Baby Got Back (Muscles!)

I had a request from one of my faithful blog followers, after seeing my last entry with a weighted ab routine, to do a blog with a back routine. I'd like to apologize in advance for this being so long- I simply like to educate as much as possible for those who want to learn. If you just want to get to a sample routine, scroll down to the bottom of this blog!

One thing my follower pointed out is that it seems you hear a lot about rows for back, but not much more. So the first thing I'd like to do is break down back movements and the muscles they involve:

First of all, you have your upright pulling up or down exercises. The granddaddy of these is pull-ups, which is probably the best back muscle developer out there. The other exercises in this group would be all variations of machine pull-downs (to include my personal favorite- Strait-arm pull-downs), as well as pull-ups on the assisted chin machine and dumbbell pullovers on a bench.

Regular pull-ups are almost impossible for most people, yours truly included. There are ways to graduate yourself into doing unassisted pull-ups, the most effective of which I think is using really big bands. You secure then band on the pull-up bar, then place your foot or knees into the hanging end of the band, which then helps to propel you up. The advantage to these is that they keep the same path and range of motion as an unassisted pull-up would use, which develops the muscles to get you up there more fully. The thicker the band, the more of your body weight it assumes and the easier the exercise. This does not, however, mean they are easy! Even banded pull-ups can be really difficult.

The downside to banded pull-ups is that, particularly with the thicker band, you will probably need assistance getting your foot securely in there, particularly if you don't have a lot of upper body strength to pull the band down (which you probably don't, since you are using the thicker band).

Also, the grip on pull-ups greatly affects their difficulty. Palms facing you, hands close together, is the easiest version as it recruits arm muscles, as well as a little chest, to assist in the lift. This, by the way, is technically called a "chin up". The next up in difficulty is with palms facing each other, if you can find an apparatus that offers this feature. And the most difficult is the traditional "Pull-up", where your palms face away from you and your arms are just wider than shoulder width apart. To make these easier to start, you can fold your legs at a 90 degree angle, with your heels behind you. Legs strait is the most difficult to perform, as it places weight farther away from the lifting hinge, therefore making your body heavier. (It's a gravity thang!)

Regardless of the type of motion you do in this position, all of these exercises work mainly the latissimus dorsi (aka "lats"), which is the big wide muscle at the sides of the back that make the impressive "wing span" on big bodybuilding types. Building this muscle for everyone, male of female, goes a long ways towards making ones waist appear smaller in comparison.

The next general movement for back muscles is a rowing motion, where weight is pulled towards you from the front. These exercises always target the muscles in the middle upper back, but as a general rule the wider the arms on this motion the more the lats are brought into the move, such as in wide machine pulley rows.

These exercises include bent rows of all kinds (where the upper body is parallel to the ground), as well as upright machine and cable rows where you are pulling the weight in towards you.

And lastly we have extension moves, where the upper body hinges at the hip to go from strait to a bent position, or from bent to strait, in the instance of machine back extensions. They also include moves where the back moves behind the body into a semi-arched position, as is the case with supermans. The point is that the movement is coming from the hip area

These extension moves target the very important lower back muscles and include all types of hyperextentions, back extensions on the machine, good mornings, all kinds of deadlifts, cable pull-throughs, and all variations of supermans. And all of these moves, save the supermans, have the added benefit of being great for glutes and back of the legs, as well.

A back routine will typically include at least one of each of these levers, to effectively hit all areas of the back. If you are a more advanced lifter, two or more exercises of the pull-down and rowing type can be incorporated into your routine.

After a thorough dynamic warmup, I usually try to start with my pull-down/pull-up motion. It tends to be the most difficult of these lifts and strongly recruits every muscle in the back, as well as arms and shoulders. Consequently, it is wise to hit those moves while muscles are fresh and at their strongest.

Then I move on to my rowing motion, and finish off with my lower back movement, since these small muscles need less weight to be stimulated and won't recruit so much of the upper body muscles to assist in the move.

Here is a sample back routine for a beginner. All of these are to be done with moderate weight, so that at the end of the last set you feel that you could perform 2-3 more repetitions:

- Machine Lat Pull Downs- 3 sets of 15 reps. Here's a really good demonstration.

- Single-Arm Dumbbell Bent Rows- 3 sets of 15 reps. The only thing I would add to this video demonstration  is that you don't want to just drop the weight down into the extended position. Instead, continue to maintain firm control of the weight and lower to a count of two. This will not only give you better muscle definition in the long run, but it's also safer.

