Summer Muscle Series: Back

Lately I've been putting out a lot of information on fat loss and how to achieve it, particularly because summer is coming up. Summer means less clothing (hopefully), pool parties, the beach, and general tank top weather. Shedding body fat is what most of you want, but that is only half the equation. To look your very best, to have the SHAPE you want, you need to build muscle. This series is going to help you do just that. 

Starting with the upper back, we are going to go through a muscle-building routine for each body part. Beware, this is a bodybuilding routine, or body part split, designed for aesthetically pleasing muscle. This is not designed for performance (although there is serious carryover to anything that requires performance), it is designed to build muscle efficiently and effectively, and to basically look awesome. It's OK to admit that is what you want. The word "functional" is so cliche and misused at this point that training solely for appearance is no longer the internets favorite thing to hate on. So go ahead and indulge yourself in some voluminous, muscle making, t-shirt sleeve testing, booty building fun.

Let's start with the upper back. The framework of the body. It is responsible for the V-taper, and all the awesome muscular movement that happens when you retract and protract your shoulder blades. A strong muscular back is a dead give away that someone trains hard, and it usually will make or break a physique. Let's get to the routine.

Bent Over Barbell Row: 6 sets of 6 reps, 90 secs rest/set using 8 rep max. 
Pull-up: 6 sets of AMRAP (as many reps as possible), assisted if necessary
T-Bar Row: 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps, 60 secs rest using 15 rep max
Lat Pulldown: 3 sets of 10-15 reps, rest 60 secs per set using 15 rep max

Below is a video demo of each exercise in the routine. 

Do this routine one to two times per week, focus on good scapular movement (retraction and protraction), and enjoy your muscular upper back gains. 

Until Next time.

Mitch