Back training

[Craze1]

Hey guys,

So I've been training roughly 2.5-3 years made great gains and consider myself very knowledgable when it comes to training and diet but my only problem is my back i have a very weak mind muscle connection with my back especially with rows.

Lat pulldowns most the time i can get a good contraction but almost everything else I'm not feeling like i should I'm not sure if i may be performing rows incorrectly or if its just my mind muscle connection but i always feel the contraction in my traps.

Ive done the whole thinking of my hand as hooks and pulling from the elbows and although that helped with my lat pulldowns it hasn't done much for my rows.

My gym has a very limited and very shit amount of machines for back they have just the basic things like pull overs and lat pulldown and hyper extensions but beyond that have to use free weight & I'm not having problems with any other body part and just for clarification I'm also natural.

Any help or ideas would be appreciated,
Cheers

[kelkel]

You tube Dorian Yates back training videos. You'll learn a ton.

[Khazima]

Practice flexing your lats as if you're doing a row between sets, even while you're not working out. Remember to pinch your shoulder blades together every rep.

[zempey]

During say cable rows I like to let my shoulders rotate forward and kinda round my back a bit, then when starting to pull I rotate my shoulders back and chest up before my arms start to bend. I pull back and try and squeeze my shoulder blades together and try and flex all the muscles hard. I like bent rows, over hand and under hand, you can do dumbell rows as well getting a deep stretch at the bottom. You need to start light to get the feel and form before you try and go really heavy.

[Mr.BB]

Many ppl dont let the lats strech on rows, you really need to feel the strech and then squeeze

[Craze1]

You tube Dorian Yates back training videos. You'll learn a ton.

Your not wrong, Just learnt a few things already i think i will try out his back day on his "blood and guts" trainer next week and see how it goes. Have wanted to try a program for a while anyway.

Cheers

During say cable rows I like to let my shoulders rotate forward and kinda round my back a bit, then when starting to pull I rotate my shoulders back and chest up before my arms start to bend. I pull back and try and squeeze my shoulder blades together and try and flex all the muscles hard. I like bent rows, over hand and under hand, you can do dumbell rows as well getting a deep stretch at the bottom. You need to start light to get the feel and form before you try and go really heavy.

I think I'm just going to need to lighten the weight for a few weeks or so until i get it down pat. I just don't like going too light because then i loose the contraction that way as well.

Cheers

Practice flexing your lats as if you're doing a row between sets, even while you're not working out. Remember to pinch your shoulder blades together every rep.

Will do mate, Will spend the week trying to get that connection down.

Cheers

[OdinsOtherSon]

You said it in your opening post...mind/muscle connection. Be careful going lighter so you can "get it down pat." Going lighter often times is just as detrimental, in terms of learning proper form, as too heavy. Have you considered that you're already too light now? You might possibly increase the weight you're rowing and benefit. One thing I've notice myself is that if I seem to be unable to make a certain movement "feel right," I simply move on to another movement that I can get to target the muscle group in question and focus on that for a couple months. Then, move back to the exercise that was initially giving me problems. Often times this gives me an opportunity to 1) strengthen the muscle in question and 2) learn what it feels like to engage that muscle. Anyway, just my ramblings. Good luck bro.

[Craze1]

You said it in your opening post...mind/muscle connection. Be careful going lighter so you can "get it down pat." Going lighter often times is just as detrimental, in terms of learning proper form, as too heavy. Have you considered that you're already too light now? You might possibly increase the weight you're rowing and benefit. One thing I've notice myself is that if I seem to be unable to make a certain movement "feel right," I simply move on to another movement that I can get to target the muscle group in question and focus on that for a couple months. Then, move back to the exercise that was initially giving me problems. Often times this gives me an opportunity to 1) strengthen the muscle in question and 2) learn what it feels like to engage that muscle. Anyway, just my ramblings. Good luck bro.

