Sunday, February 13, 2022

Some of my favorite exercises include the following:

Some of my favorite exercises include the following

👉 Back training with bodybuilder Suzanne Hedman (Pt II) – To build a big back you need to keep your body guessing 

 

Some of my favorite exercises include the following :

1. Standing Straight Arm Lat Pulls: I like to warm-up with this exercise focusing entirely on my lats to do the work by keeping my arms straight and knees slightly bent. I have also found that I can get a greater stretch if I increase my forward lean and have the bar travel above my head.

2. Bent Over Rows, T-Bar Rows or Dumbbell Rows: With this exercise, I will alternate my body angle (70 degree and 90 degree angles) and will also alternate my hand positioning (with the exception of Dumbbell Rows). I do this because every different body angle hits a different area of the back as does the hand positioning. Play around with this by feel, and you’ll quickly learn the areas of your back each various position hits. I tend to do at least six sets of these rows alternating on angle/hand positioning to hit all areas I want to hit that day.

3. Hammer Strength Iso Lateral Low Row Machine: We have two different ones at the gym I go to, so I try and alternate between the two since the hand positioning differs with both and hits the outer back a little differently with each. I will do two to four sets depending upon how I’m hitting the machine (heavy, drop sets, high volume, light weight).

4. Hammer Strength High Row Machine: We also have two different ones at the gym I go to, so I try and alternate between the two as the hand and beginning position differ with both so it hits the mid center back a little differently with each.. As with the low rows, I will do two to four sets depending upon how I’m hitting the machine that day (heavy, drop sets, high volume, light weight).

Suzanne-Hedman-Pullups5. Pull Ups (pictured left): These aren’t my favorite but are a must in building your lats and building strength in your back. If you’re a powerlifter, pull ups are equally as important in building your bench. Use the Pull Up Assistance machine if they have one in your gym so you can begin to build your lat strength. Once you can do 10 reps easily, adjust the assistance weight downward.

6. Row Machine: You may have a Row/Rear Delt Machine and/or a Row Machine with both neutral grip/barbell grip hand placements. Both are seriously great machines in hitting the center back. Unless your dieting or deloading, this is an exercise you should go heavy for at least 10-15 reps per set and also alternate your hand grip position.



7. Chest Supported Rows: This is also a great exercise in building your back. I will attach handles to the bar too (partly because I can’t reach the bar on some machines and also because it makes you work the muscles harder to remain in position). Some machines also have attachable bars allowing you to use a close grip or wide grip – yes, it hits the muscles differently when you vary up your hand position (I think I’ve said this a lot already).

8. Hammer Strength Behind Neck Pull Downs: If you don’t have this machine at your gym, you can also do this exercise on the cable machine. Again, it just hits another area of the upper back that no other machine can hit.

9. Hyper/Low Back Weighted Machine: If you have both at your gym, alternate between the two. Many people either ignore or forget to hit the low back – we need to hit all areas of the back for beauty, strength and brawn! Conventional deadlifting requires a strong lower back. If your low back is weak, you will fail at PR attempts. You can add a band to the Hyper to get more tension (you’ll feel the burn doing this).


10. Shrugs: You can either use dumbbells, barbell or the shrug machine at your gym. I like super-setting between the close grip and wide grips to hit both the inner and outer traps. This is another exercise you should go heavy to build strong, big traps.

11. Good Mornings: This is a great exercise in building back strength. It’s best to do this exercise with the bar suspended on chains or bands, so it may not be an exercise you can readily do at your local gym. If your gym allows you to bring in chains/bands, this is another one of those exercises that will hit different areas of the back depending upon where you set up the suspended chains/bands. Seated Good Mornings is another variation and removes the legs entirely out of the movement requiring you to solely use your back.

I hope you find my methods informative and helpful. Play around with the machines to find a height/angle that works for you. I welcome your questions – we are all growing to achieve something and can learn from one another.


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