So you want to get a strong back but aren’t really sure how? I got you. Imma show you exactly which movements to do, how to string them together, and give you some advice on how to build a strong back efficiently and effectively.
But, before I get started, let me hone in on something that you probably hear me talk about every so often: you gotta be willing to do hard stuff. Listen, if all you do in life is easy stuff, you won’t be confident, and you won’t even take yourself seriously—you won’t even believe in yourself a single bit.
That’s why I always say that what we do in the gym transcends the gym. What we do in the gym actually builds the kind of character needed to overcome challenges in life. If you wanna do easy stuff, that’s okay. But we don’t do that around here, so you might be in the wrong place.
How To Get A Strong Back
Getting a strong back is no different from strengthening other parts of the body we’ve talked about. For example, it is similar to getting a strong bench press. You just gotta know what makes your body uncomfortable so that you know what to put it through.
If your body is out of its comfort zone, you’ll be forcing it to adjust and adapt. Or, in other words, you’ll be forcing it to become stronger so that it can be ready for future similar “threats.” So how do you do this when it comes to your back?
Here’s A Killer Back Complex For Y’all
To build real strength, you gotta push your muscles to their limit—that’s the only way they will actually become stronger. Otherwise, they’d just be doing what they already can do.
So, it’s not that effective to just sit there and do 4 sets of 10 reps of X exercise to build overall strength and endurance. That won’t necessarily get you strong. It might get you looking good. But do you want to show muscles or play muscles?
For this complex, I want you to do 5 reps of each exercise back to back. Get 4 sets in without breaks. At some point, you will likely have to stop. So get a 3-5 second break and then go back at. This will stress all of your back like crazy!
Romanian Deadlifts
Keep the bar close to your legs and your back nice and straight. On the way down, whenever you feel yourself starting to arch and your forearms starting to break, come back up. But, if you can go all the way down with your back straight, do that.
Bent Over Barbell Rows
Keep your elbows in, go down as low as possible with your back straight. Then, go into a nice and controlled row movement.
How To Get Strong At Pull-Ups
Listen, y’all, we all have our personal strength thresholds. For you, it might be doing 15 pull-ups in a row. For another person, it may be doing just one pull-up. So, how do you get stronger?
The answer is the same as when it comes to building dense, high-quality muscle that stays with you even if you can’t work out for a couple of weeks. You gotta push your body through its limit.
If you can only do one pull-up, then do that pull-up and stay there trying to pull yourself up for your second pull-up. Do this until failure a couple of times a day. That’s how you get stronger!
Eventually, your body will adapt and adjust to the “threat” that it’s being presented with, and you’ll be able to get another pull-up and then another, and so on.
Now, if you’re spotting someone like I’m doing below, you gotta give them just enough so that they can complete the movement while still giving 100% of their effort. A little more than that, and their body will be in its comfort zone once again—simply doing what it can already do.
The Bottom Line
You gotta embrace my mindset: the harder something is, the stronger you get, the better you feel about yourself. This will not only get you looking good, but it will make you stronger mentally too. This is the type of stuff that, if you push yourself through, will get you feeling more confident (which is good for anything you do in life).
So go ahead and try this workout. It may not take a long time. It may not seem like the most complex of things. But, trust me, this will get you stronger.
This will force your body to adapt and adjust. Just put on enough weight to make it challenging. Only you’ll know if you’re doing something that your body isn’t used to doing. Be honest with yourself.
Let me know how it goes in the comments!