Two back exercises worthy of consideration and inclusion in the rotation
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I love the big sweeping compound multi-joint exercises that require groups of muscles to work together in synchronization in order to complete the muscular task at hand. When it comes to working the back muscles it is important to understand that the human back has a half dozen component parts: erectors, teres, upper and lower latisimus, trapaezius, rhomboids and rear deltoids. Big back exercises activate multiple muscles and more often then not the hips and upper thighs. The smaller back isolation exercises zero in on one or two back muscles to the purposeful exclusion of its neighbors. The important big movements include all the deadlift variations, high pulls, cleans, power cleans, power snatches, shrugs and row variations. Chins and pull-ups are great compound back exercises particularly when the trainee becomes strong enough to hang weight around the waist. Two lesser used back exercises, one for the spinal erectors and one for the lats, are wonderfully effective and are seldom used. Both have a specific technical protocol that amplify their effectiveness and make them worthy of inclusion in any trainees exercise rotation list.
On a related side note: we all have exercise preferences but need to be on guard against using the favored ones exclusively ad infinitum. Continually using the same exercises in the same fashion for the same set and rep protocol becomes an exercise in futility. The human body is the great neutralizer and when presented with the same menu of exercises done in the same way will accustom itself to the stress and negate any results.
The human body reconfigures itself in response to muscle stress and trauma and doing the same thing in the same way will not create the stress needed to flip the hypertrophy switch. Bottomline: periodically rotate out of the lineup those pet exercises that you love and do all the time. Alter those favored rep ranges and change the exercise menu on a regularly reoccurring basis otherwise you are falling asleep in a figurative snowbank, to use a Jack London To Build a Fire analogy. My approach is to structure a workout that hits two body parts. I start with a compound multi-joint exercise (CMJ) for a particular body part then finish off with an isolation exercise. For a change of pace I will use a CMJ variation of the classic; if I am deadlifting and burnt out I could roll with deadlifts done while standing on a 100-pound plate or perhaps some stiff-leg deadlifts, either off the floor or off a plate. Periodically I would drop all deadlifting totally and completely. I would rotate in some other CMJ back exercise and allow all deadlift muscle to heal, recover and FORGET (in a manner of speaking) how to deadlift. By eliminating a particular favored exercise and all its variations completely for 4-5 weeks, when I swing back to that exercise the muscles involved are shocked out of their ever-loving minds. You know how to do the exercise in a technical sense so, like riding a bike, you never forget and are able to swing back into the movement with a vengeance.
Prone hyperextensions require a device that holds the legs in place as the athlete faces downward. The upper body is allowed to drop downward until the head is near the floor. The upper body stretches downward with the legs pinioned. The hip joint is the fulcrum and the upper body stretches down to the bottom to start the exercise. The athlete lifts the torso upward as high as possible. Hold the top position for a beat before lowering. I have my trainees rise up and at the apogee look up at the ceiling. This is a fabulous spinal erector developer. Try to work up to a 20-rep set. Once you are able to perform 20-reps, try 10-reps holding a 10 or 25-pound plate in your arms as you rep. If you are doing this exercise correct youll feel a pump in erectors. (The two twin python muscles that flank the spine) I like to end a good back workout with 2-3 sets of prone hyperextensions: on the first set I likely use zero poundage for 15-20 reps and on the second set I rep out holding a 45-pound plate. The critical performance point is to hold the top position for a beat before lowering. I like to arch as high as I can, hold that position for a second - then try and rise up higher yet before lowering. In the bottom position I like to relax and allow my bodyweight and the plate to stretch my muscles and elongate the spine before commencing the rep. Purposeful Primitives rotate three specific ranges-of-motion: normal, exaggerated and shortened. Use the exaggerated ROM on this magnificent exercise.
Straight arm pullovers are the second neglected back exercise. Lie on a flat bench and grasp a light dumbbell with two hands under one end. The hands circle the handle and grabs under one of the two ends of the bell. The other end of the dumbbell hangs down over your face. Lying with your head as near the end of the bench as possible, inhale and allow the bell to drop backwards over the end of the bench keeping your arms straight. Time the inhalation so that maximum expansion occurs as your lower the dumbbell towards the floor. Lower slowly, seeking maximum stretch in the lats. Try and touch the floor with the bell (likely you wont be able) when you can lower no further raise the poundage slowly; use only the lats to raise the weight. This is the key: the straight arms make leverage difficult. The stretch is incredible and must be done carefully; dont allow the bell to free-fall or you could tear or rip muscles. Since the poundage used is light you could explode the weight out of the bottom creating momentum and throw the weight back to the start position this is exactly what we dont want. Use a slowed lowering and slowed raising as this maximizes stress on the lats. Big inhale, big stretch, slow raise using lats and lats alone to raise the weight. Done properly the stretch is felt in the lats in real time. Shoot for ten reps using the continual tension, purposefully slow rep speed. Lats are super hard to isolate and this exercise allows me to zero in on the target muscle with a precision that need be experienced to appreciate.
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on February 23rd, 2008 at Feb 23, 08 | 10:14 am
[…] Article ManagernHWhen it comes to engaged the backwards muscles it is primary to wager that the human backwards has a half dozen bourgeois parts: erectors, teres, guff and modify latisimus, trapaezius, rhomboids and lateral deltoids. Big backwards exercises … […]
on February 25th, 2008 at Feb 25, 08 | 12:30 am
[…] sway_dizzlenHWhen it comes to engaged the backwards muscles it is primary to wager that the human backwards has a half dozen bourgeois parts: erectors, teres, guff and add latisimus, trapaezius, rhomboids and lateral deltoids. Big backwards exercises … […]