Heavy/Light/Medium Training for a Massive Back!

 

Heavy/Light/Medium Training

Part 4: Building a Massive Back and Monstrous Pulling Strength

     This is the 4^th part of our ongoing series on heavy, light, and medium training inspired by the methods of one of the greatest strength coaches to ever walk the planet, Bill Starr.  Once this series is finished, I hope that it will include everything one needs to know in order to train using this methodology.  If you haven’t done so already, or if this is the first article in the series that you’ve stumbled across, please take your time to read the other articles.  At the very least, you need to read the first part before continuing here.  It lays the foundation that the other articles are based upon, and the rest of the articles assume a working knowledge of that one.  So, here’s the links to the past essays in this series:

Part One: How to design an H/L/M program

Part Two: Upper body training

Part Three: How to build a massive squat

     Now, on to this one…

 

     Most lifters take up back training using H/L/M workouts (or similar programs) for one of three reasons.  Either (a) they want to be as big as possible, and they know that back training—along with heavy leg work—is one of the primary keys to achieving that; (b) they are after primarily strength but with a size side effect, and want to get incredibly strong on a wide range of back exercises; or (c) they want to use it to specialize on one, or maybe two, heavy pulls, such as the deadlift for powerlifters or the clean and/or the snatch for Olympic lifters.  Heavy, light, and medium training can certainly help achieve any or all of those goals, and is, in fact, one of the best training systems available for doing so.

     Training for the back, and, in particular, heavy “pull” training is different from how you train the upper body and the squat.  If you’re a powerlifter, for instance, you should train your squat markedly differently from how you should train your deadlift in this system.  You can train the squat three times a week.  The deadlift just once.

     The key to back training is to get strong on a wide range of movements.  To do this, I like to divide back training into 5 categories.  Don’t worry if that sounds overcomplicated; it’s not.  Understanding these categories is simple, and it helps to ensure that your program is set up properly by incorporating all of them.  Also, it helps to not think of “the back” as one muscle group the same way you think of chest, shoulders, etc.—because it’s not. (You also don’t think of chest, abs, shoulders, arms as being one muscle group called “the front.”)  Your back is comprised of different muscle groups, the same way the front of your body is comprised of different ones.

     Back training is best divided into (1) speed pulls, i.e. “the quick lifts,” (2) deadlift training and other “slow” pulls, (3) lat training, (4) trap work, and (5) direct lower back training.  All of these categories should be trained in a week, but not all in the same workout.  Let’s look at each category.  Keep in mind that the categories also overlap, as the different back muscles all do tie into one another, which is one thing that makes it unlike training “the front.”

     Let’s look at each category.  After that, we’ll take a look at some program suggestions.

 

Speed Pulls/ Quick Lifts

     The “quick” lifts—variations of power cleans, power snatches, and high pulls—have made a bit of a comeback during this century.  When I first started lifting in the ‘80s, and then throughout the ‘90s, you rarely saw quick lifts performed at the gym with the exception of Olympic lifters.  With the advent of CrossFit and other “functional” forms of lifting, the quick lifts are now more prevalent.

     The best quick lift to start with is the power clean.  It was the foundation for most of Starr’s programs when it came to back training.  “There are a few reasons that I always start with power cleans,” Starr said.  “I believe they are essential for all athletes but are also helpful for anyone who wants a strong back.  Power cleans require a high degree of athleticism.  By enhancing such factors as speed, timing, and coordination in the weight room, athletes benefit, for they can use the same skills on the playing field.”

     Power cleans and the other quick lifts aren’t just for athletes, however.  I personally believe that they’re indispensable, even for the bodybuilder or the casual trainee that just wants to “look good naked.”  Starr reiterates: “Power cleans are the best exercise for overall back development for a couple of reasons.  All of the back muscles—upper, middle, and lower—are equally involved in the lift, which means that all the groups are being strengthened at the same rate.  The lift is also most useful because once you perfect your form on the power clean, all other pulling movements are much easier to learn.”

     I think one of the reasons that your average lifter (at the average gym) doesn’t take up the quick lifts is the learning curve.  Quick lifts are a little more difficult to learn than other exercises.  They require coordination and a certain degree of skill.  But don’t let this hold you back.  If you can’t find a coach that can teach you, there are plenty of good videos on YouTube where you can find the proper form.  Watch several of them just to ensure that the advice is sound.

     After you learn the power clean, and after you’ve trained on it for a period of time, you want to move on to power snatches.  It requires a bit more skill than the power clean, but it’s another movement that’s well worth learning.

     The “easiest” of the quick lifts to learn is the high pull.  Even if you can’t clean or snatch, or find them too technically difficult at first, you can always do a high pull.

     Eventually, you should be using power cleans, power snatches, and high pulls in a single program.  It’s also good to use variants, such as dumbbell or kettlebell versions of all three and “hang” versions.

