(Im new to this site and dont know exactly how things go so...) Im starting to workout in a gym and everything seems to be goin ok...I do the protein powder, watch my diet, and workout 3 days a week...no doubt Im getting stronger in pretty much all areas of my body but no matter what I do my torso still looks like a "tube"...I do lat pulls, benchpress, pull ups, dips, etc. to try to help it but nothin really seems to be working....I think they call it a V shape or something like that...can anyone help me with this??? Like I said I'm new to this site but if it matters at all I'm 5'11" 160lbs.

How long have you been doing pullups, lat pulls and dips? And how many do you do?

I do pulups, and dips and have increased my "V" shape increadably - but I also weigh about 30 more lbs than you. You may needed to use extra weight for the pull ups and dips.

McCarley is right about using extra weight. If you can do more than 12-15 pull-ups or dips during 1 set, consider adding 5-10 lbs. You can easily add this weight by getting a diving belt with 5 lb bags of shot. These belts normally can go up to 30 or 40 lbs (which should be plenty).

Also, try throwing in bentover rows and bentover dumbbell rows. These will add mass to your lats!

Definitely. Mix up your back routine. Your groups of back muscles are some of your largest, and also some of the hardest to access, so you've got to really try different things to get it to work. Some workouts that do for back and shoulders when I was getting my "V":

- Deadlift
- Barbell row
- Military press
- Side laterals
- Shrugs
- Seated row

With any of these exercises, esp. the seated row, you have to make an effort to target your back. It's quite common to see people with bad form using their upper arms rather than their backs to do a lot of these exercises.

The actual movement of individual muscles the back is so minimal sometimes it's unsatisfying to do the short movements usually required to work them. With a lot of these workouts, you'll only be moving the weights 6" or so as you roll your shoulders back and press your shoulder blades together. Any movement beyond this is being transferred to your shoulder joints and biceps/triceps.

Sometimes it helps to flex your muscle group briefly at the top of your movement so you can re-align yourself with the muscle groups you want to work.