In talking with many other lifters who are looking for that thick upper back look, I’m convinced that many people are not seeing the results they want, due to a lack of poundage and overall volume.

In my experience with training to build a bigger set of traps and a thick upper back, heavier weights are the way to go.

Optimally, I’d be Deadlifting once a week, hitting other deadlift variations on another day during the week, and then performing some form of heavy Rack Pull or Shrug that requires lifting straps on another day during the week.

However, my lower back has given me some problems through the last quarter of this year, so I haven’t been able to perform those kinds of lifts with the frequency I’d normally go for.

Instead, I’ve had to switch gears and go very heavy on my “isolation work,” for the upper back, and recently I was able to get some of this work on film to share with you.

In the video below you’ll see the following exercises and suggested volumes if you try them out:

1A – Heavy Incline Posterior Flies – 8 to 12 reps
1B – Lighter Incline Posterior Flies – 8 to 12 reps
1C – Heavy Dumbbell Shrugs – 10 to 20 reps

On this particular occasion, I used 65lb dumbbells on the first sub-set of Posterior Flies, followed by 35lbs (I think), then immediately went to 120lb Dumbbells for the Shrugs.

Optimally, I follow the Posterior Flies up with heavier Dumbbell Shrugs, especially if I’m working in my own gym with plate-loadable dumbbells, but I had to make due with the light 120-lb dumbbells at the local commercial gym.

I’m convinced, you need to hit these body parts with heavy weight. Optimally, you go with big weights on barbells, but if your back is acting up, you can do some of the stuff I showed you today.

If you’re looking for more ideas to build a big yoke, cannon-ball shoulders and massive upper back, look no further than YOKETOBER.

Any questions, please let me know.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Click the Banner Below To
Build Big Traps, Thick Back and Stronger Shoulders

Sample Circuit from Yoketober Program

I want to show you a sample of the Yoketober program. Here’s a circuit from Workout #3.

Workout #3 was a Chest day, so you’re going to see some Chest work, with some Yoke work sprinkled in.

C1. Shrug Top Holds
3 sets of 10 reps with 3-ct hold at the top

C2. Incline Bench Press
3 sets of 12

C3. Push-ups
3 sets of 15 to 20

Here’s a video from yesterday’s workout. Sorry that the audio is gone. There was an Ozzy Osborne song playing in the background, which YouTube didn’t like, so they zapped all the audio out of it.

Yoketober Workout #3: Shrugs, Inclines, and Push-ups

If you want to blow up your Yoke this month, then there’s no better way to do it than Yoketober.

You can pick up your copy by clicking the banner below or this link: Yoketober 2016 Program

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Monster Yoke Finisher

Every Friday, I wake up early, knowing I’m about to step into battle.

This is not the type of battle that is fought amongst opposing teams or countries, though.

This is a battle fought within myself.

The constant struggle to physically keep fighting, or to listen the voice inside my head telling me to stop and give up.

Fridays is when, I do a my Yoke workout with my adult men training clients, where we hit Upper Back, Traps, Posterior Deltoids and Triceps.

This week, the final siege included this 5-exercise superset:

• Banded Paused Rows
• Rope Bodyweight Rows
• Posterior Flyes
• Dumbbell Triceps Skiers
• Triceps Kick Backs

Each exercise was done for a total of 15 repetitions. We rest-paused as needed and/or dropped down in weight in order to get the reps.

It was nothing short of all out struggle, waged until the very end.

Monster Finisher for Building a Massive Yoke

We went through this one time, as we were running out of time, but if you go through this with the goal of finishing in 3 to 4 minutes, one set is really all you need, brother.

I’ve talked about it before, how much I love the Back & Triceps combination – can’t say enough about the rush I get each and every week. These workouts are probably the hardest I do each and every week, because at only 1 hour, including warm-up, I don’t take up a bunch of time with Grip Sport lifts, which is actually a big mental relief for me.

If you’re looking for some absolutely SICK WORKOUTS that will help you build a big Back, cannon-ball deltoids, and Traps that deform every tee shirt you put on, then try out Yoketober, below.

All the best in your training.

-Napalm-

Build a Big Back, Thick Traps, and Massive Delts:

As my obsession with Angry Birds gets stronger and my ability to manage time gets weaker, I find myself with less and less time to train.

However, limited time to train has not hurt my training progress, as it has forced me to quit screwing around while I am in the gym and pack a ton of quality, hard, and serious work into my training sessions.
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