Barn door back

People often think they need loads of fancy equipment to build a decent back but from my experience all you need is a barbell and a chin bar. If you are really being extravagant then some heavy dumbbells. When I first started training I built a decent back training at home, using just a chin bar (power rack), barbell and a set of adjustable dumbbells.

Below was a typical workout I used back in the day and is in fact  pretty similar to what I use now even though I have access to all the fancy equipment in the gym. Notice no deadlifts, I always deadlifted on legs day so that wasn’t part of my back workout.

To build a big back, you have to remember to train for thickness as well as width. Generally pulling movements help build width and rows help build thickness and density.

I would always start my workout with variations of pullups/chins, if I tried to do these after the rows then I would be lucky to get 5 or 6 reps.

Wide grip pull ups
15, 12

Shoulder width curl grip chins
12, 10

Bent over rows
60kg x 10
80kg x 6
100kg x 6
120kg x 6
140kg x 8
100kg x 15

DB rows
50kg x 6
65kg x 12

Dumbbell pullovers
50kg x 20, 15

And that was it, pretty basic – no mad drop sets, super sets or giant sets. Some weeks I would substitute the bent over rows with t-bars in the corner or just rep out with the 65kg dumbbell. Every week I would try to increase the weight or do more reps. I would take just enough rest so I felt powered for my next set, usually between 2 to 4 minutes.

In my opinion if you do those exercises with a decent amount of weight whilst maintaining your form you can’t fail in building a decent back. Forget all the fancy pulldown, row, cable and hammer machines, this is all you need and  no excuses.