Thread: Wide, but not Thick

Some of it is genetic.....you cant enlarge your ribcage or increase the width of your shoulder bone structure. As far as the muscle it just takes time...eat and train...and learn what your body needs.

The only thing I know that can make you "thick" is by training your back to grow muscle out rather than wide. If you do a lot of lat pull-downs then you will get the cool "wings". To get your back and add some width...simply do pull-ups....easiest way is to use the lat pull-down machine and do them on their so you can do more than your weight....just do underhanded pull ups with your hands fairly close and this should target your back to grow "thick". A lot of football players do this...the ones I know anyway (plus this was recommended to me from someone who use to train with the eagles but they did pull ups with weights hanging from them...ouch)

Wanna switch for awhile?

Dude do you even work your back?

I agree with Cowbell. Pullups, Pullups, and, more Pullups.

row row row your way to a thicker back. you must learn to love the row. worship it. look how beautiful it is. could the world possibly be complete without it?

Bent over rows baby.

ok, you guys are gettin way out of hand here. Of course i train my back. My back is my favorite bodypart to train. I do a lot of deadlifts, pullups, lat pulldowns, BB Bent over rows, CG rows, WG rows, hyperextensions, etc...

Take a look at my journal and look at all the back workouts i have done. I always mix up my workout by changing up exercises, tempo's, RI's, reps, grip handles and weight. You're acting like i dont do back at all. I treat all bodyparts equally and work them all to the full extent.

After reading foreman's post, i think it's just my build/genetics. When i get older, it will probably come. My dad used to be skinny when he was my age but got bigger as he got older.

I dont know what to tell you....thats like if someone wants wider shoulders, you cant really train that...its genetic....as far as being "thick"....dont worry about it, you look fine and if you got any "thicker" you would still have a small neck and head and that would look kinda funny anyway...actually thinking about it made me laugh. Anyway, you look fine and your workouts looked fine so you should be okay...just let nature do what it does and be happy because you could look a whole hell of a lot worse.

Originally Posted by shiznit2169

If you look in my gallery, you can see that i look good from the front (see most muscular pic) .. but when you see myself from a side view (see tri shot), you can see that i am lacking that "thickness" from front to back.

In your avatar you are blocking out your waist, making you look more impressive. I'm 6'2" so I see this phenomenon in myself, because I look far better if you dont show my waist. Otherwise I feel narrow, even though everyone says different.

If you want thickness, you need serious size. You cant make a muscle grow in only one direction. I'd feel thick around 280 and lean, as a guess. 240s and 260s at my height isn't going to look pro-bodybuilder thick. Of course if Brad Pitt is thick to some people, obviously they aren't looking for much.

I also have a 52" chest, its decent, but I dont look totally thick in the classic sense. In the compared to Joe Average sense, yeah I'm thick, but Joe Average thinks working out in the gym for 2 weeks makes him look awesome so he has to pose in the mirror all day long.

So what do you call thick? You just aren't going to get it at a low bodyweight.

In your avatar you are blocking out your waist, making you look more impressive. I'm 6'2" so I see this phenomenon in myself, because I look far better if you dont show my waist. Otherwise I feel narrow, even though everyone says different.

I agree with this. People say that i look good, getting bigger but most of the time i think they are just trying to be nice. I tend to feel too "skinny" and not thick enough but they do say otherwise as well.

If you want thickness, you need serious size. You cant make a muscle grow in only one direction. I'd feel thick around 280 and lean, as a guess. 240s and 260s at my height isn't going to look pro-bodybuilder thick. Of course if Brad Pitt is thick to some people, obviously they aren't looking for much.

I understand that i need serious size, which is why i asked. I just wanted to know if there was a way to develop that thickness, like any different styles of training to hit my back more but all i really need to do is just eat more and gain weight so i can grow.

I also have a 52" chest, its decent, but I dont look totally thick in the classic sense. In the compared to Joe Average sense, yeah I'm thick, but Joe Average thinks working out in the gym for 2 weeks makes him look awesome so he has to pose in the mirror all day long.

So what do you call thick? You just aren't going to get it at a low bodyweight.

I'm sure the "average joe" always believe they should get bigger after 2 weeks of training. I dont pose in the mirror everyday to see my gains. I have been training for 5-6 months now and i am incredibly pleased with my progress, but i think it's the mental aspect that is telling me that i am not as big as i want to be. I'm sure it's the same for all people. Everybody wants to keep growing until they are 100% satisfied with their accomplishments.

