Back exercises

Do you want this V-shape?

It is funny when people walk with thick arms, do chest-biceps all the time, but they lack back both in broadness and in thickness. Pathetic… Muscles on your back react to workout fine, just gotta know how to train them. What a luck you’re here! The basic principle is to target your back muscles from many angles and also to target them in various movement ranges, and you’ll be wearing a giant reverse triangle on your back resulting in causing problems when trying to take of your shirts.

Instructions

  • you can wear a belt at bigger weights
  • you can wear wrist straps when your grip is the weakest part
  • watch your posture: the point is to contract your back muscles, aka pull the elbows back, concentrate on that
  • don’t be afraid of big weights
  • one exercise from the exercise groups, 3 sets: (3×3=9 sets altogether)
  • rep range: 8-4, or even 6-4 if your execution is good enough

Wide-grip pull-downs

If you reach a level when you can do these with proper execution, you’re the best. Oh, and then you can hang weights on yourself, and make it even more difficult. You’ll grow wings!

And if you are not strong enough? There are machines with weight support as well.

Kinda similar to the pull-ups, but different angles. Interchanging the two exercises may help to get through stagnating periods.

Ooooh, this is a very rare machine, so if your gym has it, you’re amongst the luckiest people ever. Trust me. Use shoulder-wide or even narrower distance as a starting position, while palms facing almost completely backwards, and then pull your elbows back as much as possible, thus you’ll have the highest healthy stretch possible. This provides such a good angle and such an efficient and free movement range, that it’s one of the best exercises ever…ever!

If you reach a level when you can do these with proper execution, you’re the best. Oh, and then you can hang weights on yourself, and make it even more difficult. You’ll grow wings!

And if you are not strong enough? There are machines with weight support as well.

Kinda similar to the pull-ups, but different. Chose the ones you like more. Interchanging the two exercises may help to get through stagnating periods.

This is a tricky exercise, because it may seem as a chin-up at first glance, but believe me, nothing alike! Of course, it only depends on you. If you focus on biceps contraction, then it is a lighter version of chin-up, but if you focus on pulling your elbows back, it’s a very good back exercise, and you’ll feel nothing in your biceps. Moreover, this is one of those exercises that allows you to stretch your back muscles the most, so I’d do it once in a while for sure!

 

Close-grip pull-downs

If you reach a level when you can do these with proper execution, you’re the best. Oh, and then you can hang weights on yourself, and make it even more difficult. You’ll grow wings!

And if you are not strong enough? There are machines with weight support as well.

Kinda similar to the pull-ups, but different. Chose the ones you like more. Interchanging the two exercises may help to get through stagnating periods.

 

Wide-grip rows

This would be one of the best back exercises ever, if there were benches tall and narrow enough. You can even play by adjusting the angles. So, if your gym has one, give a blow job to the owner. If your gym doesn’t have one? You can still make it, just be sure it’s stable & sturdy enough. Anyway, just use a towel in front of your face, and disinfect the surface. No one wants to bathe in your saliva.

These are very splendid exercises as long as you are a beginner, but it does not allow using heavy weights, because your chest is not supported, and you won’t be able to perform as needed. Be cautious to chose a comfortable grip. The optimal is when your hands are in one line with your elbows horizontally.

 

Close-grip rows

This would be one of the best back exercises ever, if there were benches tall and narrow enough. You can even play by adjusting the angles. So, if your gym has one, give a blow job to the owner. If your gym doesn’t have one? You can still make it, just be sure it’s stable & sturdy enough. Anyway, just use a towel in front of your face, and disinfect the surface. No one wants to bathe in your saliva.

There are machines where your palms can face each other, downwards and upwards as well. Some of them are good only to rest on them between sets and tap your phone, but some of them do magic and grow you meaty wings!

These are very splendid exercises as long as you are a beginner, but it does not allow using heavy weights, because your chest is not supported, and you won’t be able to perform as needed. Be cautious to chose a comfortable grip. The optimal is when your hands are in one line with your elbows horizontally, and the closer the grip the closer your elbows to your body.

This is a very splendid exercise as long as you are a beginner, but it does not allow using heavy weights, because your chest is not supported, and you won’t be able to perform as needed. Do it at places where there are no other options only.

Should you do deadlifts?

If your goal is physique, then NO

Deadlifts are not HOT-compatible. The muscles affected by deadlifts are trained during other workouts as well, so there is no need to train them again. It’s not a coincidence some guys looking like a stick insect can deadlift huge weights, while nobody would say they have ever been to a gym in their lives. Deadlifts can yield some benefits, but they are also dangerous, may interfere with your leg regeneration, and for real: there is a huge chance you get injured once, which can mean couple of weeks off or even months due to hernia surgery or other strain. Simply speaking if your mindset is set on hypertrophy-style movements, then you have a high chance to fuck up your deadlift. Many injuries collected during a leg workout can be avoided simply by the lack of deadlifts, since your body is fully prepared to handle that load. It may work out (pun intended) fine for 99.99% of the time, but once you have a bad day, your focus is somewhere else, and bamm, you are injured for a life… Is it worth it? And even if everything is good, even days after workout you are prone to strain your lower back in some innocent daily tasks that may leave you crippled for months.

The risk-reward ratio for deadlift is simply not worth it for someone who does not have powerlifting aspirations!

Myths:

  • without deadlifts you will have a weak lower back
  • deadlifts are essential part of a proper training plan
  • only amateurs don’t do deadlifts

Benefits of deadlifts:

  • looks good lifting heavy
  • lower back strength & size

Downsides of deadlift:

  • will impair your hamstring recovery

  • will impair your quad recovery
  • will impair your lower back recovery
  • will impair your squat performance not only because of affected recovery of the involved muscle groups, but because due to this, it may force you into a position that may cause acute or chronic injuries
  • increased chance hernias, slipped discs and sprain lower back muscles

If your goal is strength, then YES

If you want to POOP, gotta deadlift. It doesn’t need any explanation, if you made your choice, and opted for strength over mass, then you already build your training around it, and won’t fall into the deadlift injury trap. Check the guide below for the proper form & execution, and you’ll be the king of the gym!

Myths:

  • deadlifts are dangerous
  • you can call yourself strong without deadlifting

Benefits of deadlifts:

  • deadlift strength
  • lower back strength
  • core strength
  • infinite respect

Downsides of deadlift:

  • none

Conventional or sumo?

Conventional is having your feet pointing forward between hip & shoulder width, making deadlift a lower back exercise, sumo is having your feet pointing outwards in a width, when your ankles are a little further from you than your knees making it more of a hip exercise. None of them is better or worse for everyone, your body proportions (leg, torso, arm lengths and hip joints) will determine which one is more suitable for you for powerlifting. There is also the semi-sumo variant, where you have a narrower sumo stance, and use your lower back more than your hips.

Technique & execution:

  • I will make a separate guide for it as soon as the powerlifting program is public
Why do you have pull-ups amongst the pull-downs?

The age of order is over, the time of chaos has come!

Why isn't here mentioned any bent over row?
Bend in the prison shower, not in the gym. Not only because your ass would need a little punishment, but because what on earth would make you think to consider an exercise that kills your lower back and prevents you from using proper weight.
T-bar with chest support?

Junk exercise, forces your shoulders, elbows and wrists into unnatural positions, while the force’s vector also follow’s the weird angle.

How about pull down behind the neck?

I have a better idea: how about a rope around your neck?

It has begun!

April 5th, 2020|0 Comments

Hey all, it took me almost a year, but my blog-website combo is finally ready to go public. It's still not completely ready though, but I hope that by publishing I'll motivate myself more.