5 Steps to Get a RIPPED Back

Find out exactly how to get a shredded back with this step-by-step guide to build a bigger stronger back. Not only will you learn the best exercises to build a wider back and lats but you'll also learn diet tips to burn fat and get ripped.

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A ripped back can be more attractive than perfect six-pack abs and having a strong back also improves posture, prevents lower back injuries, and enhances athletic performance. The best part is that unlike abs, and calves everyone can get a ripped attractive looking back regardless of good or bad genetics. So in today's video, I want to show you how you can quickly develop and shred up your back muscles so that your lats, rhomboids, and traps can pop out every time you take your shirt off. 

And the first thing that you have to do is add thickness and size to your upper, middle, and lower back. The best way to do this is by lifting heavy weights for your major back exercises. Now a lot of people spend tons of time performing exercises like low rows, reverse flies, and skydivers, and even though these are all great exercises, nothing will add thickness to your back better than heavy deadlifts. Specifically, I'm talking about Romanian deadlifts, where you'll use your hamstrings and back muscles more than a regular deadlift. And again it's critical that once you get the correct form down you go really heavy. You shouldn't be able to do more than 8 to 10 reps. If you are then make sure you up the weight. The weight load should also be heavy enough that it requires you to use straps because those large muscles in your back should be significantly stronger than what your grip allows you to handle.

You can also wear a belt after you do your warm-up sets to support your lower back. But make sure you get some good sets in without the back brace before getting to your heaviest sets. This way you still get all the benefits in terms of strengthening your core as well. Now if you're worried about back pain you're probably doing the deadlifts incorrectly. You should be lifting with your lower back, instead, it's a hip-hinging movement where you pull your hips back to lower the weight, and push your hips forward via a hinging motion to lift the weight back up. You only have to lower the bar halfway down your shins before lifting the weight back up. So deadlifts are one best exercises because they allow you to isometrically load your back with a heavier weight than you can do for barbell rows, pullups, or really any other back exercise. 

However, after completing 3 to 4 heavy sets for deadlifts, you should also add in these other exercises. An exercise like pull-ups is extremely beneficial for your lats, which will give your back a wider appearance. As soon as you possibly can try to perform pullups without any assistance from resistance bands or the assisted pullup machine. Both methods offer a great way to start doing pullups, but as soon as you can you want to start performing unassisted bodyweight pullups, and then weighted pullups with a focus on upping the weight over time. Bent over barbell rows are another great exercise that you can and should go really heavy with. If you want to work more on your upper back, bend to 90 degrees and pull the barbell in towards your chest. Meanwhile to work more of your mid-back only bend to 60 degrees and pull the barbell in toward your belly button. Both are great variations that you should be incorporating into your workouts.

Another great exercise to develop unilateral back strength and to build up your back stabilizer muscles is the one-arm dumbbell row. Again you can perform this exercise by pulling the belly button for overall back development, or you can pull to your chest with your elbow out to your side for more upper back development. One last excellent key exercise for your back is the lat pulldown and obviously, as the name implies it'll help you develop your lats. Make sure when you do these you just pull the bar down to your upper chest, don't make the common mistake of using your rotator cuffs to pull further than that. So deadlifts, pullups, barbell rows, dumbbell rows, and lat pulldowns should be your main go-to exercises for building up your back muscles in the shortest amount of time possible. And again the deadlift is probably the most important one because it allows you to lift the heaviest load out of all the exercises, it's also the best at strengthening your erector spinae, developing the appearance of your lower back musculature, and separating the left and right side of your back. 

Now aside from doing these exercises, if you want ripped back, you need to lower your body fat percentage. Without a low enough body fat percentage, those big bulky back muscles just aren't going to show especially if they're covered by a thick layer of fat. As with other areas throughout your body like your stomach, love handles…