I know i am not going to get thick at a low bodyweight. I eat a lot but i guess it's time to push it even further. However, i still want to maintain my BF% around 8-10 so that's incredibly tough to do when you are bulking. I'm not looking to be massive like a pro BB or incredibly lean with extremely low BF. I just want the ideal body that most people aim for which is to be big as they'd like to be while keeping their BF down.

All in all, i guess i am frustrated that this takes a lot of time and hard work to reach your goals. I understand that and it's surprising because i am usually a very patient person. I guess i will just keep doing what i do and let the gains come slowly.

Thanks again!

Its nice to know that people think you look great, and I enjoy some compliments too now and then. At the same time, even though I know I'm larger than the average guy, I want more, and that is part of what drives me/us/whatever.

So I view it as a good thing, since its not so bad for me that I'm willing to do anything and everything at any cost, but I still have some drive in me for more.

Thats just how it is, and the thickness, just comes with time/size/diet...

Originally Posted by shiznit2169

Hello ladies and gentlemen, i am currently having a problem that has been bugging me for a while. I am happy with the progress i am making so far, i can definetly see the gains and getting stronger for sure. However, even though i am getting wider, i am lacking the thickness. If you look in my gallery, you can see that i look good from the front (see most muscular pic) .. but when you see myself from a side view (see tri shot), you can see that i am lacking that "thickness" from front to back.

So all you experts, does it just take time for a guy like me who used to be an extreme ectomorph to fill out or is it mostly a dietary problem, like i need to eat more calories to get that thickness i need? Dont get me wrong, my training program is fine as well as my diet. My diet isnt 100% but i eat roughly 3000-3500 calories a day and i rarely have a cheat meal. The majority of the foods i eat is chicken, steak, oats, cottage cheese, etc..you get the idea. If anyone who ever encountered this problem know a solution, dont hestitate to give advice.

how are you bro, yeah i have the same problem bro, my height is 5'10 and my weight is 163lbs and hopefully rising, i am still thin when i look side on say in a miror and reflection, but like you i am pretty built front on so now i am really doing the rows and changing my grip around to target different areas of my back, if you can give me some tips on how to get thicker i would be very happy.

a routine based on powerlifting movements will get you thick. compound movements and olympic lifts rule.

Originally Posted by shiznit2169

ok, you guys are gettin way out of hand here. Of course i train my back. My back is my favorite bodypart to train. I do a lot of deadlifts, pullups, lat pulldowns, BB Bent over rows, CG rows, WG rows, hyperextensions, etc...

Take a look at my journal and look at all the back workouts i have done. I always mix up my workout by changing up exercises, tempo's, RI's, reps, grip handles and weight. You're acting like i dont do back at all. I treat all bodyparts equally and work them all to the full extent.

After reading foreman's post, i think it's just my build/genetics. When i get older, it will probably come. My dad used to be skinny when he was my age but got bigger as he got older.
--------------------
Back

WG Pull-ups

2 x failure

CG pull-ups

1 x failure

Deadlifts

135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 5
245 x 3

Dumbbell Rows

50 x 8
60 x 8
70 x 8

WG Lat Pulldown

60 x 8
70 x 8
90 x 8 (Remember it's not the weight, it's the form)

CG Lat Pulldown

60 x 8
70 x 8
90 x 8 (good form)

In looking at the routine you posted in your journal, I see a lot of exercises that work the lats, but only one exercise that is going to target the back for thickness--dumbell rows. You state that you also do barbell rowing as well although you didn't list poundage. Deadlifts are also good, but they don't exactly target the upper back for thickness. If you want thickness, I agree that you need to be doing a lot more in the way of rowing as a couple other members noted. I don't mean a lot more sets, but you do need to make a lot more progress there. Given the amount of weight you can deadlift, you should be able to do at least 140-160 in good form on a rowing machine. 70 lbs max on a dumbell row? No wonder you don't have any thickness. Form may matter, but you need some heavier weight there in a compound exercise to be stimulating any growth in you back. BTW, from what I can see in your pics I don't think you have that bad of genetics. You just need to push yourself and make increases in reps or weight each workout and eat right, and you'll make it--probably a lot quicker than you think.

Just do what you have been doing. If you're seeing results, then it will come. It takes a level of maturity to start really filling out(age, and training maturity)

Originally Posted by LAM

a routine based on powerlifting movements will get you thick. compound movements and olympic lifts rule.

I agree with this. Although some of this thickness you seek is going to come from increased bodyweight, there are some muscles you can bring into play more to enhance the thickness of your torso. Most notably would probably be the erector spinae and traps. These muscles pretty much account for the most visible mass running up through the middle of your back.

I would suggest lots of rowing, deadlifts, and olympic movements.