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Best Excersises for "WINGS" ??

Novi

New member
You all know what I'm talking about! When you see someone with a HUGE back that looks like they got wings!! What are some good exercises for achieving a great back?
 
I never do pullups. When I have I can only get 6-7 at a time. Is that on ok rep range? I'll start doing them if it is.
 
Ya that is fine. When I got back from Iraq I was down to two due to now strength training for four months. My strength went back up in no time.
 
u can have someone hold ur ankles while ur doing them to give a little extra assistance if u would rather do a higher rep range.
 
If you can only do a few chins at a time - try this:

Do as many as you can. Now stop for 30 - 60 seconds and repeat until you get to 30. After a few weeks, you should be able to do 3 sets of 10 with 2 minutes rest in between. As soon as that becomes easy, start adding weight. And dont forget to STRETCH those lats, bend at the waist and pull on a pole or something that wont move on arm at a time.
 
I read this tip from the guy who trains a lot of pro's like Ronnie Colman and such. I forget his name, I found the link to his site somewhere on bodybuilding.com. Before your work sets, do a pre-exhaust with either dumbell pullovers or straight arm cable pullovers, then go right into your heavy set of Barbell rows or whatever. I think he said you don't wanna go all out on the pullovers but still use a decent amount of weight and intensity. I've been doing it ever since. For my first three sets of my back workout for the past month and a half I do 5 reps and 5 reps of really heavy straight arm cable pullovers and 5 reps of heavy bent over barbell rows, superset fashion. The first time I tried this I was amazed by the pump I got. I felt like one of those guys in the movies trying to walk like they're all swole, but i wasn't trying. I've used this for my first 3 sets for at least my last 6 back workouts, adding weight every week, and have definitely noticed that my back has grown. Like I said, the trainer guy said not to go all out on the pulldowns, but I've had good results using a 5RM, or close to it. I can't get 5 with good form on my third set. Try this out, and I guarantee you'll like it.
 
And pullups are definitely the ****, but I can't do them right now (6 months post-op Left shoulder rotator cuff surgery (Bankhardt)). I was a big fan of neutral grip pullups when I could do them.
 
im tellin ya i got the best width with weighted pullups. far superior to anything else as far as im concerned......
take it easy...
 
Those are all great suggestions, but a wide back is NOTHING if it isn't thick enough. One word my friends...DEADLIFT.

Deadlift, and deadlift HEAVY and the back of your dreams shall be yours quite soon.
 
RaulJimenez said:
Bump on Matthews Reply, Wide Grip Pullups
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Bump again on MatD's reply.
ever see Arnold back in his prime day? that was one of his favorite exercises, and he could have probably glided to a safe landing w/ his "wings"
he supposedly did 50per day, try that! ;)
 
candle25 said:
I never do pullups. When I have I can only get 6-7 at a time. Is that on ok rep range? I'll start doing them if it is.
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yeah man that's ok. i started out only doing that much, and now i do 3 sets of 20-25reps. once you start to work those muscles they strengthen pretty quick.
 
Barbell rows, seated rows and pulldowns. Avoid wide grips as the are potential dangerous on the pec and rotator cuff.
 
2 words, DEADLIFTS and BARBELL ROWS. Nothing can work the back as much as those two exercises. Of course, you want to add some other staples in there as well like Seated & DB Rows on some back training days as well.
 
A bodybuilder friend of mine told me for his lats (wings) he took a v-bar (if that's what you call it) the one you use for the seated rows, and throw it over the pull-up bar and do pull-ups that way. Man, my lats have never felt that sore!
 
deadlifts first, there is no glory in it but you will gain mass all up your back.
I do bent over rows,dumbell and barbell,good form and within my weight range to insure that, but the most pump i have ever had in my lats were doing maximum intensity
machine pullovers. get the right weight to where you can do 8 or so and pyramid up.
the advantage to those are the squeeze you get in your lats at the very end of the movement the last 6 inches or so that you dont get with barbell or dumbell bench pullovers.
Some people prefer the standing straight arm version but I cant do the weight
or get the pump that you can get from the seated pullover machine.

i went a year doing 5 movements only and close grip pulldowns was one of them.
 
at my school we have these rubberbands, which we use kind of like chains, but also we use them as a pullup assist, they take like 50 lbs off so you can pump out 25 widegrips with relative ease, and then you can move down to a smaller band size. It works great for big guys like me that can usually get a good.... 5 or so haha. Also bent over rows are really good.
 
Talking about back exercises, can anybody explain or share how they try to 'feel' the lats during say barbell rows? When i do them, i can't feel my back working at all but the biceps instead. Any tips guys?
 
lionel said:
Talking about back exercises, can anybody explain or share how they try to 'feel' the lats during say barbell rows? When i do them, i can't feel my back working at all but the biceps instead. Any tips guys?
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are you using a pronated or supinated grip? Try the other and see if your back feels like its being more involved. Form is crucial, and im guessing you body's positioned too high. Bend down so your back is flat and as close to parallel to ground as possible. It might be as simple as you being not low enough and/or using too much weight, and leading to momentum swinging the weight up.
Sage
 
just start with a weight that is light for you so that you can really squeeze your back when it is fully contracted. then start to move the weight up but concentrate on using the same form. this should help you to feel it more even when you get to the heavier weights.
 
