Does anyone use recline rows as a type of back thickness exercise (I say back thickness because it’s a row)? Any positive experiences?
Just to clarify, it’s done by hanging from Blast straps or TRX bands and pulling yourself up to them.
I’d rather do rack pulls man…pretty similar movement plus you can add weight easier.
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
I’d rather do rack pulls man…pretty similar movement plus you can add weight easier.[/quote]
maybe i’m confused, ab, but i think he’s talking about inverted rows or what some meat heads call reverse pushups. how are these and rack pulls the same movement. rack pulls are not substitutes for rows.
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
I’d rather do rack pulls man…pretty similar movement plus you can add weight easier.[/quote]
He’s talking about inverted rows.
But yeah Im wondering how you add an external load.
Rack chins I meant lolz.
I like them as part of the double down.
Inverted rows are an exercise that I did not give much attention to until recently. I figured they were good for beginners that could not do pullups (they are sometimes called “fat man pullups”) but there was not much use for them beyond that.
This summer, however, I decided to take a break from all lower back intensive rowing. I had hurt my back in May and just decided I wanted to give it time to heal. That meant no barbell rows, t-bar rows, and even Kroc rows. This left me with chinup variations and inverted rows.
Lo and behold, I am really starting to like them. For one, they are very easy on the lower back, but beyond that, I think they are great for strengthening the upper back and promoting good shoulder health. Being a horizontal pull, they differ in feel quite a bit from pullups, and they are much more shoulder friendly in my opinion. Plus, for people that struggle to do enough reps with pullups, this is a great way to work on your strength while still getting in enough reps to work the muscles.
Another thing I like about them is that you can progress and regress them very easily depending on strength levels. In general:
- The higher the bar is off the ground, the easier it will be.
- Having your feet on the floor will be easier than elevating them.
- Bent knees are easier than straight legs.
This means that you could start with bent knees with a higher bar and progress to a lower back (just enough to get a full ROM at the bottom of the rep) with legs straight elevated on a bench. From there, you can add resistance via plates or a weighted vest.Many stronger people will find that even at this point, it isn’t too hard. This was my big qualm at first, so I started thinking of so more advanced variations.
Here are the variations
Towel Rows- These will fry your grip, and also allow for an AWESOME contraction when you pull the towel apart at the top.
Fingertip Rows- This is just a little harder variation using a loading pin that will also REALLY work the grip.
Unstable rows- I hope you guys know me enough to know I’m not a big stability ball guy, but in this situation it was a nice change to add some difficulty and force you to stay tight so you don’t move around. It also forces you to control the reps because if you jerk, the ball with roll.
1 arm rows- This is the hardest version of all, but probably my favorite. This will fry your back and work your core hard too. You can start these will your feet on the ground to get used to it.
I have been suprised how much I have gotten from this exercise, and I think it would be a good addition, especially for those with low back pain or those that struggle with chinups.
[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
I’d rather do rack pulls man…pretty similar movement plus you can add weight easier.[/quote]
He’s talking about inverted rows.
But yeah Im wondering how you add an external load. [/quote]
Using a weight vest or a back pack filled with weight on my front.
[quote]bruno082985 wrote:
Inverted rows are an exercise that I did not give much attention to until recently. I figured they were good for beginners that could not do pullups (they are sometimes called “fat man pullups”) but there was not much use for them beyond that.
This summer, however, I decided to take a break from all lower back intensive rowing. I had hurt my back in May and just decided I wanted to give it time to heal. That meant no barbell rows, t-bar rows, and even Kroc rows. This left me with chinup variations and inverted rows.
Lo and behold, I am really starting to like them. For one, they are very easy on the lower back, but beyond that, I think they are great for strengthening the upper back and promoting good shoulder health. Being a horizontal pull, they differ in feel quite a bit from pullups, and they are much more shoulder friendly in my opinion. Plus, for people that struggle to do enough reps with pullups, this is a great way to work on your strength while still getting in enough reps to work the muscles.
Another thing I like about them is that you can progress and regress them very easily depending on strength levels. In general:
- The higher the bar is off the ground, the easier it will be.
- Having your feet on the floor will be easier than elevating them.
- Bent knees are easier than straight legs.
This means that you could start with bent knees with a higher bar and progress to a lower back (just enough to get a full ROM at the bottom of the rep) with legs straight elevated on a bench. From there, you can add resistance via plates or a weighted vest.Many stronger people will find that even at this point, it isn’t too hard. This was my big qualm at first, so I started thinking of so more advanced variations.
Here are the variations
Towel Rows- These will fry your grip, and also allow for an AWESOME contraction when you pull the towel apart at the top.
Fingertip Rows- This is just a little harder variation using a loading pin that will also REALLY work the grip.
