How to have a V-shaped back in bodybuilding?

Made up of different muscles, the back is one of the most difficult parts of the body to develop. Building muscle and obtaining a V-shaped back is the objective of many exercisers. This implies that you should focus on training with heavy loads and that you should always adopt the right posture. A few well-targeted exercises integrated into your bodybuilding program should thus allow you to obtain a strong and imposing back. Find out everything you need to know about back training.

How is the back composed muscularly speaking?

The back is not a muscle in itself. It is in fact an area of the upper body made up of different muscle groups. In order to build up your back muscles effectively, it is essential to understand how it is constituted.

This backbone region therefore integrates several layers of deep muscles and superficial.

The Latissimus dorsi is undoubtedly the best known muscle of the back. It is directly responsible for the V-shape that is so characteristic of a muscular back. The large dorsal muscles extend over a large area and influence the width of the back.

Located at the top of the back, the trapezius is diamond-shaped. The main role of the trapezius, which is made up of three fascicles, is to ensure balance between the front and back of the chest. The fact of soliciting it at the time of your exercises of muscular reinforcement will enable you to develop the thickness of the back.

Often responsible for back pain, the lumbar muscles are very much in demand in many fitness or weight training movements and in daily life. The lumbar muscles are located at the bottom of the back, an area that should be strengthened to avoid back pain. The oblique and spinal muscles are particularly important.

Finally, the large and small round muscles are located in the region of the shoulder blades. Linked to the shoulders, these two back muscles play an antagonistic role.

The two ways to develop your back: thickness or width

To build up your back and become stronger, you can work on the width and thickness.

To build back strength across the width of your body, you should focus on strength training exercises that involve pulling a weight with your arms above your head. In the weight room, pull-ups and variations of vertical pull-ups are ideal for working the back over the width.

To develop back thickness, you will need to strengthen muscles such as the trapezius, lumbar and rhomboid. Horizontal pull-ups that start with your arms out in front of you are recommended to increase the musculature of your back.

What are the specific exercises to develop the V-shaped back?

For optimal back muscle strengthening, it is essential to carry out mainly multi-joint exercises using rather heavy loads. Of course, make sure you warm up well before starting your training session. Also, conclude your training with stretching in order to preserve your spine.

Note that it can be interesting to integrate in the same session the work of each dorsal muscle with that of the pectoral and shoulders (deltoids).

To develop a V-shaped back, the vertical pull and the horizontal pull are two essential exercises. They will in particular support the muscular recruitment of the large dorsal by targeting many muscular fibres.

The pull-up is an excellent alternative to the vertical pull. While this popular exercise requires an advanced level of fitness, it is particularly effective at building a full back. The goal is to pull your body weight until your torso approaches the pull-up bar. For an optimal contraction of the back, it is important to sheath your abdominal strap.

Among the basic exercises to obtain a V-shaped back, the barbell rowing and the dumbbell rowing are also very useful. However, be sure to adopt the right postures, and in particular to keep your back straight. Finally, the lumberjack exercise will also allow you to work the large back and gain thickness in the back.

To build back muscle by targeting the trapezius muscles, shrugs are probably the most popular movement in the gym. Using the barbell or dumbbells, shrugs consist of shrugging movements. 

The chin-up rowing is also particularly effective and stimulates both the upper part of the trapezius and the deltoid. To solicit the muscular fibres of the middle trapezius, integrate into your session series of high pulley chin-ups (or face pull).

To isolate a little more the contraction of the small and the large round, the vertical pulling tight hold is the exercise par excellence.

Lastly, the reinforcement of the lumbar ones passes by one of the key movements in body-building, the deadlift. Indeed, the deadlift (normal or sumo) is ideal for muscling the lower back and will at the same time act on the hamstrings and the glutei. The realization of this poly-articular exercise of force requires on the other hand to adopt a perfect posture not to be injured.

Raising the chest on a lumbar chair is also an excellent way to effectively mobilize the lower back.

Can we combine the two ways to be more effective in building up our back?

To build back muscle, it is absolutely essential to find the right balance between exercises that promote width and those that develop thickness. It is actually the harmony between these two elements that will allow you to obtain a strong and muscular V-shaped back.

In addition to the aesthetic aspect, this balance between the thickness and width of the back is crucial to avoid injuries or chronic pain in the spine and lumbar region.

Perform these different exercises in a balanced manner during your workouts to achieve a wide, thick V-shaped back. If you are get started in weight trainingIf you're a beginner, make sure you're in the right postures by starting with lighter weights. You can then use heavier weights and increase muscle recruitment as you progress.

My best exercises to build muscle without hurting yourself!

Having a V-shaped back is undoubtedly the most aesthetic and harmonious shape that it is possible to have.

It is also the one that was most sought after when I was still doing BodyBuilding competitions.

But the problem with building back strength? It is that we often think that all the exercises of pulling are intended to build the width of the back. And that the rowing exercises work mainly the thickness. When in reality, it's a little more complicated than that.

In this video, I explain how to build a wide V Back with a pair of dumbbells, elastics and bodyweight. In addition to knowing which exercises to focus on, you'll be able to build up a session that's just as effective as a gym workout to build your back without having to leave your house 😉

If you would like a more complete 3 month program, here is the one you can download:

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