2 random questions

[Fruitbat]

1. Do you find your lifts change due to time of day/ food? I trained earlier this week 3 hours after a large meal at about 11am and I lifted extremely well.
This morning at 5AM on just a snack, very hard to replicate.

2. Bent over rows. I’ve been doing them as my primary back exercise but I don’t feel they do much. If anything it’s my lower back they seem to train. I seem to remember lat pull downs being much better and gave me width in torso at top.

Anyone else found BOR pretty useless? I’m doing deadlifts already which seem to do the same thing

 

[Alvafe]

well I can say, depending on how full you are it can influence how well/bad you work out, but also some days you are just feel better and others is harder to do, only once can't say much better you should be doing is trying to to do the extremely well again and see you can do it again

 

[Realthangpoon]

1. Do you find your lifts change due to time of day/ food? I trained earlier this week 3 hours after a large meal at about 11am and I lifted extremely well.
This morning at 5AM on just a snack, very hard to replicate.

2. Bent over rows. I’ve been doing them as my primary back exercise but I don’t feel they do much. If anything it’s my lower back they seem to train. I seem to remember lat pull downs being much better and gave me width in torso at top.

Anyone else found BOR pretty useless? I’m doing deadlifts already which seem to do the same thing

1. yes definitely. I’m a night owl so I lift better at night. Also when you just wake up you’ve been dehydrated for 8 hours and had no food.

2. try keeping the barbell on the ground and your back as horizontal as possible (parallel to the floor). Push your elbows and try to really activate your lats by squeezing. This helps me a lot for the gainz.

 

[Fruitbat]

1. yes definitely. I’m a night owl so I lift better at night. Also when you just wake up you’ve been dehydrated for 8 hours and had no food.

2. try keeping the barbell on the ground and your back as horizontal as possible (parallel to the floor). Push your elbows and try to really activate your lats by squeezing. This helps me a lot for the gainz.

ah, I do mine at about 45 degrees. I put the bar in the squat cage so it’s already 1.5 FT off the ground.

Do you think it’s a better exercise than the lat pull down?

 

[Robert28]

I prefer to workout early in the morning on an empty stomach because it burns more fat. I don’t like eating anything 2 hours or less before a workout because as hard as I train I’ll get sick. I also don’t eat anything past 730 pm unless it’s a rice cake, something like that.

some days you just don’t have any energy when lifting, it happens. Doesn’t matter what you eat or when, you just feel like you hit a wall the entire time. Other days you feel like you could keep working out and blow through your workout.

as for bent over rows I’ve found that I tend to use too much arms when doing them. Try some “renegade rows” with dumbells or “gorilla rows” with kettle bells.

 

[Fruitbat]

I prefer to workout early in the morning on an empty stomach because it burns more fat. I don’t like eating anything 2 hours or less before a workout because as hard as I train I’ll get sick. I also don’t eat anything past 730 pm unless it’s a rice cake, something like that.

some days you just don’t have any energy when lifting, it happens. Doesn’t matter what you eat or when, you just feel like you hit a wall the entire time. Other days you feel like you could keep working out and blow through your workout.

as for bent over rows I’ve found that I tend to use too much arms when doing them. Try some “renegade rows” with dumbells or “gorilla rows” with kettle bells.

that’s it! Even when I try to lift with my back it seems very “bicepy”. I wonder whether the row machine might be actually better. Will try a number of ideas. Rarely do I get a post workout DOMS in my back. Or my pecs. I only do 2X10 on both back and chest as I’m cutting. Wonder if I need 2 exercises for chest and back. Only feel like I’m progressing in squat and deadlift and curls. Other than that it doesn’t feel challenging

 

[Robert28]

that’s it! Even when I try to lift with my back it seems very “bicepy”. I wonder whether the row machine might be actually better. Will try a number of ideas. Rarely do I get a post workout DOMS in my back. Or my pecs. I only do 2X10 on both back and chest as I’m cutting. Wonder if I need 2 exercises for chest and back. Only feel like I’m progressing in squat and deadlift and curls. Other than that it doesn’t feel challenging

I can give you my chest workout and you can try it and see if it helps.

2x15 dumbbell press
25 push-ups
2x15 dumbbell press
25 push-ups
2x15 dumbbell flys
25 pushups
2x15 dumbbell flys
25 push-ups
2x15 incline dumbbell press
25 pushups
2x15 incline bench press
25 push-ups
2x15 incline flys
25 push-ups
2x15 incline flys
25 push-ups

You can tweak the 25 push-ups if you need to, do 20 or 15 because my workout ends up being around 200 push-ups on top of everything else, you’ll be blown up….I always am.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

1. Do you find your lifts change due to time of day/ food? I trained earlier this week 3 hours after a large meal at about 11am and I lifted extremely well.
This morning at 5AM on just a snack, very hard to replicate.

2. Bent over rows. I’ve been doing them as my primary back exercise but I don’t feel they do much. If anything it’s my lower back they seem to train. I seem to remember lat pull downs being much better and gave me width in torso at top.

Anyone else found BOR pretty useless? I’m doing deadlifts already which seem to do the same thing

1) I would bet this has more to do with hydration levels than food. Very hard to be properly hydrated at 5am. Minimal loss of hydration can result in a 20% decrease in muscular strength.

2) I enjoy BOR's but prefer weighted pull-ups and lat pulls. Likely something you are doing with your form that is causing issues.

 

[Fruitbat]

I can give you my chest workout and you can try it and see if it helps.

