8 Week Back Focus Results
After 8 weeks the back focus is finished, I’m happy with the results as there has been some definite improvement both in strength and aesthetics.
Initial measurements on 24th March 2014 in black and final measurements on 19th May 2014 in red
Chest/Lats 43″ – 44″
Waist 36″ – 35½”
Hips 43″ – 42″
Thigh/Quads 24″ – 24½”
Calf 15¾ – 15¾
Bicep 15½ – 15¾
Weight 89.7kg – 88.1kg
So to summarise – Weight has stayed roughly the same, but inches have been gained or lost in all the right places! (except the good old calves which have remained stubbornly the same despite regular training that I wasn’t previously doing … grrrr!) Traps have become more pronounced as planned and also gained a ¼ inch on my arms – which is nice 😉
Getting Hench – The Importance of Back Training Part 1
To be truly Hench, you need an impressive back. Nothing states strength more or makes for a better looking physique than a big strong back. Whilst having a well developed chest and arms are important, without a good back alongside you will look weak and/or incomplete often with poor posture. This is why these are often called ‘mirror muscles’ – You look great to yourself when you look in the mirror, but you are never seen in everyday life like that! How often do we face someone directly face on? Your physique needs to be Hench from any angle and a well developed back is key and, dare I say, more important than chest or arms in the way you look. Not to mention the fact it is the most crucial muscle group for functional strength in tasks ranging from everyday life to athletics/sports or competitions.
Bodybuilders have a saying in competitions that ‘the contest is won from the back’, and the majority of winners have had the best back development. This alone should spur you on – A competition based solely on aesthetics considers the back as almost the most important bodypart, yet still the newbies and ego-lifters focus on those mirror muscles with all their effort and only half-ass their back and/or leg workouts despite claiming they are ‘bodybuilding’ or just want to ‘get big’.
A good back is measured on two main things .. Thickness – Which will pull your shoulders back, maintaining good posture and emphasizing your chest and ‘V’ Shape – Causing your waist to appear smaller and shoulders wider. What I would also add for a ‘Hench’ look is a third measure which is a good set of traps. Take Bane from ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, or even the same actor Tom Hardy in ‘Warrior’ do you look at him and question if he’s powerful looking? Nope .. Definitely Hench!
Lifting Straps – Should you use them?
Should you use lifting straps? It’s yet another massive debate with people on both sides passionately arguing the case for and against them.
Having had a crossfit background, I have been guilty of judging people on using them myself. However, since strength training I’ve been bringing them in for my heavier topsets on deadlifts and I’m getting a couple more reps, so definitely see the benefits. A lot of the for arguments are that there’s better Lat isolation or they say ‘I feel it in my back more’ or even just being able to perform more reps with a weight that they can’t without them.
When performing deadlifts, rows or pulldowns, the majority of the time your grip will give out before your back will. If you use straps a lot you will need to add in some grip work on top of everything else. Grip training itself is extremely taxing to your CNS and is difficult to recover from as everything you do involves your grip to some extent. My advice? Don’t use them every set, just when grip is starting to become an issue with the weight you’re using. That way you’re not having to do additional grip training and you can reap the benefits of being able to go heavier on your lifts.
Additional info: Pros and Cons of Strapping up, Using Straps to Build Muscle – Sean Nalewanyj, How Using Straps Can Save Your Back and Elbows – Jason Ferruggia
Wednesday 6th February 2013
Felt like doing some back hypertrophy work today, Then taking a few rest days as away all weekend. When I get back I’ll be focusing more on this to bring my deadlift up and general mass for the back (can’t go wrong with that!).
Cable Row 60kg x8x8x8x8 (30s rest)
‘V’ Grip Pulldown 75kg x10, 70kg x10, 65kg x10, 60kg x10 (60s rest)
DB Pullover 38kg x12x12 (60s)
Rack Pull 140kg x6 – Still not sure I’m doing these right!
Shrugs (mainly for grip work) 90kg x6x6x6 (60s)
Then threw in some Single Handle Standing Alt. Cable Curls 10kg x12x10 (60s) and DB Preachers 12kg x10x7 (no rest just alt. arms)
Friday 11th January 2013
Short on time today so used my lunch break for a cheeky back session, limited equipment so did:
DB Pullover 38kg x10x10
‘V’ Grip Pulldown 90kg x6, 80kg x11
DB Row To Hip 30kg x12x12
Rack Pull 140kg x8 – Only a Smith Machine available, did 8 reps then canned it as it was just too awkward to use and the bar was too smooth to grip!
Friday 19th October 2012
Another double Spin class yesterday so spent a bit of time straight after classes stretching my hip flexors, I’ve also been trying to take some time at night to foam roll them and my quads (ouch!). A bit short on time today so superset (of a sort) my lifts – basically in the 3-5 minutes between Bench and Squat sets, I’d do another lift which didn’t effect it too much in order to get all my lifts done in the timeframe.
Decline Bench 120kg x5x5x6 – After previous post fancied giving them a try myself, I had to put boards under my feet as couldn’t put my feet down otherwise! Felt a bit unstable as not an ideal decline bench – can’t hook legs – felt like I was sliding a little, but got the hang of it by my last set. (cut the video as I stupidly went for a seventh rep which failed and you don’t need to see that!)
Yates row 82.5kg x15x15x15 (slotted these in between each bench set)
Machine preacher curls 15kg x11x10 (as I’m still doing pull-ups all the way through, my arms are pretty tired when I get to these! but I really like them so sticking with it! – Again, I performed these between squat sets to save time.
Squat 142.5kg x5x5x10 – Form got a little ugly toward last few reps but I was determined to get 10 again! I’m still surprised that Spin isn’t affected these at the moment, I put it down to the mobility I’m doing for my hips/APT and just eating as much as possible the night before my session!
Build a bigger back with Yates rows
You wouldn’t believe how much mis-information there is on this! Just a simple search on google will give you thousands of differing opinions on whether it is a good or bad movement, some will claim it’s no good at all! I would say take a look at Dorian Yates and ask yourself, does this man look like he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to a big back? I really like this lift, it feels like it’s really hitting the lats hard performed properly, and unlike standard barbell rows or Pendlay rows, there is far less stress on the lower back. The biggest problem most have is executing the lift properly. Dorian used to use an underhand grip, but as the weights used were getting huge, he ended up doing the inevitable and injuring his bicep tendon and now uses a narrow overhand grip instead. The main two mistakes most people make are flaring out the elbows, and pausing at the top of the movement. This is a power movement and should be treated so. Use the heaviest weight you can and keep the body still! For a more in depth definition here’s the man himself.