I've been bodybuilding for over 10 years now and a lot has changes since that first year. Not only has my body changed, but my workout routine has changed about a dozen times, the bodybuilding supplements have evolved, and I've been a member of 5 different gyms since then. But right now I'm bigger and stronger then ever, I now have a routine that is fine tuned and optimal for gaining size and strength gains.
Day one for me is chest, shoulders and arms.
Day two is back.
Day three, off.
Day four is legs and back again.
One more day off, then chest, shoulders and back once more.
The seventh day is arms by themselves.
So, my back is worked three times every seven days.On the first day I do two different forms of heavy bent rows, beginning with five sets of narrow-grips, going up to 435 pounds for five reps. I know it sounds goofy, but you have to use good form with this kind of weight or you'll mess yourself up.
Next I will cut the weight to 305 and use a wide grip - as wide as I can go - and do three or four sets of 10, throwing the bar out to the front and pulling it in to my waist.
The narrow grip brings my elbows down and back; the wide grip brings them around and back, and these are the only two functions for the lats. That wide grip also puts lots of density and detail into my upper back, and it's great for the traps and erectors. I love 'em!
Also on this first day I do heavy pulldowns for four sets of eight. I begin with the entire stack of weights and then keep piling plates on top of that until I bust out of my form - my form gets stupid and I start working my erectors instead of lats.
When I do legs the next day, I also do deadlifts.
The third day will be 20 sets of overhand-grip chins - 10 sets with a shoulder-width grip and 10 sets using a wider grip - which lets me get those two elbow motions again, down-and-back and out-and-back.
And that's it. Real high-tech, huh? But it's worked great for me!
