T NATION | Article Comments

Fine Tuning the Basics: Back Training
by John Meadows, CSCS -

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Awesome variations on back exercises, plus a hugely inspirational video feature of Dave Tate doing deadlifts with chains.

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Christian Thibaudeau: @ Rawminded... It has been my observation, that ring work mostly hits the brachialis. And it would seem to be in accordance with what you experienced since the brachialis will give you a better peak but wont do anything for width

Christian Thibaudeau: (cont) BUT if your goal is to maximize power production and do not care about competitive performance, going to the full extension is more effective. Remember there is a BIG difference between training a movement to maximize lifting numbers on that movement, and using a movement to maximize the physical gains you get from it.

Christian Thibaudeau: @ Chigichev... there is a BIG difference in doing the full squat lifts to maximize competition results and doing the power variations to build power/strength. By not fully extension at the ankle joint you sacrifice some pulling power BUT you gain by being able to go under the bar much faster. So yes you will produce less bar height but you will also have less bar drop since you are faster under it. It is widely believed that the best olympic lifters are those who can get under the bar th fastest

Christian Thibaudeau: @ BigIron... with isolation exercises/partials you want constant tension... imagine flexing the muscle while moving the weight. If you are using a compound movement to achieve a pump I suggest what I call a gradual tension build-up...externally the movement is rythmic, but internally you are trying to increase the intensity of the muscle contraction as you progress through the range of motion... it's basically the opposite of explosive lifting: where you produce a ton of force at the start

Chris Shugart:

Chris Shugart: @bayoubengal: Yep, that's correct.

Christian Thibaudeau: @ Lonnie... first of all a true L-sit is mostly a back movement (if done right)... and if done for relatively long durations, the psoas not the abs, will do most of the work.

John Paul Catanzaro: @jason64... Hold tight, I just sent T-Nation a follow-up article on this subject with even more superset routines. In the meantime, consider "The New Old-School Circuit Training" system as a nice change of pace.

Chris Shugart: I would feel very safe with cam534 as my pilot.

Chris Shugart:

Chris Shugart: @westnole: Saw something similar to that the other day: a free "diabetic" cookbook with order of diabetic testing supplies. The recipes in that book with give most people diabetes!

Chris Shugart: @strange: Much more simple that using the older formulas. That's a big plus.

Chris Shugart: @strange: Just follow the labels on the new formulas and add FINiBARs pre-lifting if you'd like.

Chris Shugart: @Eric: Thanks! Christian did a great job with this series. Two more parts to go, which will run Thursday and Friday.

Chris Shugart: @Jud68: That's the report we've been hearing from a lot of Indigo-3G users who've done a full 6-12 cycle at full dosage. Great to hear!

Tim Henriques: @tyciol cont - my advice would be to try the exercise and if you think it sucks move on, you have good ideas on how to modify the stuff it sounds like. Even if the exercise ends up sucking - for you - the person who suggested the exercise can be still very knowledgeable - don't throw the baby out with the bathwater so to speak

Tim Henriques: @tyciol - Both parts of the muscle experience the load but depending on the exercise it can be more significant in 1 area or the other. Muscles respond very specifically, not generally, which is why there are a ton of exercises and some are better than others. I agree the reverse squat would be tough to load but keep in mind those muscles aren't nearlly as strong as their antagonists, one would not expect to reverse squat 500 lbs. You could anchor your feet and put the straps around your arms

Chris Shugart: @wallstrt: Glad you like it!

Chris Shugart: I was an editor for Ian King back in the early days of TNation, and every set in his programs came with a three or four number tempo description. I guess by over-analyzing and over-thinking movement speeds, people at least started paying attention to these things and realizing that they mattered. No need to actually count though, as CT wrote.

BiP: NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH SUSHI!

BigIron77: Can't.....move.....too much....sushi.....uugghhhh......

RawMinded: I have long arms, from the front they don't look very big but from the side they look much more dense

RawMinded: I'll take it Christian, i'm curious to see if i see any more results after i get the iron cross and front lever.

iDrDan: @ CS : last weekend I tried a warm PB Finibar and stacked on top of a warm Chocolate Finibar...unbelievably tasty! So...wouldn't it be great if Biotest would come out with that "sandwich" of the two flavors but it would be the same size as 1 Finibar? Just saying...that would be great ;)

l-bomb10: Pretty sure the first one

Final Argument: the tempo part of it, I mean.

Final Argument: Good spill CT. I remember whenever i would try a program that incorporated tempo, i would try it for about a day then say screw that haha.

HawaiiTunya: Mahalo Chris. :-)

RawMinded: After getting the back lever i can tell that the peak on my biceps increased but i didn't get any added width. Just curious what results others got?

cubuff2028: 1st or 2nd one?

cubuff2028: I'll find time to fit that into my workday :)

l-bomb10: @cubuff--look up the space station/mars episode. Pam calls a move a Moab, and I'd love to know what it is.

HawaiiTunya: @CS: I sent you a PM.

bbone32: I have been sik since sunday and have not been able to do much the past few days. Should I jump right back into work today or should I ease back into it. I am on week four of the star complexes. Was thinking of doing a neural charge day or some hfsw work only.

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John Meadows CSCS, CISSN, is the creator and owner of www.mountaindogdiet.com. He is a top 5 finisher in the Mr. USA and Mr. North America bodybuilding championships, and when not training is usually chasing around his twin infants, designing brutal training programs, fixing people's cholesterol levels, or writing articles for T NATION.