Build an Impressive Back

The solution is to build your back.

All of these photos were taken just after my 50th birthday.

You can see significant structure in my back. Notice the thickness of the rhomboids and also how scalloped and thick the lats are.

This does not come from doing pansy routines on fancy machines.

It comes from the very hard work of pullups, chinups, and bentover rows done at high levels of intensity.

Because this kind of workout is grueling, the only way it produces results is with sufficient recovery time. You cannot do this 3 times a week as part of a circuit training regimen.

I also supplement appropriately, get adequate sleep, and maintain a healthy diet. These three practices are foundational to building a great body, yet few people put much thought or discipline into them. With a little attention to this area, you can really put your program on the fast track.

So, how do you build your back? Remember I said you cannot do this 3 times a week as part of a circuit training regimen? Instead, you do this as part of a split routine program. There is no single right way. There are a few ways that are generally accepted by serious athletes. Here's mine:

• Workout one. Back and biceps.
• Workout two. Chest and triceps.
• Workout three. Shoulders.

I do these workouts on a rotating basis on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Three workouts and four days means the pattern changes each week.

In addition to this rotating pattern of upper body workouts, I do these:

• On Mondays, I do front squats. I try to do these every week, and that's possible only because of supplementation with glutamine. Even so, there are occasionally Mondays where I skip this workout due to recovery concerns. Done properly, front squats work the core and are a fantastic ab exercise.
• On Fridays, I do hanging leg raises followed by calf raises.

In these photos, I was at 5% body fat and am still there about 3 weeks later as I write this. In fact, I have been at 5% bodyfat for about seven months now. I'll probably stay that lean well into the future.

One reason I can be that lean is the way I have these workouts scheduled. This kind of scheduling plays off the cortisol/testosterone responses the body goes through when subjected to the kind of stress that an intense workout puts on it.