[quote]Old Dax wrote:
giterdone wrote:
First thing I’d tell you is to lighten your load on rows and go for higher reps. Maintain you form.
Agree. Sets of 3, unless your form is perfect, is too heavy a load. I used to do bent over rows when I was younger but now I find the low back stress is not worth the gains when there are so many other exercise options. I don’t do them at all now.
He should be doing the 8 sets of 3 with the same weight he could do 3 sets of 8, So it shouldn’t be a loading issue.[/quote]
I didn’t mean sets of 3 are too much load for building muscle…it’s likely too much of a load on the lower back which is why he tweaked his back.
Lots of good options were given. Personally, I find chest-supported rows uncomfortable due to the compressive forces on my chest. I much prefer Kroc rows, T-bar rows, some Hammer Strength stuff, cable row variations, deads and rack pulls.
I haven’t done Yates rows with any real seriousness. I’ll give those a go.
[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
You could also consider rowing with the torso at 45 degrees. Or even closer to vertical than that. Yates did them, and Coleman does them, at only about 20 degrees off vertical. (Which for some reason many call “70 degrees” even though they would not call vertical “90 degrees.”)
[/quote] No offense, but this made me chuckle.
Bill and his crusade against They Who Don’t Express Themselves Correctly lol [quote]
45 degrees though is enough to greatly reduce stress on the lower back without greatly changing the fundamentals of the exercise.[/quote]
Sharp pain in the lower back is not to be dismissed and worked around. Get checked out immediately for disc damage. Could be bulging, slipped or ruptured. Could also be nothing more than a muscle strain.
I lived with the recurring pain some have mentioned. Eventually had a major rupture (twice) and two surgeries. The pain can be dramatically worse. Try to imagine not drinking or eating for days just to avoid getting up on your hands and knees to crawl to the bathroom while shaking and crying from the pain. Don’t mess with it! Find out what the deal is now!
By the way, back surgery does not mean the end of training. 2 discectomies and I can still squat and deadlift. You just have a tendency to learn proper form much more crucially after you screw something up. Good luck!
Aside from lifting mechanics, something which helps my back feel well-rested is to sleep on my back with a pillow below my knees, or if you sleep on your side to place a pillow between your knees. I’ve found whenever I have lower back pain, and the next night I follow this sleeping procedure the pain subsides or more often goes away completely. I found this little trick in an article here some time ago, but I can’t seem to find it.
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Bill Roberts wrote:
You could also consider rowing with the torso at 45 degrees. Or even closer to vertical than that. Yates did them, and Coleman does them, at only about 20 degrees off vertical. (Which for some reason many call “70 degrees” even though they would not call vertical “90 degrees.”)
No offense, but this made me chuckle.
Bill and his crusade against They Who Don’t Express Themselves Correctly lol [/quote]
Another day, another windmill 