Cheers for your input bro,

Next week ill try a couple sets at a heavier weight as that might possibly be it I'm not really going very heavy at the moment and I'm sure i could go heavier so ill see if that fixes the problem.

Cheers

[almostgone]

You tube Dorian Yates back training videos. You'll learn a ton.

Wholeheartedly concur....and look up some of Marcus300's posts on mind-muscle connection and HIT if you haven't already. Definitely won't regret it.

[motivated247]

scapula control. that is all.

[marcus300]

The mind muscle connection is hard to get for the back but once you find your groove your back will start to grow and explode in width and thickness. Many times people use to much weight and swing and use momentum which isn't productive if you have secured that mind muscle connection. Try lowering the weight and imagine your trying to crack a walnut in the centre of your back with your back muscles, Try and visualise how your back looks when it contracts and make sure your back aches during and after each set. Also do a lot of stretching pre, post and during sets.

Also agreed what Kel said check out a lot of Dorian back workouts and how he explains how to do the movements,

[Schwarzenegger]

My back is my biggest asset but took a long time to develop the mind muscle connection.

I call it the three part movement for any back exercise

1. Retract only ur shoulder blades together at the beginning of the movement and hold that.
2. Pull with the elbow (ie. Visualize pulling, leading with ur elbow back). Biceps still minimally incorporated if u do it right.
3. Finish the last part with biceps

Shoulder blades. Elbow. Biceps.

And for dumbbell rows, row to ur hip. Its a limited range but more activation of the lats. I was rowing to my lower chest/upper abdomen for years until my brother tweaked my form. I started rowing to the hip and it was quantum leap in lat development.

[AllKindsOGains]

You can also try hanging from a bar fully extended and literally flex yourself backward with your lats. This will help develop the mind muscle connection. Hang fully extended, and just flare your lats to the point your body moves backward. Don't swing, and keep it under control.

[Buster Brown]

I love weighted chins, bent over rows (I do them the way Dorian Yates demonstrates them on his blood and guts video) and dead lifts. I consider these my core excercises .

[papersteroidguy]

The back isn't one and only of the body's greatest and strongest body parts, its additionally the most entangled regarding being a progression of interconnected muscle bunches. For the reasons of this highlight we're separating the again into its four fundamental areas: 1) the upper and external lats, 2) the lower lats, 3) the center back and 4) the lower back. Every range obliges particular incitement by means of the activities and approaches utilized, and we'll reveal to you the two best activities for each.

[Buster Brown]

The back isn't one and only of the body's greatest and strongest body parts, its additionally the most entangled regarding being a progression of interconnected muscle bunches. For the reasons of this highlight we're separating the again into its four fundamental areas: 1) the upper and external lats, 2) the lower lats, 3) the center back and 4) the lower back. Every range obliges particular incitement by means of the activities and approaches utilized, and we'll reveal to you the two best activities for each.

Your words?

[JohnnyJim]

Hey guys,

So I've been training roughly 2.5-3 years made great gains and consider myself very knowledgable when it comes to training and diet but my only problem is my back i have a very weak mind muscle connection with my back especially with rows.

Lat pulldowns most the time i can get a good contraction but almost everything else I'm not feeling like i should I'm not sure if i may be performing rows incorrectly or if its just my mind muscle connection but i always feel the contraction in my traps.

Ive done the whole thinking of my hand as hooks and pulling from the elbows and although that helped with my lat pulldowns it hasn't done much for my rows.

My gym has a very limited and very shit amount of machines for back they have just the basic things like pull overs and lat pulldown and hyper extensions but beyond that have to use free weight & I'm not having problems with any other body part and just for clarification I'm also natural.

Any help or ideas would be appreciated,
Cheers

Have you ever tried pull ups?

Back when I was 17, I could do 4 reps of ultra-wide pull-ups from a dead hang position... at 205-pounds of bodyweight.

I was a bit of a fatty back then, yet my back width was insane because of my vertical-pulling strength.