- Supermans- 3 sets of 8-12. Here's a video of it, but I'd like to add that I really don't like the way the guy just drops down to the mat from the top of the move. Stay in control in both directions! You lose half of the muscle-building potential when you leave out the releasing half of any weight lifting move.

In the case of all exercises, make sure to give the muscles rest in-between the moves, whether this means not moving, stretching, or working on a different muscle group is entirely up to you.

Back muscles get recruited when you work other body parts, as well, so once a week is adequate for a back-specific workout. Additionally, I would not advise doing the same routine with the exact same exercises for more than 4 weeks. As with all muscles, eventually they adapt to the movement and this slows progression. Likewise, don't be afraid to switch exercises, even as often as each new workout. Rarely do I do the same routine twice in a row.

Back has always been my favorite body part to work on. I love the way the exercises feel, and I look of a strong back, male or female. You may not see those muscles, but your body will function better for working them, and the rest of the world will get a treat every time you turn around:

A Manly Ab Routine

I was advising a young man on how to get his abs to show the other day. Now, before we go any farther, let me clarify something: You can't spot reduce because you don't get to choose where your fat collects, or where you lose it. But there are some things you CAN do to make muscle more visible.

The first thing I advised him to do is cut out all the refined carbs (namely while flour and all forms of sugar) possible. This can really help a person look less "spongy". He is young and has a relatively low level of body fat, so while most people's waistline will respond favorably to this change, the younger and leaner you are the more dramatic the results from reducing refined carbs will generally be.

The next thing I advised him to do was add in weighted ab moves. Reason? With a lower body fat level, one thing he can do to increase the visibility of the ab muscles is actually increase the thickness of them. Now, I know this idea freaks a lot of people out, but the truth is that most people aren't going to increase muscle thickness in their abs enough to make their waist bigger- It's just going to give more definition.

Another benefit, given his male status? Weighted moves tend to look more impressive in the gym. Plus, guys, and some of us girls, like picking up heavy stuff.

I know a plethora of ab moves involving weights (I have been called "The Ab Nazi"), but here is a trio of weighted ab exercises that can be done in the same workout, making you look like a beast AND leave your abs aware that they did something:

First off, start with Barbell Floor Wipers. Here's a Quick Video.

A couple of things I want to point out about this. First of all, the guy in the video, I feel, could use a heavier weight. See how it's swaying around a bit? If the weight were heavier he'd have more stabilization through the upper body and be better able to concentrate on his abs. Trust me, holding the weight up in the air like that isn't the hard part. It's getting it there and back down to the ground that's tricky. I do them with 45's on each end, if that gives you any idea. The amount of weight isn't the important thing here- It's the movement.

This leads me to my second point about this exercise- If you are doing this with free weights, unless you know a means to press the weight up from the ground, as well as lower it back down, without crushing yourself, you are going to need a spotter. If no spotter is available, do them on the Smith machine, making sure to raise the bar out of the hooks and hold it up, not simply hang on. It's not quite as effective as doing it with free weights, but still a great ab move. Do two to three sets of these, resting between sets, and don't be surprised at first if you can't get out more than 5 per side at first. These are NOT easy!

Now that we've worn out your obliques and lower abs, and as long as we are on the ground, lets move on to upper abs. For this, pick up a dumbbell or plate that will allow you to crank out about 15, and do two to three sets of weighted crunches, again resting between sets:  Click here to see a short video.

And now we'll stand up and finish with one of my favorite weighted ab moves; Barbell Rainbows (or "Landmines").  He does a good job of explaining what's going on with them in this video., but keep in mind that you will need a corner of some kind to stabilize the lower end of the barbell.  Keep your abs sucked in really tight the entire time you do them, and start with just the bar.  They are harder than they look and your arms and shoulders might wear out pretty quick, especially following Rainbows and Weighted Crunches.

Lastly, consider adding in two to three sets of a targeted lower back move. The lower back knits in with the ab muscles, making a cinching effect on the ab area. They are, in effect, the other half of your abs. Also, adding low back work in is just generally good for spine stabilization, posture, and overall health. They are, in my opinion, one of the more critical muscles in the body to keep strong. The trick with lower back moves is to keep the weight relatively light. Too much weight too soon on this vulnerable area, particularly if you are already weak there, can make your lower back health worse, not better. So increase very gradually. Some good lower back moves are: Hyperextensions, Good Mornings, Stiff Leg Deadlifts, Supermans, and Machine Back Extensions.

As you can see, these moves involve other muscles besides the abs, which also increases calorie burn. That's a win-win, in my books!