As a staff writer at Muscle & Fitness magazine for over 12 years, I interviewed some of the best bodybuilders in history—men who had enormous backs with great width and detail.
I talked to Mr. Olympias Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, Phil Heath, and dozens of other men who were on the same stage specifically about their workouts.
What I learned from them is that there are four very basic things that will help you develop a large back:
Consistently Train Back With High Volume 1-2 Times Per Week
Do Major Compound Back Exercises
Train As Heavy As Possible With Hypertrophy-Focused Rep Ranges
Eat A Lot of Protein
Consistently Training Back With High Volume 1-2 Times Per Week
If you want to build a big back, you’ve got to train it.
This is obvious, but it needs to be said. Some bodybuilders train each muscle group once a week, and others twice a week. I would probably recommend twice a week to ensure you’re doing enough, but it really comes down to your total volume for the week. The Mr. Olympias I mentioned above all did no fewer than 20 sets per week for back (and that’s a very conservative number).
If you hit back once a week, start with 2-3 exercises, 3-4 sets each, and work up to 16-20 sets total via 4-5 exercises and 4 sets each. If you train back twice a week, work up to at least 8-10 sets per workout (16-20 sets for the week), and eventually more. For professional bodybuilders, 30 sets per week for large muscle groups is pretty typical.
I want to reiterate consistency.
Building a big back (or any other muscle group, for that matter), requires consistent effort. If you train hard for a few weeks, but then take the next few weeks off and miss workouts, it’s not going to work.
If you want results, don’t miss workouts.
Do Major Compound Back Exercises
Some exercises stimulate more muscle mass than others.
For back, those exercises are barbell bent-over rows, pull-ups, and cable exercises like seated cable rows and lat pulldowns. Many bodybuilders also build the foundation of a large back with traditional deadlifts. Other effective back exercises include T-bar rows and one-arm dumbbell rows.
These are all multi-joint (compound) movements that activate the latissimus dorsi muscles (“lats”). They should form the foundation of your back training.
Note: Many professional bodybuilders get so big that they eventually stop doing bodyweight pull-ups, but most people can develop great lat width by doing the exercise regularly. Arnold Schwarezenegger was a big fan of pull-ups in his heyday.
Train As Heavy As Possible With Hypertrophy-Focused Rep Ranges
When training for a big back, do heavy weights and moderate rep ranges.
This means anywhere from 8 to 15 reps set, using as much weight as possible within this range. When in doubt, do 4 or 5 sets of 10 to 12 reps (reaching failure or close to it on every set) on any of the aforementioned exercises. With that protocol, you’re getting volume, resistance, and rep counts that will build muscle.
Do 4 or 5 back exercises in that manner every week and you’ll be good to go.
And by every week, I mean every week.
Eat A Lot Of Protein
Muscles need protein to grow, not just training.
You can’t get big eating like a bird. Consume one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight every day. So, if you weigh 180 pounds, that’s 180 grams of protein daily. Get that through meat, fish, eggs, and protein powder.
After every workout, have a shake with 1-2 scoops of protein powder (20-50 grams). In powder form, especially if it’s whey, the protein will get to your muscle quickly to start repairing the tissues so they grow.
Repeat all of the above practices indefinitely for years and you’ll have a well-developed back.