 

Deadlift Training

     The H/L/M system is fantastic for boosting your deadlift numbers.  Lifters, however, run into problems when they try to program the deadlift the same as the squat.  The squat can and should be trained 3 days a week, or even 4 days for advanced lifters.  The deadlift should be trained far less frequently.

     I prefer to have lifters train their deadlift only once per week, on the heavy day.  Once you become advanced, I even prefer an every-other-week schedule, where you train the conventional deadlift on the heavy day one week, and then a variation of it for the 2^nd week.  Sumo deadlifts or deficit deadlifts (either sumo or conventional) are good options for the variation.

     As you progress, you can start adding other variations of the deadlift to help with any weak points.  Stiff-legged deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, snatch-grip deadlifts, and rounded back deadlifts are all viable selections.  Most of the time, these variations should be used on the medium day as the primary back exercise for that day or as auxiliary movements on the heavy or medium day.

 

Lat Training

     I think, at least at first, the only thing you need for direct lat training is chins.  We won’t cover them here, as I’ve already done so in Part Two.  Starr believed that chins were the best biceps exercise, which is why they were included there, but please keep in mind that they are a part of the program.

     As you advance, you can add in some rowing movements.  Barbell rows, one-arm dumbbell rows, and T-bar rows are all good options.  There is no need to do this at first, not unless you’re already a fairly advanced lifter when you first start H/L/M training.

 

Trap Work

     I have one word for direct trap work: shrugs.

     I suppose I could leave it at the above sentence, and though it would be true, perhaps a few more words are in order.

     You want to incorporate a variety of shrugs into your program.  Start with barbell shrugs.  I think it’s best to shrug in a simple “up/down” motion as opposed to a “rotating” shrug, as the latter technique can put undue stress on the rotator cuffs and some of the smaller stabilizing muscles.  If you want to shrug using a rotating motion, then do so on lighter, higher-rep sets, as opposed to heavy ones.

     Start incorporating dumbbell shrugs after a few weeks.  You can rotate back and forth between barbell shrugs one week and dumbbells the next.

     For a change of pace, you can add in cable shrugs on occasion.  Don’t make them the primary form of shrugging that you do, but they can be a good change of pace.

     Keep in mind that (and this is the reason you really don’t need any direct exercise apart from shrugs) your traps will get a lot of work from the different pulling movements we’ve already discussed.  When a lifter first takes up power cleans, he’s often surprise just how sore his traps get from the movement.  Deadlifts don’t work the traps as much as the clean (or other quick lifts), but they do work the muscle.  Sumo deadlifts, however, put a tremendous amount of resistance directly on the traps.  If you want a massive set of traps that make you look as if you’re part gorilla, then center your back training around shrugs, sumo deadlifts, and power cleans.  That’s the trapezius triumvirate!

 

Direct Lower Back Training

     The lower back takes longer to recover from direct training than any other muscle group.  You must take this into account when designing your program.  This means that you shouldn’t do any heavy lower back training more than once per week.  The best option is to include some heavy training on occasion along with exercises that are auxiliary movements to your other lifts.

     Good morning variations are the best exercise choices.  I like to rotate between regular good mornings, seated good mornings, and good morning squats.  The good morning squat is a hybrid between a squat and a good morning.  It’s a fantastic exercise choice for building up your deadlift strength, as it mirrors the plane of movement of the deadlift almost to a tee.

     Perhaps the best exercise for the lower back, however, is the rounded back deadlift.  It’s not an exercise that should be taken up without building up the strength to utilize it beforehand.  If done incorrectly, it can lead to injury so use it with caution.  If you do choose to include it in your program, then make sure that you warm up sufficiently beforehand, and take your time working up to a heavy set.

 

The 6-Week Break-in Program

     Here, I will present a program for getting started with H/L/M training for the back.  This is based directly on Starr’s recommendation for starting out.  If you have never attempted this form of lifting before, even if you’re an experienced trainee, it’s best to follow the recommendations as written.

     For the first 2 weeks, do only power cleans as your back movement.  It should look something like this:

 

Monday: power cleans – 5 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps.  The last set should be all-out.

Wednesday: power cleans – 5 sets of 5 reps.  The first 3 sets should be progressively heavier, stopping at the weight used for the 3^rd set on Monday.  Use this same weight for your 4^th and 5^th set.

Friday: power cleans – 5 sets of 5 reps.  Perform 4 progressively heavier sets, stopping at the weight used for your 4^th set on Monday.  Use this weight for your 4^th and 5^th set.

 

     For the next two weeks, add in high pulls to the mix.  Perform your high pulls on the heavy and medium day.  Use power cleans still on your light day.  The next 2 weeks should look like this:

 

Monday: high pulls – 5 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps.  The last set should be all-out.

