Bodybuilding Tips and Tricks

Most gyms have a T-bar machine you can use to perform this exercise. If yours does not, or if you’re working out at home, load up one end of a barbell with weight and brace the other end so it’s stable (placing another weight plate on top of it or bracing it in the corner usually works for me). Place a close grip handle around the barbell and perform the exercise this way (the T-bar machine is much better, but you’ve got to work with what you’ve got). I will be describing the wide-grip T-bar machine version.

Performance: Stand on the T-bar apparatus with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Take a wide, overhand grip on the handles. Be sure to keep your chest up and back arched throughout the movement. Slowly pull the weight upward to your chest, feeling the contraction in your back. Squeeze your shoulderblades together at the top of the movement for an intense contraction. Slowly reverse the motion and lower to a full stretch at the bottom. Repeat for reps.

Muscle Emphasis: latissimus dorsi, erector spinae, biceps, brachialis, forearm flexors, secondary stress is on the posterior deltoids and trapezius

Performance: Attach a narrow grip handle to a cable row pulley station. Keep your knees bent with your feet flat on the support platforms in front of you. Keeping your torso perpendicular to the floor and your eyes straight ahead, pull the handle slowly toward your midsection until it nearly touches your navel. Focus on feeling the contraction in your back muscles. Squeeze your shoulder blades at the peak of the contraction, then slowly return the handle to the starting position. In order to allow for a good stretch in your lats, lean forward very slightly with your arms extended at the end of each rep. You should not, however, allow the weight to pull you forward a great deal as this will create a rocking motion while performing your reps which may lead to injury and will lessen the stress on the targeted muscle groups.

Muscle Emphasis: trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and erector spine; strong stress is also placed on the posterior deltoids, biceps, brachialis, and forearm flexors

This is a good exercise to finish your back workout with because it works the back without involving the biceps. (This also makes this move one of the few exercises that can be used to pre-exhaust the back.) Don’t worry about using a ton of weight; heavy poundage is not necessary to achieve good results with this exercise. Concentrate on maintaining perfect form and feeling the exercise in your lats.

Performance: Attach a lat pulldown bar to a high pulley cable attachment and take an overhand shoulder-width grip. Stand with your arms outstretched toward the bar, with the bar at shoulder level. Bend your knees slightly and try to keep your bodyweight on your heels. Lean forward slightly and tighten your abdominals. Keeping your elbows slightly bent and wrists locked, contract your lats and push the bar down and in towards your body in an arcing motion. Your torso should not move. Squeeze you lats at the bottom of the movement (the bar should be close to your thighs), then slowly allow the bar to come back to the starting position.

Muscle Emphasis: latissimus dorsi, serratus anterior; secondary stress on abdominals

Performance: Face a weight bench. With your feet fairly close together, lean forward and rest your free hand on the bench so you’re supporting the weight of your upper body with one arm. Bend your knees slightly and keep your chest slightly lifted and back arched. Reach down and grasp a dumbbell while keeping your other arm locked and supporting your torso. Keeping your torso stable throughout the movement, slowly pull the dumbbell all the way up to your chest, moving your shoulder backward as your elbow comes toward the ceiling. Then lower the dumbbell straight down to the start position. Try to focus on feeling the contraction in your lats when you raise the weight and make sure you get a good stretch in your lats at the bottom of the movement. You can also perform this exercise with your body parallel to the bench and one knee resting on the bench if the unsupported version is too difficult for you.

Muscle Emphasis: latissimus dorsi, biceps, brachialis, and forearm flexors; secondary emphasis is on the trapezius and posterior deltoid

Rows of any sort are great for adding thickness to your lats. They also target other muscles such as the trapezius and upper back. The bent-over barbell row is a particularly good mass-builder and should definitely be included in your back routine. Varying your grip on the barbell targets different areas of your back. An overhand grip (palms facing you) stresses the middle and upper lats as well as the trapezius and upper back. A reverse grip (palms facing away from you) targets the lower lats. If your back is weak, you may want to start out doing bent-over barbell rows on a Smith machine to make things easier. Make sure the machine allows you to lower the bar to full extension so you get a nice stretch in your lats at the bottom of each rep. If you aren’t getting a good enough stretch, try standing on an aerobic step (or something similar) to raise yourself off the ground. Eventually, work your way up to performing bent-over barbell rows without a Smith machine; you’ll get a much better workout if you do.

Muscle Emphasis: primary emphasis is on the latissimus dorsi, secondary stress is placed on the arms, traps, erectors, delts.

In effect, pullups are another form of lat pulldown. Instead of pulling the bar down, you’re pulling your body up. Once again, form is paramount here. Try to keep your hands and your body in the same vertical plane (the tendency is to arch your back outward when the going gets tough). Vary your grip (from narrow to wide and everything in between) to hit your lats from a variety of directions. The closer your grip, the lower the emphasis on the lats; a wider grip focuses more on the upper lats. Reverse grip tends to put more stress on the biceps. Be sure to focus on contracting your back muscles for each rep, and let yourself get a good lat stretch at the bottom of each rep (yes this makes it harder, that’s the point!). This will give you a better and stronger contraction when you pull yourself up.

Lat Pulldowns are the quintessential exercise for adding width to your lats. These will help you create the flared “winged” appearance bodybuilders possess when viewed from behind. This, along with well-developed delts (shoulders), also has the added benefit of making your waist seem smaller than it actually is. Lat pulldowns (as with most back exercises) also target your biceps to some degree and upper back muscles are incorporated as well. Despite the fact that nearly everyone knows that lat pulldowns are a good exercise for developing your back, this movement seems to be one of the most poorly executed form-wise (at least among gym-goers I’ve observed). The key to the lat pulldown (described fully below) is keeping your back straight throughout the movement. Many people lean back (often because they’re trying to pull down much too heavy of a weight) and this turns the movement into more of a row, a different exercise all together. So, be cognizant of keeping your back erect through every rep. When you pull the bar down, it also helps to focus on contracting your back muscles, as opposed to just letting your arms do all the work. Varying your grip on the bar (from close to wide and reverse to overhand) will hit your lats from different directions for full back development. The closer your grip, the lower the emphasis on the lats; a wider grip focuses more on the upper lats. Reverse grip tends to put more stress on the biceps in addition to the lats.

Muscle Emphasis: latissimus dorsi, posterior delts, biceps, brachialis, and forearm flexors