” And what they’re (almost always) referring to is the big, basic, bent-over barbell row. The barbell row is one of the most challenging exercises you can you implement into your back workouts. Credit: Miljan Zivkovic / Shutterstock The barbell row is often considered one of the most fundamental
Many lifters want to follow programs that deliver results without wasting time in the gym. One of the most effective ways to achieve that is to train with exercises that work multiple muscles at once. Many exercises can the bill and the simple chin-up is at the top of the list. Credit: Ground Picture /