In principle, you want a back that is at least as wide at the top as your shoulders are and then tapers down narrow towards your waist. Of course, that can’t be in a straight line – that would look very strange! – but the goal when training your back is to make it as wide as possible.
Just like with your other muscles, you should aim to fully develop your back – both width and thickness. However, it is possible to emphasize the outside of your back muscles during back exercises.
Full development of that outside part is what provides the width to your back. Although you cannot change the genetic makeup of your back, you can work on the weaker points of your development.
You can emphasize the outside by placing your hands correctly during back exercises and by choosing the right exercises.
Rowing Movement
Exercises for the back muscles all involve the rowing movement. Whether the weight is pulled down towards your muscles or from front to back: the pulling motion automatically emphasizes your back muscles.
The back muscles tighten by pulling the shoulder blades together. You should always ensure that your back muscles are doing the work and not your arms.
If you place your hands wide apart and pull the weight towards you, the tension is mainly placed on the inside of your back muscles because the range of motion of your shoulder blades is quite short. If you place your hands close together, thus lengthening the movement, the outside of your back will bear the load.
The explanation is more complicated than experiencing it yourself… try to feel the difference by keeping your hands wide apart and squeezing your shoulder blades together. You will mainly feel it on the inside of your back. Then bring your hands close together and do the same. Here you will feel the tension much more on the outside.
The effect is very noticeable with a cable exercise like seated cable rows with a long and a short bar. A cable exercise ensures constant tension, allowing you to feel the difference very well.
This whole story about the placement of your hands also gives a different perspective on the stories you usually hear about widening your back. You can discard all the old stories about gripping a bar wider to become broader.
Exercises for a Wide Back
So, which exercises then? These three:
Bent Rows are mainly done to get a thicker back, but you can also use these to train the outside of your back:
- Grab a barbell with your hands at shoulder width or slightly narrower
- Stand with the barbell and lean forward from your hips with a straight back until your upper body is at an angle of about 30 degrees upwards, and let your arms hang straight down. Look straight ahead to slightly arch your back
- Now pull the barbell towards your stomach while squeezing your shoulder blades together. Don’t pull with your hands but push your elbows upwards
- Tighten your back well and then slowly lower the weight down
- T-Bar Rows follow the same principle and are also very suitable for getting a broader back.
Another rowing exercise that trains the outside of your back is the Seated Cable Row:
- Attach a parallel grip (V-shaped grip) to the low pulley and sit upright with the grip in both hands
- Pull the grip towards your stomach while hollowing your back and moving your shoulder blades together, and tighten your back
- Slowly let your hands return to the starting position and let your shoulder blades move with them
The last one is a tough one: Parallel Grip Pullups:
- Grab a parallel grip (V-shaped grip) and place it over a chinning bar
- Hold the grip with both hands and pull your body up, pulling the grip towards your upper chest
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together and tighten your muscles well
- Slowly lower your body until your arms are fully extended above your head (pull your feet in if you are tall)
- Let your head alternately come out to the left and right of the bar
This exercise is also ideal for targeting the back of your shoulders, but you’ll notice that the day after you’ve done this exercise!
In principle, any back exercise with a narrow grip works on the outside of your back muscles. Experiment and see which exercises work best for you. However, try to do the exercises with free weights as much as possible instead of relying solely on cables.
