Not too long ago I designed a new workout for one of my coaching clients who’s a competitive bodybuilder. He already has a really good back, but he’s also at a pretty high level of competition and therefore has to go
Now THAT is a WIDE back!
toe-to-toe (or back-to-back) with some guys that have GREAT backs!
So to help him go from good to great in the back width department, I came up with the following superset:
Back Width Superset
- Decline DB Pullovers
- Underhand BB Rows
After the first week doing the new workout he reported back, “Man, I LOVE the new back workout, especially the superset you’ve got me doing! It gives me freaky pump in my lats!”
The rationale behind this particular superset is to pre-exhaust the lats with the decline DB pullovers. Then by going immediately to the underhand BB rows, you’re forcing the lats to become the weak link in the exercise – thus they receive the brunt of the stress. Plus the superset nature of the exercises occludes blood flow longer, ultimately resulting in a greater pump (which even if for nothing else, helps stretch the surround fascia over time…plus who doesn’t love a great pump?!)
This superset is GREAT for anyone needing more back width. But it’s an especially good strategy for those (like the client I designed this for) who are upper back dominant and have a hard time ‘feeling’ their lats work.
Give it a shot and let me know what you think by commenting down below.
Best,
Dr Clay
PS If you need to bring up your back, make sure to check out 3 Ways to Bring Up a Lagging Body Part.
Dr. Clay,
If our gym has a pullover machine, would you suggest using it in place of decline DB pullovers (or even using a cable version of the decline pullover if no machine is available)? Or is the decline DB pullover the way to go for this pairing? I figured I’d ask, because it’s usually best not to tinker with someone else’s recommendation without asking them first
Am I mistaken or is that a pic of Dorian Yates hitting a rear lat spread? You’ve had me do that superset before and it works great!
Joe, a pullover machine – assuming it’s a good one like the old Nautilus or Hammer Strength – is a very good option. It’s not better, but not worse – just different. It’d probably be harder to get the loaded BB by the pullover machine in most gyms, though. But that’s just a convenience issue.
Great question.
Best,
Dr Clay
Sadly it’s one of the newer ones from the Nautilus Nitro Plus Line (an old 1st generation would have been great), but I suppose it’s still worthwhile, albeit no better, as you noted. Thanks very much for the feedback, Dr. Clay, much appreciated.
This sounds good, will try it & report back.
This above picture is FREAKY impressive! Is that Reg Park? His lats are wider than his shoulders! Not too many have done that. Whoa!