Back Training!!!

Soooo as I said before Friday night is usually back night! I try to plan it that way as it's quieter in the gym, and I usually don't have any rush with it being a weekend night. Generally speaking for workouts I like to go for heavy and quick, versus long and high volume. This has been what works for me, everyone is different. I know many who do higher volume and it works wonderfully for them. Honestly a good friend of mine Sweet Capri (Amanda) does slightly higher volume and the girls back is to DIE FOR! But its always been a strong suit for her and she has a lot to work with and that's what works for her. It's important to play around with different splits/different exercises and see what works for your body.

I have always for the most part lifted in the 10 - 15 rep range. Always doing at the very least 4 exercises for back - two lat pull down width exercises, and two width/thickness row type exercises. Always 3-4 sets for each that's 12 - 16 sets for back. It's pretty typical for what most do. Then I tried to split back width and back thickness on different days, allowing me to completely annihilate them individually even more. While I definitely improved and noticed some changes, as you will with any consistent intense style training, it wasn't until I completely altered my training that I noticed the biggest change. I started a lower volume heavier training style. Heavy deads, heavy rows, lower reps and less volume. In order to be able to execute this style of training properly it really is a mental adjustment. Your goal is FULL, COMPLETE, MUSCLE Failure, possibly with as little as two exercises.

For most of us the thought of this seems like slacking. How can we not hit the back from different angles? How can we exhaust it with under 10 sets? It seems to go against the grain of what most creating a aesthetic physique would do. And like I said it may not be ideal for everyone. IT takes a certain mentality to be able to wrap your head and your energy around this style of training and embrace it. For me personally, it was the key to making the most out of my gains. I do utilize many different styles and try to rotate in even higher volume some weeks so as not to get bored or stale in my workouts. But for my staple, lower volume seems to have worked best for me. Of course I have to say much success came from proper nutrition in the off season as well, as higher calories/protein/carbs and consistency were key as well.

But as I carried through that off season that I made the most gains, I stuck to strict strict DC style training. If you don't know what that is, google Dante's Dog Crap Training, and it'll give you a jist. I stuck to it piece by piece, rule by rule, logbook, negatives, rest pause, isos, the whole kit and caboodle. Although I don't totally train like that now I do take some of the concepts and incorporate them into my workouts.

So Friday's workout:

Deads: warm up 95 X15, 135 X 12, 185 X 10, 205 X 5

Lat pull downs(with arnold bar - hands facing in) 3 sets - 90lb X 12

Bent over DB rows 2 sets 40lbs X 10

Cable rows - 1 set 75lbs X 15

Nothing spectacular and numbers aren't important, just like to give people an idea of the progressions and reps... first exercise is MY ALL OUT... pyramid down in reps as the weights continues to increase. Switched to lat pull downs I went lighter with higher reps. By then for me, I try to keep it short and sweet from there, some rows to finish it out medium weight, medium rep range. Could I do more? Doesn't look like much right? My feeling is, if I could do more I didn't train hard enough on those first two exercises. But because my strength is getting back up it is slowly getting back to that point of failure which is perfect!

Her are some progress pics of my back...

First pic fall of 07 (I believe I was 10 weeks out)... the boys were only a year old so I had only been back to lifting for like 9 months... see I didn't have much to work with lol


Then Mid Off season beginning of 08...



And then getting ready for Junior Nats in 08 - 8 weeks out...




It's not perfect, it definitely still needs much improvement, and I'm "hoping as I strip off fat I've added maybe a tad more, I know it's just a tad because I need more solid time. But I have to say the change in training has made a difference... so here is to more DEADS in my future, more consistency and planning, and BYPASSING my PR of 225 X 6... again its not about numbers but that and pics are good tools to know you're growing and getting stronger!

**And I hate to even add this but it often needs to be reminded when comparing results, I am 100% natural, always have been, I mean even OTC natural... so gains come at different rates for different people especially depending on age, length of training, and enhanced or not.