07/22/2026
Want a THICK back with only a single dumbbell? As a personal trainer in Austin, I have to brainstorm various methods to reach the same goal…in this case, a gorilla back. Here are 3 considerations when targeting THICKNESS:
(1) Thickness refers to the muscles in between the shoulder blades (i.e. scapulae) or up & down the spine, meaning that you have to move your shoulder blades up, back, and/or down rather than movement through the shoulder or elbow joint. Any row movement, like the bent-over row will hit the mid-traps and rhomboids between the shoulder blades, taking care of the bulk of this.
(2) The lats can add to this “thickness”, but it is often seen as the “width” aspect of the back. While the lats can also get thicker, it is simply done through the growth of that muscle in general, which would be optimized through pull-downs where the lats are in the most lengthened state.
(3) If you want to work the rest of the “thickness” muscles, hit upper traps near the neck via any shrug variation, lower traps closer to your mid-lower back via scapular pull-downs (i.e. the initial setting of the shoulder blades in a pulldown), and the lower back extensors via spine-loaded movements such as back squats and deadlift variations.
If you want to target your back muscles in a detail-oriented manner via in-person or online personal training, tap “Book Now” in my bio for a consultation (Will Cho | Austin Personal Trainer (NSCA-CPT, CSCS))!
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