It’s alright you made up for it in your own log!
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Idk what “bay wings are, but At least theysounds cooler than “band twisty thing” 
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Bandy twisty things are very cool.
Bat wings on the other hand - at least my understanding of what they are, are not cool.
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@Cyrrex I’m flattered you think about me so much.
@alex_uk @anna_5588 They are not cool. Luckily I’m a grown up so I don’t have to care. The cool kids weren’t about to invite me to their parties anyways. It’s basically just an isolation move for the rhomboids, nothing swanky or exciting.
Work for today:
Deadlift: 5 x 3 @ 130kg
Giant set (3 rounds):
10 x SLDL @ 110kg
20 x back extensions
20 x V-ups
Notes:
- limited time again today because I spent most of the morning building a trampoline for the kids. Its fucking massive and will now take up most of my gym space.
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I like the bat wings exercise. But I also made the mistake of logging them once… lol
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Bat Wings sounds like a good way to get Covid.
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Or other unsavory diseases.
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Work for today:
Row:
10 x 3 @ 70kg
Push press (ss. Pull ups):
10 x 10 @ 50kg
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Push press, eh? I like it. At some point I am going to drop or scale back all my crazy assistance sets and start doing that kind of thing.
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I had a more sensible workout planned, but I could already feel myself phoning it in on the rows so I decided to go for a gut check session, just head down, power through, no excuses. Seemed to work, although it was far easier than last time I did the same thing.
Well that’s because rows are the worst. I am trying to do them once a week, but I don’t feel I am getting anything out of them. Similar to the the conversation in @Frank_C’s log, I am trying to figure out how to truly activate and work all the musculature in my back north of the lats. Some modified upright rows seem to be okay for this (strangely, I much prefer these to traditional BB rows), but really I am giving more thought to consistently doing DB rows. I have always in my head thought of these as lat builders - which never did that for me - but maybe I should be thinking of them as upper back builders instead and try to make it connect that way. Partly because I think my upper back is visually one of my major weak areas, but also as a way to build those muscles better for pressing.
And speaking of pressing, if you keep doing the push presses and find the groove, you will find you will be able to do anywhere from 20 to 30 kilo more on them than with a strict press. Which is very valuable…even if you are using leg drive to get it there, there is a big value to putting something that heavy over your head. I think it carries over pretty well to strict pressing.
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Have you tried head supported bent over rows? I find it helps allow me to focus on the pulling rather than maintaining posture.
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Not tried those, no. Considering my lower back history, I would almost rather do seal rows or something like that, just looking at pictures of the head-supported makes me wary.
What do you think of DB rows (light, heavy, high volume, whatever) as a main upper back builder?
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Perhaps we’ve seen different pictures. I find this very sparing on the lower back. Doing it WITHOUT the head support jacks up my back pretty fierce, which is why I like the head support.
I’ve always liked DB rows and used them a lot. About the only reason I’m not using them these days is because it makes my assistance work take twice as long compared to when I do bilateral work. Meadows rows are awesome too. I really liked the latter when I did them. If I had the time, they’d be back in my training.
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I may have to find a private corner in the gym to try a head-supported, just to see what it does. Half the reason I hate ordinary rows is that my lower back starts complaining way before the weight gets heavy, so I will never get anywhere with it.
Forgot about Meadows Rows. Used to do them a lot, and I think my current gym has a couple spots where they can be done. Still not sure I ever got much out of them, but again I think I need to think of rows more for upper back building and not lat building.
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Yeah, with my monkey arms and non-existent torso, I take on a really odd angle when left on my own.
An adjustable bench, turned around, can make a great head support. You can adjust the height/angle on it to wherever is ideal for you to prop your head, and then you can maintain a consistent torso angle with each rep. Might be a good idea to wear a beanie while you do it, to provide some padding. Right now I’m using my reverse hyper as a head support while I do keg rows and it’s been working out well.
Meadows provides a lot of good cues for his rows. There’s definitely a lotta different ways to feel them. It’s kinda crazy how a movement can look exactly the same yet be the product of 2 different sets of mechanics. It’s why I never cared for “form checks”. It doesn’t really tell the whole story.
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I will try anything once. Okay, that’s a lie, but I might try this.
I am no good as a bodybuilder, so I have trouble with the muscle/mind connection a lot of times. I will have to learn how to make it a priority here and see if I can focus properly.
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You use straps? They went a LONG way in helping me with my back. I was now no longer pulling with my hands, but with my back.
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Yeah, whenever it starts to get remotely heavy I use straps. Helps a little, not enough.
Conversely, when I am supported during a DB row, no back issues at all. Which makes me think maybe you are on to something with those head-supported rows.
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Whe I want to train the upper and middle parts opposed to the lats, which I understand is what you’re asking, I row high to my chest and pull the elbows as far as possible behind me. Vs. Rowing for lats = hands going to the lower stomach/ hip crease, no great elbow flexion needed. Or not as sharp of an angle in the joint.
I prefer a wider grip for the first option.
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