It’s all too easy to focus on building the most visible muscles such as your chest and biceps. But a well-developed upper back will provide the upper-body strength needed to progress your training for all-over muscle and a more impressive body shape. This four-week plan will help to redress the balance for a stronger back and classically tapered torso.

Timing

Each workout should take 40 minutes including the warm-up.

Days

Add this workout to your training schedule to place more emphasis on your upper back and lats. Do it once a week, leaving two days’ rest between each session. Do two whole-body workouts a week to keep your training on track.

Weights

Choose a weight that allows you to complete every rep in each set, except for the final rep of the final set. Go lighter for the last exercise to fully exhaust your muscles. You should complete all of the bodyweight exercise reps.

Warm-up

Spend five to ten minutes on a piece of cardio equipment. Then do some bodyweight exercises to fire up your muscles.

Tempo

Take one second to lift the weight, pause at the top for one second for a focused contraction, and then take two to three seconds to lower. Each set should take 40-60 seconds.

Rest

Leave 60 seconds between sets and rest for two to three minutes between exercises.