Gaining Muscle Fast: How To Build a Massive Back

By: Sean Nalewanyj Click author's name for more of his/her articles

Many people are misguided when it comes to bodybuilding.

Everyone is desperate to gain muscle fast, yet very few understand how to properly do it.

For most aspiring lifters, getting a massive chest and big arms is everything.

Week after week they slave away on endless sets of bench presses and barbell curls in search of the rippling muscle gains they want so badly.

Not surprisingly, their dreams of gaining muscle fast remain unfulfilled.

While gaining muscle fast in your chest and arms is clearly an important part of any complete physique, the truth is that these muscles only play a small role when compared to a much larger muscle group that most people severely neglect in their training programs.

I am talking about the major muscles of the back: the lats, traps, spinal erectors, rhomboids, and lower back.

Lifters neglect these all-too-important muscles for basic reasons…

1) The back isn't a "showy" muscle, and you can't see it in the mirror.

2) Back training certainly puts more stress on the body than any type of chest or arm training can.

3) Many lifters don't know how essential these muscles are.

I'll tell you a little secret…

For those who ache to look wide, thick, and powerful in no time, nothing achieves this better than a well developed back.

In fact, 70% of your upper body muscle mass resides in this area!

If you want a strong, thick upper body, all you need are bulging lats and wide trapezius muscles that can be obtained by gaining muscle fast on your back.

Please, get up off that bench press and put down that EZ-curl bar for just a moment and let me share a simple, step-by-step workout that you can use when gaining muscle fast, in order to build the muscular back you so desperately need.

Here are the four major movements that will properly develop your back…

1) Deadlifts

This lift is of uttermost importance. There is not a single exercise out there that can even come close to matching the effectiveness of a basic, bent-legged barbell deadlift when gaining muscle fast is a priority.

The deadlift will work you from finger to neck to toe and is irreplaceable in developing strong, thick back muscles.

The deadlift should be the cornerstone of your workouts as it works your total back complex.

2) A vertical pulling movement

These exercises will target your lat muscles and work to get you that wide, v-tapered look from behind.

Include vertical pulling exercises like chin-ups, v-bar pull downs, and lat pull downs.

To gain muscle fast, I recommend a basic overhand chin-up.

This is the most important of all vertical pulling movements and will stimulate your lats to the max.

3) A horizontal pulling movement

Horizontal pulling movements, also known as "rows", place their emphasis on the upper/middle portion of the back and will also stimulate the lats.

Stick to a basic free-weight rowing movement if you want to gain muscle fast.

Barbell rows are what I recommend, although bent over dumbbell rows are a great choice as well.

4) A shrugging movement

While not as important for gaining muscle fast, a shrugging movement should still be performed at the end of the workout to target the upper traps and develop that mountainous look from behind.

Performing a basic barbell or dumbbell shrug is all you need.

Alright, time to sum up…

Overhand Chin-Ups – 2 x 5-7 reps

If your goal is gaining muscle fast, try the above routine for optimal gains in back size and strength.

Personally, I've used this same routine for many years and still see steady progress in both back size and strength.

Make sure to keep a written record of every workout that you perform, and focus each week on increasing either the weight that you lift or the number of reps that you perform within the given rep range.