Written by IFBB Pro Josh Wade
04 April 2020

 Allmax-Josh-Wade--Back-Workout

 

Relentless Pursuit
By IFBB Pro Josh Wade
Presented by Allmax Nutrition



Back Workout to Build Muscle
Exercises to Build a Big, Wide Back

 

Q: My back is my weakest body part. It seems like every other muscle group is growing but I can’t seem to get my back to get any wider. I’m at a loss. What have you done to get your width?

           

A: Like I talk about in most of my columns when discussing training, one key to stimulating growth is focusing on the negative or eccentric portion of the lift. I feel that’s been a huge factor in me improving all my body parts due to it significantly improving mind-muscle connection. That alone does a couple of very important things. It keeps more time under tension because the muscle never gets a chance to relax. First you explode through the elbows to force the muscle to contract, and then you try to hold the squeeze for a split second before slowly controlling the negative all the way until you reach for the stretch. Then fire the elbows again to force contraction and repeat this pattern until you can no longer resist the negative. At that point you know the muscle is truly spent, as you can’t control the strongest part of the exercise, the negative. The muscle is fatigued and needs rest before doing the same thing on your next set!

           

The other thing I feel controlling the negative is very helpful for, especially when doing bent-over exercises like barbell rows or T-Bar rows, is keeping the tension or strain off the lower back. When I can hold the weight in the contracted position for a split second and control the negative, I only feel the tension in my lats and nothing in my lower back because I’m not heaving the weight up and letting it fall only to catch it with my lower back, which causes shock. You should know you are doing it right when your lats are crazy pumped and your spinal erectors are not, unless you are doing hyperextensions specifically for the spinal erectors. Here is an example of one of my favorite back routines.

           

Remember to fire the elbows to force contraction, and then hold the contraction on every rep for a split second before slowly controlling the negative. Then reach for the stretch and explode the elbows again!

 

Wide Neutral-grip Pulldowns – 5x12-10

Superset with

Cable Rope Pullovers – 5x12

 

Reverse-grip Pulldowns – 4x12-10

 

Close-grip, Neutral-grip T-Bar Rows – 4x12-10

(Last set is a double drop set – cut the weight twice)

 

Chest-supported Two-arm Dumbbell Rows – 4x12

(I like doing these lying facedown on an incline bench at about a 30-degree angle using an overhand grip. When I fire my elbows up I raise my chest off the bench to create an arch and hold the squeeze before slowly letting my chest come back down to the bench and do it again)

 

Seated Cable Rows – 4x12

(I like these as a finisher as the constant tension from the cable never lets the muscle relax while controlling the negative, and really pumps the lats. You can focus on the squeeze and not having to stabilize)

           

Apply those techniques and I guarantee you will feel your back in a completely different way!

 

Intermittent Fasting, Plant-Based and Keto Diets

           

Q: Everywhere I look I see people talking about intermittent fasting, as well as plant-based or keto diets. Just curious what your take is on all of this.

           

A: Well let me say there is no way in hell I personally could do any of those as I have a great appetite and hate to fast, even for blood work. I understand some people do intermittent fasting when dealing with or eliminating digestive issues. Other than that, I don’t see a purpose, nor do I know enough about it to see the rationale behind it except for the excuse of eating more calories in a short period of time. In my opinion it’s people who can’t eat in moderation that are drawn to that concept or idea. I believe the best way to keep metabolism elevated is through frequency of feedings in moderate portions with clean food to make sure the body is fueled consistently and therefore always burning the fuel you put into it like a fast-burning fire in a fireplace. If a fire in a fireplace burns down too low, as in not eating frequently enough, and you put a bunch of wood or food on it at once you will smolder it and bog it down, which is the same thing that happens when you eat dirty, hard-to-digest foods like meals high in saturated fat. Consistently adding one log or one clean meal at a time every three hours keeps that fire burning nice and hot, therefore keeping the metabolism humming along!

           

If people have a moral issue with animal protein then I will never try to change their beliefs, but it’s a lot harder to build muscle tissue and get a high protein content from a diet of just veggies and starches. Not to mention when dieting down without the calories that come from animal proteins, it’s hard to make those calorie cuts.

           

Now to keto. I understand people can lose weight quickly with it, sometimes resulting in losing muscle tissue also and therefore slowing down the metabolism. With less active muscle tissue and also without the carbs, training can suffer and I personally would never want training to suffer due to a lack of fuel from carbs. In summary, there is nothing better than a clean diet of lean protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats eaten frequently as in every three hours while awake to keep your body working like a machine with no peaks and valleys in energy.

 

Josh’s Current Pre-, Intra- and Post-workout Stack

 

Pre-workout: ½ scoop Carbion, 1 scoop Impact Igniter

Intra-workout: 2 scoops Carbion, 1 scoop Aminocore, 1 scoop Impact Pump, 5g Creatine, 10g Glutamine

Post-workout: 2 scoops Isoflex (PB chocolate), 10g Glutamine

 

Please send questions for this column to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website: www.teamwadefitness.com

Instagram: @ifbbprojoshwade and @teamallmax

For more information, visit allmaxnutrition.com

 

 

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