Back workout for mass building

back workout for mass building

Try this back workout for mass building

Shane Hall, Body Spartan’s newest brand ambassador, joins Gabe Tuft for this back workout designed for mass building. It’s a solid hour and a half of heavy lifting, with varying training styles to completely shock your back muscles.

Subscribe to our channel!

This back workout utilizes varying time under tension methods. You’ll see in the bent over Yates rows, that one of the sets calls for a 5 second positive and negative motion for several reps, then followed immediately with a standard rep tempo (bang ’em out style).

Gear up for this back workout

Anyone who’s serious about using this (or any other) back workout to build mass should invest in the right equipment. Without a doubt you will want a weight belt of some kind. It doesn’t need to be a power lifting belt, unless you are competing in power lifting. Most of our team uses a basic Harbinger belt that is fairly inexpensive and lasts a lifetime. Also, wrist wraps are a must. Not everyone will use them, but we like to think that when you are doing a back workout, you want to work your back and not let the strength of your forearms cost you reps and the need to sacrifice weight. That’s why we use them. Below are links to Amazon.com with these products, along with BCAA’s and creatine. Two supplements that are a stable of any bodybuilder.


My Amazon Picks
DEAL OF THE DAY
ENDS IN
DEAL OF THE DAY
ENDS IN
DEAL OF THE DAY
ENDS IN

 

 

Back workout exercise 1: Lat pulldowns

Back workout exercise lat pulldowns

Back workout exercise lats

Grab as wide of a grip as possible on the bar. The wider the grip, the wider your lats. Start with a lighter weight and focus on getting a good, solid contraction at the bottom of the pull. Extend up as high as you can with your arms, and then contract only the lats to pull the bar back down. Never let the weight stack touch and rest at the top. Keep the tension on the pulley – and on your muscles the entire time. As you get heavier with the weight, a small swing is acceptable. Just avoid getting massive swings in your back for the majority of your reps.

Set Drop set Reps Rest
1 No 20 2 minutes
2 No 20 2 minutes
3 No 16 2 minutes
4 No 12 2 minutes
5 No 8 None

The rest of the workout is below, but first you have to see what people are saying about our All Access Pass!

14-days of full FREE access to every Body Spartan program PLUS the Spartan Army weekly content section! We guarantee you won’t find a better value on the internet!

Body Spartan All Access

Access to EVERY Body Spartan Program! 14-DAY FREE TRIAL
  • Get full access to our all of our amazing programs
  • Full, custom calculated nutrition
  • 10 & 12 week programs
  • Instructional videos
  • Full workouts
  • Triphase, polymorphic, and contest prep style training
  • Body composition tracker
$19.00 / month with a 14-day free trial

Back workout exercise 2: Bent over Yates rows

Back workout for size

Back workout for mass

Yates Rows (courtesy of Dorian Yates), are underhand barbell rows. With these, do a normal tempo for the first three sets. Then on the last set, do 5 reps with a slow, 5 second tempo on both the positive and negative motions. After those 5 reps, immediately go back to a normal tempo and knock out 10 more reps.

Set Varied tempo set Reps Rest
1 No 20 | 1 plate 2 minutes
2 No 20 | 2 plates 2 minutes
3 No 15 | 2 plates 2 minutes
4 Yes 5 | 1 plate | 5-second tempo None
10-15 | 1 plate | normal tempo 2 minutes to next exercise

Back workout exercise 3: Hammer Strength overhand rows

hammer strength row for back workouts

To vary the time under tension on this exercise, try to get a 1 second hold at the top of each rep. The negative motion should be 2 seconds. So it’s a 1 – 1 – 2 tempo.

Set Drop set Reps Rest
1 No 20 2 minutes
2 No 15 2 minutes
3 No 12 2 minutes
4 No 10 2 minutes to next exercise

Back workout exercise 4: Hammer Strength low row, underhand grip

Low row for back workouts

To really grind on the lats, we had access to this awesome Hammer Strength low row. If you grab with an underhand grip you will focus more on your lower lats. If you don’t have this machine, substitute any other Hammer Strength machine for back that is available. Try to use an underhand grip with it as well.

Set Drop set Reps Rest
1 No 20 2 minutes
2 No 15 2 minutes
3 No 12 2 minutes
4 No 10 2 minutes to next exercise

Back workout exercise 5: Wide grip, supinated low cable row

back workout with wide grip row

Grab a wide bar with a supinated handle on it (so your thumbs face upward). Pull your shoulders back and do half of the reps sitting perfectly upright and not allowing yourself to stretch forward. Then, do the remaining half of the reps stretching as far forward as you can without letting the weight stack touch. As you begin to pull the bar back, pull with your lats first and then slowly return to the upright position. The goal here is to avoid using the momentum of sitting up to cheat the rep. Rather, pull with the lats through the motion to target them from a different angle. The combination of the two different forms in this back exercise should leave you toasted.

Set Drop set Reps Rest
1 No 20 2 minutes
2 No 15 2 minutes
3 No 12 2 minutes
4 No 10 2 minutes to next exercise

Back workout final thoughts

If you’re looking to add mass to your back, workouts like these that completely mix up your back workout are going to do the trick. You need to continuously shock the muscles though and never allow them to adapt to what you’re doing. Nutrition and supplementation are also key to muscle growth. Without them, you’re just working to work, without the hope of any major results. Our Unleashed Bulking Program has all of these elements. It has over 80 different workouts. No two workouts are the same and the intensity of the workouts increase as the program goes on. It’s over 11 weeks of training with 4 days of “pre-season”. The program automatically calculates your macros for you, along with your daily cardio time, heart rate, and it also has a body composition tracker. The program is made specifically for bulking.

Click the link below for more information!

Unleashed workout program by Body Spartan

 

All access pass

Body Spartan All Access

Access to EVERY Body Spartan Program! 14-DAY FREE TRIAL
  • Get full access to our all of our amazing programs
  • Full, custom calculated nutrition
  • 10 & 12 week programs
  • Instructional videos
  • Full workouts
  • Triphase, polymorphic, and contest prep style training
  • Body composition tracker
$19.00 / month with a 14-day free trial