I am just getting into weightlifting and need some help with my back. What are some good exercises to begin with? Should I start with deadlifts or work up to them?
deadlift, pull up, chin up, bent over rows, cleans.
Pull vertically with a chinning bar or a machine. Pull horizontally with a machine, barbell, or dumb bell. Do heavy shrugs, dead lifts, and/or cleans and for the traps,the erectors and other stabilizers.
Be careful not to over train the low back if you are also squatting heavy or working the low back hard on hamstring exercises like romanian deads or good mornings.
Pick back exercise variations with less low back strain if you are training the low back hard with the legs.
As a beginner, the best thing you can probably do is learn how to chin properly and not be one of those cogs who waste their time on the pulldown machine.
S
I would like to say congrats. most people just starting out just care about mirror muscles.
The great thing about the back is the exercises for them are not overly complicated. no need to work up to anything. Learn the technique for deadlifts, rows, and pullups and you’ll be well on your way!
Thanks for the pointers and advice. I start the VDiet on monday and can’t wait to hit the gym again.
front pull-down 2 warm up sets, 3 sets 7
bent-over row 1 warm up set, 3 sets 7
1-arm db row 3 sets 9
reverse grip pull-down 3 sets 9
straight arm seated row 3 sets 11
I’d recommend adding dead-lifts and pull-ups or chins and taking one of the above exercises out
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
As a beginner, the best thing you can probably do is learn how to chin properly and not be one of those cogs who waste their time on the pulldown machine.
S
[/quote]
What if your bodyweight is to great to be able to chin?
Bench press and dumbbell row superset has been working very nice for me and proving to be intense and short. I have been doing a 5x5. Normally I would do some PULLDOWNS (stu) with some dumbbell bench presses but I pulled my shoulder doing them. Turns out just the two exercises are working great; I never realized the back can hypertrophy so fast.
My experience with chins comes from two things I read, one from Haney, and one from Arnold. Arnold said that a good way to start doing chins is to pick a number (maybe 30), and take as many sets as you need to reach that goal. Right now, if you can only get 5 reps each set, then you just end up doing your chins with a total of 6 sets. Eventually, you may get to the point where you can knock out 10 each set.
In that case, you will end up doing 3 sets (of course at this point you’ll be doing much more than this, but you get the idea). Haney had said something about actually handling your body moving in space vs. just simulating the movement with the pulldown machine. Basically, he felt that there is something just ‘better’, be it more difficult in terms of muscle stress, effects on auxilliary muscles, true athletic performance… I don’t recall, but it always stuck with me, and I never wasted my time at the pulldown machine again.
I will note that even now, there are some days where I can knock out 12-15 chins at a clip, and there are some days where 8-9 just kills me. On those days I remind myself that it’s not really about weight lifted, or even repetitions. It’s about how hard you make your muscles work. If you stress 'em enough, they’ll be triggered to grow (yes, a gross oversimplification, but not a bad one if you think about it).
S
If you can’t move your own bodyweight enough to chin you need to either get stronger or lose weight…pretty simple.
to the op, do you have a manual labour job? or something similar. iv been working part time as a hard andscaper since i was 16 and when i came to start lifting in sept i foud deadlifts easy (well, you know what i mean) because of lifting heavy stuff and digging for 3 years. without this experience and conditioning, id suggest taking it slowy. you dont want to fuck your back up nd never do them again. good luck, deadlifts are fun, my fave is snatch grip from a deficit;)
if you can’t complete a pullup or chinup with your own bodyweight, stick with the machines or bentover rows or single arm bentover rows. make sure you go slow, take in the burn and get good form. try this for a few weeks and then see if you can pull your own weight under the bar
Negatives are helping me haul my 280lbs frame up to the pullup bar.
there you go, any progress is better than none. I can do 50 consecutive pushups with jack for triceps. but try that with me on the chin bar. HA, I can get 20 max and I work my biceps more frequently than my triceps. I might try the negatives like you said and see where it gets me
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
As a beginner, the best thing you can probably do is learn how to chin properly and not be one of those cogs who waste their time on the pulldown machine.
S
[/quote]
Agreed. And I don’t think there’s much carry-over from pull-downs to pull-ups. If you can’t do a pull-up, it’s probably better to just focus on negatives.
[quote]lil_diesel90 wrote:
I work my biceps more frequently than my triceps. [/quote]
BIG MISTAKE!, both from a strength standpoint, including your dip and bench strength. And from just wanting to have big arms. I know you might think the almighty bicep peak makes guys look like they have big arms (most people believe this) But look again, they have big tri’s. If I’m not mistaken the triceps is about 2/3 of the upper arm in comparison to the biceps.
[quote]GetSwole wrote:
lil_diesel90 wrote:
I work my biceps more frequently than my triceps.
BIG MISTAKE!, both from a strength standpoint, including your dip and bench strength. And from just wanting to have big arms. I know you might think the almighty bicep peak makes guys look like they have big arms (most people believe this) But look again, they have big tri’s. If I’m not mistaken the triceps is about 2/3 of the upper arm in comparison to the biceps.
[/quote]
you right, unless you’re arnold lol.
yea I know that tri’s are 2/3 of the arm but I can’t find anything good for tricep workout to use with the school equipment. this place has plenty of funding but they spent 30 grand on mountain bikes, and cardio machines which is stupid because we have squat for freeweights and our heaviest dumbbell is a 50 puonder.
Lil_Diesel90, you mentioned you can do 50 press ups and compare this to 20 chin ups, these are very different exercises, the parallel bar dip is a better comparison to chin ups.
If you do not have much equipment, you do not need much if any for triceps, press ups, dips, triceps dips, close arm press ups, and especially one arm press ups, as well as quite a few others, are great for triceps.