How To Build A Bigger Back With Calisthenics & Weights

Are you trying to build a bigger back using a combination of calisthenics & weights?

My name is Andrew Aurora and I help traveling businessmen get in shape using calisthenics and resistance training

And in this post I am going to be showing you one of my favorite routines to build a bigger back using both weights and calisthenics.

Let's jump right in

Your back is comprised of many muscle groups, many of which that often get neglected by most people, including myself for many years

My biggest issue with most back routines (especially calisthenics routines) is that they often times don't include an exercise for every muscle in your back

Not only that, but because many calisthenics exercises are compound movements as opposed to isolated movements it can be really hard to focus on one specific muscle group that may be weaker than the others

However, calisthenics also provides some of the best back exercises out there, and some of the best strength gains that weights alone will never help you achieve

Because of this, I feel like combining the best of both worlds will help you see the best results when trying to build a bigger back, and that's why I put this complete back workout routine together.

So for those of you that don't know, the pull up is my favorite exercise, and I don't believe any back workout is complete without it

The pull up is a great exercise for developing your upper lats and does a great job of working your biceps, rear delts, forearms, and traps in the process

To perform the pull up correctly you will have your hands roughly shoulder width - or slightly past shoulder width - apart

Be sure to maintain a firm grip, keep your legs straight, your abs engaged, and your scapula's locked back

From here you are going to pull up to your chest and come back down

Be sure to not kip during the pull up and keep your legs together, as kipping is incorrect form and is only compensating for weakness

Any other form you see people do is incorrect, and though you can still see gains, it is best to plug the power leaks in your form by keeping your form correct and solid throughout the whole motion

Once you get to a point where 10-15 pull ups is easy for you you can start adding weight to increase your strength and build a bigger back

Depending on which level you are at in your fitness journey, this can be a great exercise for strengthening your lats in more of a straight-arm fashion

Your lats are not only used for pulling up and down, but also for pulling from front to back, and building your lat strength through straight arm exercises is a great way to develop your lats

Training this way will translate into calisthenics skills like the front lever hold and the muscle up

Basically all the front lever raise is is a suspended lat pull down, and requires the exact same muscles to perform the movement

If you aren't quite ready for the front lever raise you can start with the tuck front lever raise, or you can use a resistance band to offload some of the weight.

Either option is fine, just start where your current skill level is

How this will work is you will jump up on the bar placing your hands roughly shoulder-width apart

Engage your lats and scapula by starting off with a scapula shrug

From there you should be able to use your lats to raise your body up fairly easily

I would personally aim for around 10 reps of this as your goal, or until failure. Whichever comes first

Again, once around 10-15 reps becomes easy for you you can start adding additional weight using a weight vest

It's all about the lat development here, and this exercise is no different

At this point your lats should have a nice pre-exhaust on them to the point that throwing your bodyweight around is probably getting a little tough

That's why with this exercise I wanted to take your bodyweight out of it and really focus on pushing those lower lats to failure with the standing dumbbell row

I personally like to use a wall or bench to help support my weight, but I never us put my knee on the bench when doing this exercise.

The reason for this is because this puts a stretch on your abdominal muscles that places your abdomen in a vulnerable position for developing hernias

And of course along with that risk you won't have any all additional benefits for muscle growth

Be sure to never do this exercise on a bench and to always do it standing

When you go to perform this exercise it is important to use a weight that challenges you in the 10-15 rep range and really focus on driving this exercise with your lats, not your biceps

You can do any grip with this exercise so long as you really pull with that lat and don't rely on the bicep

However, if you really want to take the bicep out of it you can use more of a pronated grip

From here you want to focus on not letting your back arch so your lower back isn't put in a vulnerable position and really focus on getting a nice tight contraction on that lat

Try not to rush these and make sure you control the weight on the way down, really controlling the eccentric of the exercise

If you do this regularly I can pretty much guarantee that you will see gains in your lower lats and start to build a bigger back

Shrugs are an exercise I have heavily neglected in my training, which is why I have not developed my upper traps the way I would like

Recently that has changed however, and I want to make sure you don't do the same thing

You can do shrugs with either dumbbells, barbells, or with a trap bar.