Wednesday: power cleans - 5 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps.  Go as heavy as you can.  Even a “heavy” set of power cleans should end up being around 80% of the weight used for the last set of high pulls.

Friday: high pulls - 5 sets of 5 reps.  Perform 4 progressively heavier sets, stopping at the weight used for your 4^th set on Monday.  Use this weight for your 4^th and 5^th set.

 

     For the final 2 weeks, it’s time to plug in deadlifts to the mix.  You will deadlift on Monday, power clean on Wednesday, and do high pulls on Friday.  The program should look like this:

 

Monday: deadlifts – 5 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps.  Last set should be all-out.

Wednesday: power cleans - 5 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps. 

Friday: high pulls - 5 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps. 

 

Additional Programs

     If you want, you could run the above program again for another 6 weeks but use some different 5x5ish variations.  The variations that I recommended in Part Three for the squat would all work well here for back training.  The only difference is that you may want to refrain from doing higher-rep work on the quick lifts.  5 reps are about the upper limit for reps when doing cleans, snatches, or high pulls.  Even your deadlift is best trained for the most part with 5 reps or less.  There are times when you might want to do higher reps sets of deads, but they are few and far between.  You can, however, train lats and shrugs with high reps.  The lats will often respond really well to higher reps, especially if hypertrophy is your primary goal.

     Here are some different programs that you could utilize after following the break-in program.

 

Quick Lift Specialization #1

Monday – Heavy Day

Power cleans: 5 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps.

High pulls: 5 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps.

 

Wednesday – Light Day

Power snatches: 5 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps.

 

Friday – Medium Day

Power cleans: 5 sets of 5 reps.  Work up to the weight used for your 4^th set on Monday

Barbell shrugs: 5 sets of 5 reps

 

Quick Lift Specialization #2

Monday – Heavy Day

High pulls: 5 sets of 5 reps or one of its variations.* 

Power snatches: 4 sets of 3 reps.  Perform these as “straight sets,” utilizing the same weight on each set.  Select a weight where you could get 6 reps for one all-out set.  Work on technique and developing speed and power.

Barbell shrugs: 5 sets of 5 reps or one of its variations.* 

 

Wednesday – Light Day

Power cleans: 5 sets of 5 reps or one of its variations.* 

 

Friday – Medium Day

Hang high pulls: 5 sets of 5 reps or one of its variations.* 

One-arm dumbbell snatches: 5 sets of 5 reps or one of its variations.*

 

Deadlift Specialization

Monday – Heavy Day

Deadlifts: 5 sets of 5 reps or one of its variations.* 

Power cleans: 4 sets of 3 reps.  Perform these the same as the power snatches from the previous program

 

Wednesday – Light Day

Good morning squats: 5 sets of 5 reps or one of its variations.*  If you have never done this exercise or some other GM variation before, don’t rush into the heavy sets.  You may want to spend a week or two working up to a hard but not “max” set to ensure that your lower back has acclimated to it.

 

Friday – Medium Day

Sumo deficit deadlifts: 5 sets of 5 reps or one of its variations.* 

Dumbbell shrugs: 5 sets of 5 reps or one of its variations.* 

 

All-Around Back Builder

Monday – Heavy Day

High pulls: 5 sets of 5 reps or one of its variations.* 

Sumo deficit deadlifts: 5 sets of 5 reps or one of its variations.* 

Barbell shrugs: 4 sets of 8 reps (straight sets)

 

Wednesday – Light Day

Power snatches: 5 sets of 5 reps or one of its variations.* 

Seated good mornings: 3 sets of 8 reps (straight sets)

 

Friday – Medium Day

Power cleans: 5 sets of 5 reps or one of its variations.* 

Barbell rows: 5 sets of 5 reps or one of its variations.* 

Thick bar deadlifts: 4 sets of 6-8 reps (straight sets)

 

*Change your sets and reps each week.  The first week do 5 sets of 5 reps.  The week after that, do 3 sets of 5 reps, followed by 2 or 3 sets of progressively heavier triples or doubles.  The week after that, do 4 straight sets of 5 reps.  Follow that up the next week with 3 sets of 5 reps, followed by ramps with singles until you reach a near max single.

 

Final Thoughts

     The programs above all work well, but keep in mind that they’re just examples.  You can use other exercises at times, and in fact will need to use additional movements in order to work on any weak points as you advance.  The main thing is to keep up with your total workload when adding, subtracting, or replacing different exercises so that you’re not doing too much or too little work on each training session.

     Stick with the same program for 6-8 weeks before making changes.  8 weeks is perfect if you utilize the set/rep variations that I recommend, as you will end up doing each variation twice.

 

Sources

All of Starr’s quotes, and the 6-week break-in program, are from the article “Attack Your Back,” by Bill Starr, from the December 1999 issue of IronMan magazine.

 

    

 

    

 

 

    

 

      

 

 

 

 

x