I have seen a lot of progress over the last year via my back training and want to share with you what I have been doing.
Let's start with Calories:
I have been in a caloric surplus trying to gain weight, recover from workouts and daily stressors. Making muscle needs the extra calories and this has helped a lot!
Take Photos and Analyze Them:
I always look at my progress photos. I look at myself as a muscle Sculptor. Finding areas where I can add muscle via specific exercises and techniques, like a sculptor's tools of the trade. Looking at my photos I can see where I need to train to create my sculpture.
Video My Exercise Technique:
Another great way to improve is to see how you move. Video your exercises. You will be amazed at the the fixes you can start working on to correct your technique and start seeing gains!
What Works for Me and My Back:
This is where you need to FEEL what exercises work best for your body.
If you cannot contract your back muscles and FEEL a deep contraction, then you have some work to do, as I did.
Being 6'1" I have long arms, thus they take over in my pulling exercises when my back musculature gets fatigued. My goal here was to find exercises that minimize my arms and place more focused intent on my back.
What I found worked for me was doing phases of specific ROM (Ranges of Motion). One Phase would be a combo of all lengths, short, medium, full range. Another phase focusing specifically on the Mid Range. I personally found that a mid range worked best, because I was not letting my arms get fully extended and could focus on my lats doing their job.
Something I say to myself when training my back (yes I talk to my muscles). I give my back a tip before I lift, I say targeted sayings like, "hug your spine", "pull towards your pockets". This is what my mind's eye and my personal FEELING responds to when contracting my back muscles to the max. Have you ever felt a back pump that is similar in pain to a leg pump? If not, you are not fully targeting your back.
I see so many people always over-reaching their back training with poor technique. A typical example is poking their heads over the chin up bar and losing the upper back contraction as they round their upper back just to poke their head over the bar! People you do not have to poke your dam head over the bar to make it count! Let the exercise for points people do their own thing. If your goal is to make muscle, search for the optimal individual contractile path that exercise holds and works best for YOU! NOT some silly exercise rule!
My Back Exercises during this past Year:
Upper back / Traps
Slight lean fwd Db/BB Rows
Bentover Db Fly Rows
Australian Rows
Lats
Prone Chest Supported Neutral Grip Pulldowns
Pull-ups & Chinups mixed widths & grips
Low Lats:
Cable Seated Neutral Grip Row Slight Lean Fwd Cable Seated 45 Degree Arm Row
Remedial
Db Y,T,W,A
Reps and Sets
Again based on the Phase I was in, specific exercises where chosen and I tried to improve them.
Phase 1 x 3 weeks of 6-8reps x 4-5 sets Full Range.
Phase 2 x 3 weeks of 10-12 reps x 4-5 sets Mixed Ranges.
Phase 3 x 4 weeks of 15-20 reps x 5 sets Mid Range.
My most painful pumps are the Mid Range 15-20 and I felt the most results here. I also know that the previous phases helped prep me for Phase 3, and Phase 3 also supports more progress in Phase 1&2.
Again this is what works for me.
Take Home Points:
Food is fuel! Low fuel, low recovery, low workout performance! If you have no idea how much you eat, then you might be onto something already!
Find what works best for you! FEEL the contractions!! Do not listen to these crazy rules if you are not seeing results. Search for the contraction.
Take progress photos monthly. Are you improving the areas you want to?
Video Your exercise technique! Improve your groove!
Choose exercises that work for you and the best contraction you can get!
Go on the search of rep ranges and the ROM that works best for you. Everyone is unique here. Search for the contraction.
Happy Training :-)
Comentarios