Ideally you will have access to a trap bar, but if you don't the other two options will work

Regardless of which option you use you will want to load this up with a challenging weight and really focus on hitting those upper traps

Be sure when doing this to lean slightly forward and let your shoulders protract, then shrug up with your traps.

By doing this you will get a greater stretch on your trap muscles, ultimately helping you get better development in your traps

Just be sure not to roll your shoulders. This is not healthy for your shoulders and will not provide any additional benefits.

Incorporate these into your routine and you will start seeing upper trap gains

This is probably my favorite exercise for hitting the mid traps

I love this exercise because it allows you to get a really good pre-stretch on your traps, and also let's you get a nice tight contraction

You can do this with either one arm at a time, or you can do it with both arms at a time

Be sure to really focus on getting a tight contraction while also keeping the motion under control on the eccentric portion of the exercise

If done right then you will build a bigger back and see a lot trap gains

No back exercise is complete without the face pull, and it compliments the previous exercise very well once your traps have already been worn down

The face pull can be performed with cables, rings, or bands, but I prefer taking two ropes and attaching them on a cable machine for the best form

This exercise is not meant to be a heavy exercise, but more of a corrective exercise for your postural muscles such as your rotator cuff, traps, and rear delts

However, with your back already pre-exhausted you should be able to feel a nice burn with this exercise

When performing this exercise, be sure to focus on pointing your thumbs behind you and allow your elbows to follow your hands, not the other way around

You don't want to perform this exercise with internal rotation as that will be detrimental to the health of your shoulders, and will also be less effective at hitting the muscles we are trying to target

Really focus on getting that external rotation, and bring your arms together on the eccentric, as opposed to letting your arms get pulled down and forward, which would once again place your shoulder into internal rotation

If performed correctly this exercise will do wonders for your posture and the overall health of your back and shoulders

Now we are going to focus more on the lower traps.

These muscles often get neglected, but are very important in supporting your back

Going straight from the face pull, we are just going to lower the cable and raise our arms up in more of a "Y" position, really focusing on hitting our lower traps

Just like the face pull, this is not going to be a heavy exercise.

You may even find that you have to drop the weight from the face pull, and that's ok

This exercise is typically more for corrective purposes, but since we have already worked the traps pretty hard up until this point this exercise should present a good challenge for our lower traps

Do this for about 10-15 reps, aiming for failure, and you will definitely start to build a bigger back

After hitting most of our upper back, it's finally time to focus on the often neglected lower back

This is one of my all time favorite lower back exercises, and can pretty much be performed on any elevated surface such as a table, a box, or some other elevated surface

However, I love to get adjustable dip station bars and place them together as my surface (see video above for the example)

I then proceed to take a barbell shoulder pad and use it for a cushion for my lower abdominal area

I find that doing this puts a lot less pressure on my stomach, making it easier to breathe and also providing me with more leverage with the placement of my arms

Once I'm in position I will have a light 10lb weight placed between my feet and focus on raising my legs up with my glutes and lower back

Try to avoid arching your lower back too much and focus more on contracting your lower back and glute muscle to raise the dumbbell up

You will find that this exercise is exceptional for isolating and strengthening your lower back

For our last exercise we've got one more low back exercise for you

Before we were focused on hitting the lower back from the bottom up. Now we are focusing on hitting it from the top down

For this you will need a hyper extension machine. If you don't have access to the one I am using in the video you can always utilize one that is positioned at more of a diagonal angle. Either will be fine

From here you will lower your body and proceed to once again raise up your legs using your lower back and glutes.

Try not to arch the lower back, just like with the last exercise, and just focus on tightening your core and lifting with your lower back and glute muscles

If bodyweight is too easy for you you can use a dumbbell or a weight to make this even harder.

Be sure push this to failure, and hold for time on the last rep for the best results

Also be sure to control the eccentric on the way down and don't just let yourself drop

If you do this exercise and the last exercise regularly your lower back will be burning and you will build a bigger back

Repeat this routine for at least 3 sets for the best results

If you enjoyed this post and want to watch the video version, head on over to my Youtube channel