In previous back training articles my focus was a lot
on machines, they were good because I was just
starting back training and I needed the isolation to
help create the mind muscle connection to work the
back effectively. But now, as you have noticed, I
have incorporated barbell bent over rows with dumbbell
rows as the core of my workout. The results have been
staggering, before my dumbbell row was so far below my
dumbbell press, my lats were too small compared to
chest, but now they have caught up, from doing 75s to
115s in sets for dumbbells and my barbell row from
135x8 to 215x5 and 225x3. Best set of 8 probably
around 200x8, a 65 pound increase on eight rep max is
immense. Also a 2.25" increase in chest
circumference, and if you look at my rear db pic I have
lats that come out some now, before I didn't include a
rear pic because I simply didn't have any lat
development. Well, here I'm gonna lay it all out for
you.
First, descending sets work fantastic for building
quick strength and mass, but you can quickly plateau
on it. I've been doing a set of three, then a set of
6-10, and sometimes a third set of 8-12. It hits all
the fibers and really gets a good pump. Second, do
barbell bent over rows. When I first started man they
were awkward as heck, not fun to do, plus the puny
weight I was using was horrible, but it pays off. To
do them you need to get the form down, knees bent a
little, back at a 30 degree angle with the floor (so a
little closer to horizontal than diagonal) and pull
into your abdomen. Pull with your lats, not your
arms, and keep your head up, not down, this will help
keep your spine in alignment. When you hit your
stomach, squeeze and hold just for a moment, then let
the weight slowly down to its starting position and
stretch your lats at the bottom.
Second, periodize your training, if you cease making
gains on your three rep max on descending sets, go to
straight sets of ascending sets. I'm about to go to a
10-8-6-4 scheme instead of my current one.
Periodization is a good idea because, on low reps you
tend to increase motor unit and neuron firing
efficiency, which quickly plateaus, on high rep high
volume routines you might get overtrained and your
maximum load capacity tends to stagnate, and your
myofibrils tend to grow thickest in response to
maximum capacity lifts. But, they increase the amount
of glycogen your muscles tend to hold, and their
hydration, so they will look bigger simply from
volume. This extra water and glycogen will also help
you lift more.
Third, do dumbbell rows, their awesome because you
get to work one side at a time and really focus on
that one little area, instead of coordinating your
entire back. Dumbbell rows I don't periodize, I just
pick a weight and lift as hard as I can, sometimes if
I don't get the reps I want I fail then wait 10 or 20
seconds and pump out one or two more to get to where I
wanted. To do them you need to know the proper form.
To work your right side, put your left knee on a bench
and your left hand, with the elbow locked out, tuck
your lower back in as far as you can and bring your
chest out, keeping the back straight and flat. Pick
up the weight and pull it into your right pec (working
your right arm of course) and squeeze it. Do not
rotate your back excessively to heave the weight up,
work on just moving your arm. As you become
acquainted with this exercise and get better at it you
might do all your reps perfectly but want to take the
set a little further and do one or two reps with some
cheating to really push yourself. Make sure you feel
you know enough about what your doing before you start
cheating.
Finally, here are some good auxiliary moves to do
after the above basics: Close Reverse Grip Pulldowns
(almost a power movement on a machine since you use
your biceps as much as lats), seated close grip rows,
seated wide rows, hyperextensions, and one arm cable
rows. You don't have to do all these, pick say, 3.
You might want to superset two of them, like close rg
pulldowns and seated straight bar rows, or
hyperextensions. One arm cable rows are good to do
without stopping, since they are low intensity and one
side rests while the other works.
Advanced trainers can do what I do now, train each
body part a second time during the week at a different
angle or with a different purpose. Even if its still
a little sore, I have found that working a different
angle or doing isolation for it later in the week
actually decreases soreness because of blood being
pumped into the area, which clears lactic acid and
brings in nutrients. Currently I do inclines for my
second "feeder" workout for chest because the stress
from inclines is much less than flat, fewer chest
muscle fibers are involved at lower weight, and I do
iso movements for my second back workout: lat
pulldowns, close grip seated rows, superset
hyperextensions and shrugs. I also train biceps after
back now, on both days. On my heavy back day I do
less biceps because they are already bombed, but on
iso back day I train biceps hard. On iso back day I
take few sets to failure, only trying to get a good
pump and stay in the 10-12 rep range. I believe this
has also helped tremendously with my newfound back
development.
One final note, I have stopped doing deadlifts for a
reason. I feel they have little bodybuilding value
and have actually hindered my back gains. Doing them
decreases all my lifts that actually build back
directly, bent over row dumbbell row etc. Also, the
only place I seem to feel them is my lower back, but I
feel they were destructive to that area rather than
constructive. The nature of the deadlift involves too
many other body parts to really have bodybuilding
value. I know many guys do deadlifts with success,
but they might be hindering their gains. I know
Ronnie Coleman does them, so who am I to renounce
them? But I have, and my back has done great ever
since.
beautifuldisaster420@yahoo.com
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