Lower Back Workouts?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

I have been lifting for about 6 months now, and have seen nice gains. But they have slowed down and I am having trouble getting past the 180lbs marker. This break I have tons of time for lifting and am developing a five day routine with 1:30min rest periods and making sure every rep is explosive. Perhaps this will create some new overload so I can GAIN!

  1. Rate the routine

  2. HELP WITH LOWER BACK WORKOUTS!!! Dont know what to do.
    I feel like there is an imbalance between the lower back and the abs, not allowing my abs to grow.

Routine Explained At the Bottom’

Sunday �?? Rest

Monday: Chest 3x10, Biceps 5x5

  • 3x10 Flat Dumbbell Bench
  • 3x10 Incline Dumbbell Press
  • 3x10Dumbbell Flys
  • 5x5 Barbell Curls
  • 5x5 Concentrated Curls

Tuesday: Back 3x10, Triceps 5x5, Abs 5x5 & Lower Back 5x5

  • 3x10 Seated Rows
  • 3x10 T-Bar Rows
  • 3x10 Lat Pull Downs
  • 5x5 Close Grip Bench
  • 5x5 Skull Crusher
  • 5x5 Ab Machine

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Legs 3x10, Shoulders 3x10

  • 3x10 Squats
  • 2x10 Leg Press
  • 2x10 Standing Calf Raise
  • 3x10 Dumbbell Shoulder Press
  • 3x10 Military Press
  • 3x10 Upright Row

Friday: Chest 5x5, Biceps 3x10, Abs 2xFailure & Lower Back 2xFailure

  • 5x5 Flat Barbell Press
  • 5x5 Pec Deck
  • 5x5 Incline Barbell Press
  • 3x10 Alternate Curls
  • 3x10 Double Cable Curls

Saturday: Back 5x5, Triceps 3x10

  • 5x5 Lat Pull Down
  • 5x5 Seated Machine Rows
  • 5x5 Seated Cable Rows
  • 3x10 Close Grip Bench
  • 3x10 Cable Pushdowns

SO yes, I’m combining the typical three set, ten rep with the 5x5 Strenth Routine, Mainly to mix things up a bit and see if my body can get out of the rut it is used to lifting in (3x10 routine)

(For anyone who doesnt know what this is)5x5 Routine Explained:

Also, I will decrease rest time between sets, and increase rep speed for a higher OVERLOAD as explained in this recent article:
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1863140

I know there will be some bashing with my one day of legs & shoulders, this is my choice because my legs are already very built up and strong, I will be concentrating on my upper body during this month.

I need some ideas for lower back workouts! Heavy weights for the 5x5 and body weights for high rep.

Thanks!

2

umm…deadlifts?

3

In my limited experience doing dumbbell bench was a mistake for gaining mass. It was great for getting my chest stronger but ultimately left me with lagging triceps and delts. Also I think you should probably do tri’s and chest in the same day and back and bi’s in the same day.

It is just easier because you do back first and by the time you get to bi’s they are already half way burnt out, making better use of your time. I find this to be true anyways. Also replace T-bar row with bent over rows. I find T-bar rows to be a much shorter ROM than bent over rows unless you are putting the 5lbs plates on the T-bar. :stuck_out_tongue:

Also 2 sets of 10 reps will never make your calves grow, switch to 5 sets @ 15 reps. P.S ditch the pec deck. If it is one thing I have noticed at my gym, every guy that isn’t making progress loves the peck deck and cable flies. I would seriously recommend follow Arnold’s beginners routine, I switched to it not to long ago and have made more progress in the past month than I have in 6 months on any other program.

If you are interested than let me know. If not than likle weezthejuice said “where is the deadlifts?”

4

[quote]DanErickson wrote:
In my limited experience doing dumbbell bench was a mistake for gaining mass. It was great for getting my chest stronger but ultimately left me with lagging triceps and delts. Also I think you should probably do tri’s and chest in the same day and back and bi’s in the same day.

It is just easier because you do back first and by the time you get to bi’s they are already half way burnt out, making better use of your time. I find this to be true anyways. Also replace T-bar row with bent over rows. I find T-bar rows to be a much shorter ROM than bent over rows unless you are putting the 5lbs plates on the T-bar. :stuck_out_tongue:

Also 2 sets of 10 reps will never make your calves grow, switch to 5 sets @ 15 reps. P.S ditch the pec deck. If it is one thing I have noticed at my gym, every guy that isn’t making progress loves the peck deck and cable flies. I would seriously recommend follow Arnold’s beginners routine, I switched to it not to long ago and have made more progress in the past month than I have in 6 months on any other program.

If you are interested than let me know. If not than likle weezthejuice said “where is the deadlifts?”[/quote]

Is the Arnold beginner program the one where you do each body part 2 days a week? Chest and Back together the shoulders and arms then legs for a total of 6 days?

5

[quote]tykraus7 wrote:

Is the Arnold beginner program the one where you do each body part 2 days a week? Chest and Back together the shoulders and arms then legs for a total of 6 days?
[/quote]

Exactly

6

Are you doing any other workouts besides the listed weight room sessions? Sprints? Stadiums? Plyos?

If not, I think it is a waist to only be performing legs once a week, while performing all other body parts twice a week. Also, if you are concerned about your low back development, you should include some form of deadlifts in your workouts (possibly on an additional leg day).

Also, try adding some GHR, Reverse hypers, or good mornings. Don’t just throw them all into the mix, but intelligently add them into your training protocol.

Hope this helps. Happy Holidays.

-LH

7

[quote]WeezTheJuice wrote:
umm…deadlifts?[/quote]

Yeah. DUH!

I think you pretty much answer your own question about lower back weakness. The most work your lower back is getting is in squats. And thats the ONLY free weight leg exercise you do. You also have no exercises that target the lower back or the “posterior chain.”

A better split would be:

Chest
Back
Legs
-Off/Cardio
Shoulder
Arms
-Off/Get Laid
-Off/Prowler Push/Mow Lawn

On your Chest Day you should do some horizontal pressing, some 45’ pressing, a pullover, and a chest fly

On your Back Day you should do some horizontal pulling, vertical pulling, deadlifting, and trap work

On your Leg day you should do a Squat, a unilateral exercise, a hamstring exercise, and an abdominal exercise

On your Shoulder day you should do some vertical pressing, some medial-delt exercise, some rear delt exercise, and some rotator cuff exercise

On your arm day you should do a bicep curl, a brachialis curl, a revere curl, and 2-3 different tricep exercises to get the different heads of the tricep. Maybe some forearm work too.

But no matter what you do, these exercises I’m going to list here will make your lower back stronger. They are…

Good Mornings
Rack Deadlifts
Snatch-Grip Deadlifts
Deadlifts
Romanian Deadlifts
Cleans
Snatches
Hyper-extensions
Cable Pull-Throughs
CV Deadlifts
Glute-Ham Raises
The Lower Back Machine

Just pick 2 or 3 of these awesome exercises you’re not doing and incorporate them into your routine. Hell, Deadlifts are great but you can build a strong back with Good Mornings, Cleans, and Glute-Ham Raises.

8

[quote]FightingScott wrote:

-Off/Get Laid

[/quote]

High frequency and moderate volume(don’t want to overtrain). Those stuck in the mud once a week guys need to get up to speed with high frequency training!

Dead lifts and maybe a 45 degree back raise would be more than adequate for lower back work.

9

awesome! thanks for the kickass advice! Will revise & put into use during this month, hopefully I’ll gain at least two pounds of lean muscle.