Everyone wants a big chest, big arms and chiseled abs – but that’s every beginner’s worst mistake. Neglecting other body parts is detrimental to making gains in the gym. Your back may not seem like a priority early in your lifting career, but there’s nothing more intimidating than a big, wide back. It is necessary to add size to your back to have a well-balanced physique – and don’t forget to train legs too (but we’ll save that for another day)!
1. DEADLIFTS
Deadlifting should be in EVERY person’s weight lifting program. There is nothing more natural to the human body than picking something up off the floor. The deadlift should start with a slightly narrower stance than shoulder width. The idea is when you squat down to grab the bar, your knees should be inside your arms. Before you begin your lift, make sure the bar is as close to your shins as possible. Sit back and draw the bar close to your shins, so the bar can come clean off the ground as soon as you begin pulling. It is also VERY important to keep your chest up with your back in a NEUTRAL position. If you pull with your back rounded, you risk hurting yourself. As you pull, keep the bar right next to your legs the entire time and don’t ever let your back round forward. Use these tips and slowly increase your weights, and your back as well as your whole physique will thank you!

2. BENT-OVER BARBELL ROWS
This is hands down the best rowing movement out there. It requires a ton of lower-back stability and really targets the whole back. First, you want your grip about shoulder-width apart or wider with an overhand grip. The idea is to get your upper body as close to parallel to the floor as possible. Don’t be the guy doing bent-over rows but practically standing up straight the whole time. The idea is to pull the barbell towards your belly button to really engage your lats. Your upper body may lift a little to get a better contraction of your back, but it shouldn’t be a jerking motion. Maintain control through the whole movement and you’ll notice serious gains from this exercise.

3. PULL-UPS
This is another classic exercise that shouldn’t be ignored. There are too many people in the gym that use the whole stack on the pulldown machine but struggle to do a few pull-ups. Jump up to a pull-up bar so your feet can’t touch the ground. Start at a full stretch on the bottom before pulling yourself up towards the bar. The idea here is to arch the back and drive your elbows slightly behind your body. Resist rounding forward. A full contraction doesn’t need to have your chest touching the bar, but you should be able to bring your chin to the bar. Don’t swing, and maintain control through the whole movement. This is the best back width exercise out there!
4. T-BAR ROWS (LANDMINE STYLE)
This is one of the best exercises for back thickness. Some gyms have a piece of equipment designed to hold one end of a barbell in place (a landmine). If your gym doesn’t have one, that’s okay, you can just place one end of a bar in the corner of a wall to keep the barbell from sliding around. Load your weight onto the opposite side only. You also need a V-bar attachment (normally found on a cable row machine). You are going to straddle the bar and grip the V-bar while it is wrapped around the barbell. Again, on this exercise, it is key to keep your lower back in a neutral position, never letting it round. You are going to pick up the weight using the V-bar and bend at the hips. You then row the weight, keeping your elbows close to your side, again pulling the weight towards your belly button.
5. ONE-ARM DUMBBELL ROW
This exercise is done one arm at a time. You can do it kneeling on a bench or bent over, supporting your weight using the opposite hand on a bench. Grab a dumbbell and pull the weight up. The key is to keep your elbow by your side and pull the dumbbell toward your hip, engaging your lat. Make sure not to twist your body to move the weight. Focus on keeping your back straight while squeezing your lat.
6. WIDE-GRIP PULLDOWNS
These are very similar to pull-ups and another great exercise for adding width to your back. Sit down with your knees under the pads. Grab the bar with a wide grip, but not so wide where it’s uncomfortable. Pull the bar down to your chest or close to it. Drive your elbows back and arch your back. Don’t sway back to move the weight or round forward. Pull down and squeeze your back, then slowly lower the weight up and get a full stretch of the lats before repeating.