Unstable rows- I hope you guys know me enough to know I’m not a big stability ball guy, but in this situation it was a nice change to add some difficulty and force you to stay tight so you don’t move around. It also forces you to control the reps because if you jerk, the ball with roll.
1 arm rows- This is the hardest version of all, but probably my favorite. This will fry your back and work your core hard too. You can start these will your feet on the ground to get used to it.
I have been suprised how much I have gotten from this exercise, and I think it would be a good addition, especially for those with low back pain or those that struggle with chinups.
[/quote]
This was very helpful. I was thinking about doing them to take load off of my lower back. Thank you.
Yeah and while we’re at it why don’t we hang our feet from a pullup bar and then grab a barbell/dumbbells and do upside down pulldowns for our lats!
[quote]bruno082985 wrote:
[/quote]
Excellent Vids!
That 1-Arm Inverted Row looks great. Nice way to tie the core into the movement.
[quote]worzel wrote:
That 1-Arm Inverted Row looks great.[/quote]
yeah those one armed ones looked cool. I bet they would be hard
x2 on the rack chins recommendation. Although inverted rows would certainly be a useful addition if you need another movement with scapular retraction in, from a shoulder health perspective.
Good post Bruno…
Another variation I have used which I’d recommend is putting a low-pulley V-handle attachment over the BB in a rack (you have to rotate everything around so you are parallel to the BB and legs stradling one pillar of the rack). Pull more to the sternum/upper stomach area. Again, with feet elevated it is quite easy to add a plate or 2 to the chest for addded resistance.
As an aside, another exercise I discovered recently on this site, which I’ve never seen before, and is touted as a good scapulae builder, is a reverse cable fly. I have just started using this so it’s too early to say if it’s worthy of serious inclusion. However, if, like me, you didn’t know about it and have scapulae issues, try it:-
At a cable crossover machine, ideally one where you can adjust the pulley height so they are set at shoulder height, cross arms and grab the opposite handles. While keeping your arms straight, bring your arms back together in front of your chest (you should look like your holding a large imaginary crucifix in your hands warding off evil!), that’s the starting point. Now still keeping the ams straight, pull your arms outwards pulling the shoulder blades back at fully contracted position. Be careful as you get into this position because depending on the machine set-up the cables can be close to your face.
[quote]mr popular wrote:
Yeah and while we’re at it why don’t we hang our feet from a pullup bar and then grab a barbell/dumbbells and do upside down pulldowns for our lats![/quote]Because that wouldn’t be very practical. Inverted rows on the other hand can be a great rowing variation to add. I for one enjoyed the op’s videos, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one.
So why don’t you drop the attitude and kindly gtfo if these exercises go against everything you knew about BB.
[quote]knee-gro wrote:
[quote]mr popular wrote:
Yeah and while we’re at it why don’t we hang our feet from a pullup bar and then grab a barbell/dumbbells and do upside down pulldowns for our lats![/quote]Because that wouldn’t be very practical. Inverted rows on the other hand can be a great rowing variation to add. I for one enjoyed the op’s videos, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one.
So why don’t you drop the attitude and kindly gtfo if these exercises go against everything you knew about BB.
[/quote]
yea, you asshole!
These exercises certainly have use, IMHO primarily for when you want to work back/shoulder health, but for whatever reason (injury, fatigue, etc) want to avoid lower back involvement. It’s never bad to have mroe tools in your arsenal, as long as there’s some way to progress on them for a long period of time.
[quote]hungry4more wrote:
These exercises certainly have use, IMHO primarily for when you want to work back/shoulder health, but for whatever reason (injury, fatigue, etc) want to avoid lower back involvement. It’s never bad to have mroe tools in your arsenal, as long as there’s some way to progress on them for a long period of time. [/quote]
I agree with this completely. I was certainly not trying to say that this is the only effective exercise for training the back. It is just one of many good ways that can be added. I also agree that progressive resistance is important. With bodyweight exercises though, progression can come from many different ways other than just weight (although with plates and/or an adjustable weight vest that is easy enough). Chang grips, foot height, height of the bar/straps, bend in the legs, etc. will all change the difficulty as well.
I am glad some of you found the videos helpful. If your goal is a back exercise primarily, I personally think the towel version and the 1 arm version are best. The 1 arms are the hardest, and the towel allows for a great contraction since you pull the towel apart. The fingertip variation is definitely primarily a grip exercise as that will be the limiting factor, and the ball variation will also work the core pretty hard (although honestly once you get used to it it isn’t much harder than using a bench).
[quote]hungry4more wrote:
, as long as there’s some way to progress on them for a long period of time. [/quote]
This was the point of my question. How much weight can you actually fit in a backpack?
[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
[quote]hungry4more wrote:
, as long as there’s some way to progress on them for a long period of time. [/quote]
This was the point of my question. How much weight can you actually fit in a backpack? [/quote]
I think the SS method would be perfect for these exercises.