For slip-ons I switched from vans to Nike Janoskis and haven’t looked back. Same convenience but they fit like a Nike.
Sooooooo…no consensus on what the “bench press of the back” is?
I still vote deadlift. As far as the best chest exercise, you gotta go with incline barbell press over flat barbell press. I’ve heard plenty of war injuries from the flat barbell like torn pec, hurt rotator cuff, injured elbow, etc but you don’t hear that about the incline press[yes dumbbell incline is also great]. Not to mention, almost everyone has enough middle and lower pec development, but most people training are always looking to add more development to their upper chest.
regarding this, bodybuilders are also training their back with a multitude of exercises and most importantly, from a variety of angles which brings about the crazy back development. But look at Ronnie’s back, Dorian’s back, etc. Deadlifts build those cable-like thick spinal erectors, massive traps, and yes, they do hit the lats as they (along with every muscle in the back) all have to contract very hard in order to help “pull and hold” the weight. Again, for the most part the only main back exercise powerlifters do with any amount of repetition is the deadlift, and maybe I’ve just known some freaks, but my powerlifting buddies all had very thick, dense backs. The kind of back development where in just a regular t-shirt if you saw them with their back facing you, you would instantly know that dude moved some serious iron. Maybe it’s just me, but whenever I’m out and about and I happen to see another guy who has a barn door back, I always feel like it’s an immediate “tell” that that person can move some serious weight and trains seriously. Sure, you can see a guy out who might have big arms, or a big chest, but often times those are the people who literally just work their arms or chest and that’s it. They are usually wearing jeans/pants as they do not train legs, nor heavy back which is why they usually look oddly lopsided e.g. they train the “easy” muscles/exercises. The guys who deadlift, barbell/dumbbell row, etc. tend to be the guys who train seriously in the gym. Just my .02
For calves, gotta go with the standing calf machine but the trick is to do HIGH reps with HEAVY weight. sets of 15, 20, even 25 reps and going heavy as possible. sure, you will have to begin training this way with a pretty small weight, but you will improve over time. I think this is also correlated with other posters saying really fat people doing a lot of walking, or walking uphill, repeatedly. It’s the same principle. The calves are in constant use as we walk, so they can take high reps, but by using heavy weight also (again, akin to a person getting fatter and fatter), that is what will cause them to really grow. No bullshit I have 21" calves but I’ve been training them this way for years. **I have to admit genetics DOES play a big role as well…if you have calves that look like stork legs, well, you do have your work cut out for you, BUT you can always improve them if you work your ass off. But just don’t expect them to look insane, sorry.
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I do agree here. The bench press is a two edged sword. As good as the exercise is, as you get extremely strong, the risk of the bench press can exceed its benefit. It seems that the risk accelerates at 400lbs and above. I felt a twinge in my pec on my quest to make the next step increase in my competitive bench press max, and gave it up to return all my focus to bodybuilding.
I too know of no one that got a severe shoulder or pec injury doing the incline barbell press.
But all that said, competitive deadlifting is also two edged sword especially for the biceps of the underhand arm. I have seen a few biceps ruptured in competition. It is true that in training, straps can be used and have both arms with an overhand grip, thereby greatly reducing the risk of a biceps rupture. Also, the lack of the necessity to do a max single greatly increases the safety of the deadlift.
But I felt that my heavy bent over barbell rows were a better back thickener than deadlifts. So, I cast my single vote for bent over barbell rows.
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They’re not freaks. The outliers are the skinny strong people running around meets with zero muscle development, including their backs. There are always a handful in the mix.
The vast majority of powerlifters absolutely have thick, strong backs. Thanks to deadlifts.
Ditto. I hate hearing “sumo is cheating” because i can’t sumo for shit. I call pull more from a defecit than i can sumo.
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All I know is whenever i go to the Arnold classic or the Mr. Olympia, i would rather watch the squat, bench and deadlift competitions than the bodybuilding contests
and most of the competitors have thick backs, traps and legs
as for the bench press of the back…i choose chins
bench press of the calves…i choose donkey raises
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Really need more lifts with the word Donkey in them. Donkey squats, donkey rows, donkey curls. Tnation, run the article now, “Full on Donkey routine for max gayunz!!!”
Donkey punches for cardio and kidney development?
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Donkey Kong
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