2x15 dumbbell press
25 push-ups
2x15 dumbbell press
25 push-ups
2x15 dumbbell flys
25 pushups
2x15 dumbbell flys
25 push-ups
2x15 incline dumbbell press
25 pushups
2x15 incline bench press
25 push-ups
2x15 incline flys
25 push-ups
2x15 incline flys
25 push-ups

You can tweak the 25 push-ups if you need to, do 20 or 15 because my workout ends up being around 200 push-ups on top of everything else, you’ll be blown up….I always am.

your rep ranges are massive. Why?

 

[Robert28]

your rep ranges are massive. Why?

Muscle atrophy. I don’t want the bulky look. The dumbbell press I’m only doing 40’s. At first you’ll think it’s too light but you’ll understand by the second set and on. Incline I only do 35’s and sometimes the last set I have to drop down to 30’s to finish. Keep in mind when I do chest or deadlifts that’s all I do that day.

 

[Robert28]

You don’t want to be like this jackass. If I’m going to deadlift it’s going to be for a weight I can do with higher reps and good form but still make me work. I’m not trying to kill my back showing off doing weight that I can’t do properly. That’s with any exercise.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Muscle atrophy. I don’t want the bulky look. The dumbbell press I’m only doing 40’s. At first you’ll think it’s too light but you’ll understand by the second set and on. Incline I only do 35’s and sometimes the last set I have to drop down to 30’s to finish. Keep in mind when I do chest or deadlifts that’s all I do that day.

Muscle atrophy? Why would you want to lose muscle?

 

[Robert28]

Muscle atrophy? Why would you want to lose muscle?

I meant definition but didn’t realize it changed it to that

 

[EyeBRollin]

2. Bent over rows. I’ve been doing them as my primary back exercise but I don’t feel they do much. If anything it’s my lower back they seem to train. I seem to remember lat pull downs being much better and gave me width in torso at top.

Anyone else found BOR pretty useless? I’m doing deadlifts already which seem to do the same thing

No, BOR are highly effective. They build a massive upper back. If you feel it in the lower back, the form is wrong. You should be rowing from the floor, like an deadlift. Are you replicating this?

 

[EyeBRollin]

For back, you should be training all three major compounds- deadlift, bent over rows, and chin ups. Chin ups and deadlifts are vertical pulls. BOR is a horizontal pull movement pattern.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

For back, you should be training all three major compounds- deadlift, bent over rows, and chin ups. Chin ups and deadlifts are vertical pulls. BOR is a horizontal pull movement pattern.

Wide grip pull ups are more effective for a wide back than pretty much any exercise I've done.

Chin ups are fantastic for biceps but not as effective as the wide grip pullups for back development although they work the rhomboids and rear delts more than the wide grip that is mainly lats.

 

[EyeBRollin]

Chin ups are fantastic for biceps but not as effective as the wide grip pullups for back development although they work the rhomboids and rear delts more than the wide grip that is mainly lats.

Yeah, should do all three. Chin-ups and pull ups are mostly interchangeable though I strongly prefer chins because I do not do isolation bicep work.

 

[Obee1]

1. Do you find your lifts change due to time of day/ food? I trained earlier this week 3 hours after a large meal at about 11am and I lifted extremely well.
This morning at 5AM on just a snack, very hard to replicate.

2. Bent over rows. I’ve been doing them as my primary back exercise but I don’t feel they do much. If anything it’s my lower back they seem to train. I seem to remember lat pull downs being much better and gave me width in torso at top.

Anyone else found BOR pretty useless? I’m doing deadlifts already which seem to do the same thing

I've used BOR from day one almost 40 years ago. In the beginning it was because I was a cellar dweller with weights, a bar, and a power rack. Fast forward to now and in my experience BOR works best for performance athletes. This is because the stabilizing muscles and bracing needed to do them correctly can't be found in any machines. I find there is good carry over to other lifts such as the mid point of the deadlift and the lowering of the bar on bench press. Although you can get some good hypertrophy with BOR, I find there are some better options usually in the form of chest supported rows. So it's a matter of priority. With that said, nobody says it has to be either or. If you want to maintain some functionality and be more than a mirror athlete, then keep or include BOR's in your routine.

 

[Fruitbat]

I've used BOR from day one almost 40 years ago. In the beginning it was because I was a cellar dweller with weights, a bar, and a power rack. Fast forward to now and in my experience BOR works best for performance athletes. This is because the stabilizing muscles and bracing needed to do them correctly can't be found in any machines. I find there is good carry over to other lifts such as the mid point of the deadlift and the lowering of the bar on bench press. Although you can get some good hypertrophy with BOR, I find there are some better options usually in the form of chest supported rows. So it's a matter of priority. With that said, nobody says it has to be either or. If you want to maintain some functionality and be more than a mirror athlete, then keep or include BOR's in your routine.

I know what you mean as regards that functional strength. It’s kind of core strength right? Since I actually started squatting properly, I feel it very much in core as you rise. I feel that type of training you feel it in normal life too, just things like getting out of a car or picking things up.

While I have your attention, I do straight leg deadlifts. I have a rare arthritis so it’s wise to keep severe weight off the lower back.
I just read that regular deadlifts are kinder on the back than straight leg. Do you think that’s right?

 

[Robert28]

I know what you mean as regards that functional strength. It’s kind of core strength right? Since I actually started squatting properly, I feel it very much in core as you rise. I feel that type of training you feel it in normal life too, just things like getting out of a car or picking things up.

While I have your attention, I do straight leg deadlifts. I have a rare arthritis so it’s wise to keep severe weight off the lower back.
I just read that regular deadlifts are kinder on the back than straight leg. Do you think that’s right?

Do you have access to a trap bar? If so I would suggest using that for deadlifts if you have back problems.