Exercise of the Month: Barbell Bent Over Row

Introduction:

The bent over barbell row is a great back exercise that has many so many different ways to do it. I’m sure you would have seen many people do this exercise but with many different styles and grip positions. The most important thing to remember is to keep a neutral spine through out the exercise while limiting any swinging as best you can. Other than that you can have your back in any angle you want and pull the bar anywhere from your chest to hips. This is the main reason why I love this exercise because you can hit your back in so many different angles and your core muscles work overtime by holding your posture correctly.

 How to do it…..

Grasp a loaded bar with what every grip you like, the three main grips you can choose from are double under hand, close over hand or wide overhand. Each of these will slightly work your back differently so keep this in mind when doing multiple sets.

After you have chosen your grip you will then stand up with the bar against your thighs and bend your knees slightly. You will then bend from your hips to whatever angle you choose all the way until 90 degrees. The less you bend forward from the hips the easier the exercise will be as and it will put less pressure on your lower back. If your only bending forward slightly I would suggest you use your thighs as a guide and pull the bar from knee to hip, but if you go any lower you can pull anywhere up to your chest again depending how far forward you go.

After you have chosen your preferred position you can then begin the exercise by pulling the bar towards your body, pausing and squeezing your shoulder blades together before slowly lowering back to the start. It’s very important you squeeze your back together rather than just to pull the weight up and down so that you can maximise your contractions.

Exercise of the Month: Flat Bench Press

Now the Flat bench press has to be the most talked about exercises in the gym and it also seems to be on the tip of everybody’s tongue. When guys talk about training the first question is always ‘How much can you bench press? Etc and I too have been one of those people.

Over my time in the gym I have seen so many different techniques, some good and some crazily dangerous. So this is why I have chosen the Bench Press as this months exercise of the month so I can go over my technique I use.

How to do it…

Now after picking a weight for your individual goals you should lie down on the bench under the bar ready to start your set up. The set up is so important while bench pressing to make sure you don’t injure yourself and so that you can maintain a tight technique while pressing. Start with your feet position, I like to take my feet nice and wide and push my feet hard on the floor to create good stable stability. Next try to drop your shoulders by squeezing your back against the bench, this will help protect your shoulders as your back will be contracting and helping out with the movement especially on the way down. Once you have selected your grip which could be close neutral or wide you will then grip the bar like your life depended on it so that your forearm muscles will be contracting and ready to work.

Ideally you will have a spotter to help unload/reload the bar to the bench and to get you out of any sticky situation but again it’s optional. You will then unload the bar until it’s directly above your chest, hold for a second and squeeze your back again while pumping out your chest.

Slowly lower the bar until it touches lightly against your chest (nipple line) and press powerfully to the start position.

If your goals are mainly strength building or powerlifting I would pause at the bottom for a second rather than the touch and go method. If you’re training for size both methods are ok but try not to lock out as you will lose tension on your chest muscles.

This technique can be used on incline and decline presses too but your alignment may change for example, on an incline press you may want to bring the bar down to your upper chest rather than nipple line.

Overall most struggle with this exercise because their set up is wrong but after a few small changes you may see a massive improvement. 

Exercise of the Month: Push Press

The push press is a great compound exercise that consists of a front squat and standing barbell shoulder press. You use your legs to build up some momentum to then explosively press the barbell above your head. This is great for building incredible core strength as well as developing your shoulders, triceps and quads. By using the momentum you will be able to push press a heavier weight than you can shoulder press which is a great way to prepare your body to manage heavier loads. This exercise will also be burning loads of calories as you’re using lots of different muscles at once.

How to do it…

Grasp a loaded barbell from a rack or from the floor with an overhand grip. If gripping from the floor deadlift the bar up and clean the bar to the starting position. Either way you do it the bar should be sitting close to your upper chest whist you are standing erect.

To execute this explosive exercise you must drop into a half squat keeping your head and chest up then drive your legs upwards and take the momentum of the squat and press the bar overhead into a full standing shoulder press. Then control the bar back into the start position and repeat.

If your finding it hard to fit your gym sessions in, or if your just looking for some varied training, I would always recommend this exercise because it will hit a lot of muscles at once and if completed with higher reps (15+) you will really feel the cardiovascular effects, just ask some of my clients.......

Exercise of the Month: Rack Deadlift

The rack deadlift or rack pull as it may be known is basically a traditional deadlift but instead of deadlifting from the floor you deadlift from a higher level. This is one of my favourite exercises at the moment and I have found my lower back and grip strength have improved so much. I have also found my squat is so much better and i recently squatted 175kg for 5 deep reps which i have never done before but I cant 100% say it was because of the rack deads but thought I would mention it.


Getting back to the exercise, you can deadlift from any level from just above the floor to above the knee and as you decrease the range of movement you should be able to handle more poundage.


What Muscles???


This exercise mainly focuses on hamstrings, glutes and your lower back muscles and you should try not to bend your legs to much while lifting so you can focus on these posterior chain muscles and not let your quadriceps help out like they do in a traditional deadlift.


Here is a video of me rack deadlifting, I'm using a couple of steppers with adjustable feet so I can adjust the height by adding or taking away the feet. Most will use a power rack or wooden blocks but use what ever you have in your gym that is study enough to take the weight your using.

Main Muscles	Hamstrings, Gluteus Maximus, and, Erector Spinae
Exercise Steps	Walk up to the barbell with your shins slightly away from the bar Bend your hips and slightly bend your knees until you can grip the bar with a slightly wider than shoulder grip Maintain a neutral spine and lift your chest whilst looking ahead Press your feet into the floor while pulling your shoulders and upper back upwards and driving your hips forward Pull the bar to an upright position making sure your spine is neutral and arms are extended at all times Reverse movement by slowly lowering the bar until it is rested on the floor
Alternatives Exercises	Romanian Deadlift Stiff Leg Deadlift