just kinda looking for some direction and advice

[indianakelso]

well i'll start by giving some background as much as i can if you need to know something else to help me on my journey just ask. im 22 , 215 lbs, 5 10, and around 18 to 20 % bf. Ive been lifting for about three years now i started from a skinny little guy to a fat guy, i was 165 with a six pack at 18 but now i got a beard and im a grown a** man lol, just kidding but what im getting to is i have just been trying to gain as much size as i possibly can for the last 3 years, i have ran a cycle of the orginal phera plex, 3 weeks 20 mgs a day, gainded some size hardly any strength through, what i am looking towards now is getting my body in porpation, ive been taking lipo 6 for the last 3 weeks, and dymatize energy expand which im a firm believer in now has all kinds of goodies in it, ive cut my carbs, fat, calories back and havent lost any strength, ive lost a total of 6 pounds and getting stronger. I just feel like my arms,traps, chest, are out growing my back and shoulders big time. my chest has always been big even before i started lifting as my traps also. i quit lifting arms all together for about 4 months , a month befor my cycle and a month after pct. and i still gainded 1.5 to 2 inches on them. im just looking for some info on getting my lats and shoulders up to par with everything else, thinking of running h drol on a recomp maybe. any exercises, cycle info, or diet plans will be appericated. also my cycle was about 8 months ago and i used sustain alpha and advance pct and zma as my pct seemed to work well for me. i use a typical lifting plan, chest,tris monday/ back,bis tuesday/legs,calves,forearms/shoulders thursday. cardio on a bike ride as well as abs 3 to 4x a week here in the lost 3 weeks. can more into depth on work out just been a long post already.

 

[slackadjuster]

If you stopped training arms and they grew...they are getting too much secondary work...or are the primary movers in your bigger exercises.
For back, I would concentrate on FEELING the muscle being worked...it usually takes a lighter weight and higher reps. Once you start to feel what it is like to actually pull with the back, you can start adding weight.
You may need to use different angles than traditional exercises use.
Point is...you really need to feel it working the back...and make that body part a priority for a while.

just my .02

 

[ato ucf]

I have a very strong back and focus the majority of my lifts around pull ups and bent-over rows, cant really go wrong with these two. On pull ups I usually go with a steady weight untill i hit around 15 reps and then add an extra 10lb plate, I still definitely try to feel my muscles working when doing them though. With rows I usually start the pulling motion a little slower and increase it as I pull it in, and then try to hold for a split second and squeeze my lats at the top of the rep.

Try mixing up your split a little bit though as well. If you always start with your chest day, switch it up and begin with your back day. I also like super setting chest and back occasionally as well just to mix it up a bit.

 

[fightbackhxc]

I would cut down then continue to bulk. Also, what routines are you doing for your lats and shoulders?

 

[indianakelso]

i usually do, db shoulder press, reverse incline flys, up right row, reverse machine flys, side lateral raises, reverse cable flys, lightweight arnold db presses, then some bb shrugs. back, stiff leg dead lift, bb row wide grip, lat pull down, t handle pull down, reverse grip pull down, one arm db row, and low cut row machine light weight. most exercises are 8,8,6 reps

 

[fightbackhxc]

I like to blast my lats with some weighted pullups. And I switch in between 6-8 reps and higher reps like 10-15.

 

[vpdman]

There seems to be a lot of great advice already here, and you already seem to be headed in the right direction. But to add to it I suggest you also revisit your form when lifting. It is extremely underrated! Make sure that you are working out your Lats and not something else like you arms. Go lighter weight for a day or two to make sure you're working out the proper muscle group.

Make sure not to cut out any muscle group from your workout split! This is a Big No. Everything is connected with each other. That means if your Bis are strong then it will help with back workouts, and if you back is up to par then your bench will also go up.

I don't know what kind of gym you are at, but if you're in college then take advantage of the awesome REC Centers most universities have on campus! Even then most gyms have 6 or more exercises available to workout the same muscle! What im trying to say is switch things up. If you keep doing Bent over DB Rows then maybe switch it up with a Seated Row? Your body may respond better to different exercises. Maybe add super sets?

Ive started super setting ab workouts with normal workouts. This works wonders! It keeps me from being lazy and skipping it.

 

[swollwilliams]

i've always had a strong back as well..in thinking back, i can't really pinpoint any one particular exercise that made my back grow. most important was, as has been mentioned, was slowing down the reps, lightenening the weight, and getting a good stretch at the bottom of the movement, and a great contraction at the top. this, combined w/ variety of rep ranges, sets, weights, order of ex., and utilizing supersets, giantsets, and drop sets, should do the trick..

 

[indianakelso]

thanks for the advice, my gym does have all kinds of back machines, i have really stuck to the basics using db,bb more might just need switch things up a bit.

 

[jcrattigan]

This is really helpful to me as well. thanks to you all for your input, I appreciate it!