I'm using the grip with my palms towards my body. Going parallel or near that makes it very hard to lift heavy. So its ok to use a light weight? How much do you guys row?
 
lionel said:
I'm using the grip with my palms towards my body. Going parallel or near that makes it very hard to lift heavy. So its ok to use a light weight? How much do you guys row?
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1 set 60lb
1 set 80 lb
2 sets 100 lb

I've usually already done wide grip pull downs and seated rows.

As always, proper form and a good warm up is most important.
 
Well...I think there is only one principle that stands out when it comes to succeed in making a good bodypart a great bodypart and that's variation. I change my routine around for my back all the time and everytime I do work on my back, I do something different to hit my back from a different angle. I try to separate upper back from lower back on different days. Sometimes I emphasize working on lower-middle back by doing bent over rows with strict form and a squeeze and pause at the top of the movement (supersetting bent over rows and deadlifts together worked wonders for density) and sometimes I do close grip pulldowns supersetted with wide grip pulldowns to work on my "wings". But what worked best is always strict form with a good stretch and squeezing my lats as hard as I can throughout the WHOLE movement not just the top or bottom. Anyway, that literally got a good 3 inches on my back since last year. Not just that, I never stick to one rep range, I go from 8-40 reps and I try to throw in something I never did before every few weeks.

Here is a pic of my back incase you think I'm bull****ting.
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Heavy deadlifts and Rack Pulls. Point your elbows out, draw the bar close to your body, and squeeze your lats as you can during the entire lift.

I'm yet to find something that screams "GROW" better than a heavy set of deadlifts.
 
I change my back routine around all the time too, but there's to exercises that are always in there: Weighted wide grip chins and Deadlifts.
 
Ofcourse, there are so many exercises that can be used. That's why I mention variation. I think it just depends on the person and what that certain person is lacking in terms of back development. I just think there are too many people out there that have wide backs with no depth and density, or very dense backs with no width, or lats that start too high, etc. I think every single individual portion of the back needs to be focused on. This is why bodybuilders like ronnie and dorian have great backs. They target every part of their backs from every angle possible.
 
I have had good results with wide-grip chins and wide-grip pulldowns. I change my back routine up frequently to hit different muscle strands in my back. I like T-bar rows and seated rows to get the lower portion of the lats. Heavy Deadlifts for all around mass.
 
Sheesh said:
Those are all great suggestions, but a wide back is NOTHING if it isn't thick enough. One word my friends...DEADLIFT.

Deadlift, and deadlift HEAVY and the back of your dreams shall be yours quite soon.
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i totally agree. My back has grown alot from core lifts. Not pullups or pulldowns or whatever.

DEADLIFT!. End of story.
 
COMPOUND TOWEL-CHINS-LEVER as described by Dennis B. Weis

One of my favorite upper back exercises was what I called Towel Chins, and was done by draping two strong terry cloth towels (or rope) over chinning bar as shown, then grip towels about 10” to 12” lower than bar and do chins. This really contracts the lats, believe me, and also works the pecs and biceps (not to mention the grip). After I got to the point where I could use 60 or 70 lbs. additional weight for 10 reps, I began experimenting with levers, too, that brought the pecs more into play and made this tough, but very effective,exercise an exceptional upper body movement. I will outline how I found this one to be done:

To begin with (depending on your present strength), hold towels about 4” to 5” below bar, then do your chins from full hang. Whenever you get above 10 reps, lower your hands on towel. When you can do 10 reps at 12” distance from bar, hang additional weight around waist...

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^^^ We used to call those "Man Pullups" when I was lifting in highschool for hockey. It really builds your forearms and grip strength as well.
 
As many have said WIDE GRIP pullups, man the first time I incorperated them and did it with proper form, I actually had sore lats for the first time ever the next day. :bb2:

ive always thought of pulldowns as a weak Pullup . Maybe I am wrong.
 
i would have to say heavy deadlifts, does wonders for me. nothing better then looking at the mirror and seeing a freak with veins popping out of the head, neck and everywhere else and then realising it is me
 
Medium/neutral grip pulldowns and pullups. Much much more than wide-grip ones. The wide grips put a lot of effort on the middle of the back, trying to squeeze the shoulder blades together. The medium and neutral grip (palms facing eyes, thumbs opposing) has the lats doing all the work. Incline back 45 degrees and bring to the diaphragm if possible.

Meowmoew is showing something similar. MUCH MUCH better than wide-grips from a purely scientific exercise physiology angle.

Also, when doing the cable rows, start with the shoulders as far forward as you can, your body rounded forward. This will STRETCH your lats, and you can start contracting them in that position.

Combine these two and you will fly like a rock. :p
 
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