Can you row your own bodyweight 10x's?

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imagymrat
imagymrat Posts: 862 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
There's a saying, If you're not rowing, you're not building muscle. And there's no better way to start doing both than with an exercise called the inverted row, or body-weight row.Besides being great for muscle building, the inverted row is valuable because it strengthens your rear shoulders and upper back. These often neglected muscles directly oppose the muscles used in the bench press, a benefit that can help prevent a slumped posture. Think of it this way: If you bench-press far more than you row, the stronger muscles on the front of your upper body will overpower the weaker ones on the back, pulling your shoulders forward. If you can't do 10 perfect repetitions of the inverted row, chances are you have a serious imbalance. The fix? Do two sets of the inverted row for every one set of bench presses (or other chest exercise) that you perform. Use this approach until you eliminate your weak spot.

How to do it: At a Smith machine, grab the bar with an overhand grip and place your heels on the floor, with your legs straight. Pull your chest to the bar, pause, and lower yourself until your arms are straight. To count as a rep, your chest must touch the bar.

Replies

  • ShaneT99
    ShaneT99 Posts: 278 Member
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    Another great post. I think rows in general are overlooked by a lot of people in the gym...especially by men.
  • hjsyndrome
    hjsyndrome Posts: 215
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    To be honest I have never done this. I seen a smaller guy do this at the gym a couple of times. I thought it looked interesting, but never thought twice about it. You definately bring up a very interesting point. Another post that I will need keep note of from you.
  • imagymrat
    imagymrat Posts: 862 Member
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    To be honest I have never done this. I seen a smaller guy do this at the gym a couple of times. I thought it looked interesting, but never thought twice about it. You definately bring up a very interesting point. Another post that I will need keep note of from you.

    I remember the first time I saw it done..couldn't really figure out why one would do it, and it looked easy....until I tried it, couldn't do three...lol...I love em now, they are a part of my chest/shoulder days.
  • onyxlibra7
    onyxlibra7 Posts: 93
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    Bump
  • jljohnson
    jljohnson Posts: 719 Member
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    Is there a way to work these muscles with hand weights, or just with a rowing machine? I don't have access to a gym, but this is something I should probably work on.
  • borisda
    borisda Posts: 122 Member
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    is that why my shoulders touch in front of me : ))
  • borisda
    borisda Posts: 122 Member
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    I've just done 8 x8 , row and press. It's 8 reps 8sets, supersets. Pick a moderate but challenging weight ( I picked a pair of 30kg dumb bells ) and do 8 unilateral row's ( good form of course ) and then straight to the bench press and do 8 of them with no rest between exercises and only 20-30 seconds between supersets. That'll sort out the imbalance and burn tones of cals : ))
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    I actually had a shoulder assessment done by a guy doing his PHD about a month back. He was standing behind me and basically put his finger on my shoulder blade. He asked if I do a lot of pushups (which I do). He said that as there was a "gap" at the inner point of the shoulder blade he was able to tell that I worked the chest muscles more than the lower traps and shoulder muscles. He recommended that I do more inverted rows and bent over rows.

    I now do 3-5 sets of 15 inverted rows on my chest days.

    You can also experiment with different feet heights for differing degrees of difficulty.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    As a general rule, I recommend doing 3 sets of back exercises (mainly the lats) for every 2 sets of chest exercises. For me, that's the minimum. You see a lot of guys obsess over their pecs, but neglect everything else. From the front they look like Ahnold, but from the back they look like a 12 year old girl.

    The key is form and knowing where these muscles are. I would say that 50% - 70% of the people I work with every day have no clue how to actively engage their lats, regardless of the exercise. Until you can do this, you will not get the results you are looking for.

    Here is one cue that works a lot of the time. Go to a lat pulldown machine--cable, selectorized, etc. Take your usual grip. Relax your shoulders and let the weight pull them up a little bit. Try to pull your shoulders down -- just an inch or two --WITHOUT bending your elbows. Keep those arms straight. Once you can do that, then pull the bar down, keeping the elbows wide and moving them out to the side and keeping the wrists straight. Keep the shoulders DOWN when you do this. Lower the bar until it is level with you eyes. Your elbows should be just below a 90 degree angle--pulling the bar farther down will cause you to engage other muscles--not the point of this exercise.

    Same principle holds true with all types of rows--seated rows, one-arm rows, inverted bench press, wide rows for upper scapular area, etc. You have to keep your shoulders down and your wrists straight--otherwise you will start to work biceps, shoulders, chest instead of concentrating on the lats.

    Once you learn this, you should be able to do ANY back exercise with proper form, just by the "feel" of it.

    It also makes it a lot easier to carry things.
  • ShaneT99
    ShaneT99 Posts: 278 Member
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    Is there a way to work these muscles with hand weights, or just with a rowing machine? I don't have access to a gym, but this is something I should probably work on.

    There are any number of ways to do rows with dumbbells. Just realize that the back muscles are big and powerful so you may need pretty heavy dumbbells to really challenge yourself.

    Do a Google search for Bent Over Dumbbell Rows, One Arm Dumbbell Rows, Two Point Dumbbell Rows, Three Point Dumbbell Rows, Upright Rows or really just any kind of "dumbbell row" and you'll get a good idea of some different exercises you can do to work your back.

    One way I've seen people do the inverted row that imagymrat talked about is to set two chairs just wider than shoulder width apart and then rest a sturdy rod of some sort between them. Lay beneath the rod on your back so that it is above your chest or even a little lower. Grasp the bar firmly about shoulder width apart and pull your body up until your chest touches, keeping your body rigid the whole time. A word of caution: BE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT YOUR CHAIRS AND ROD ARE STABLE AND STRONG ENOUGH TO SUPPORT YOUR WEIGHT.

    Pullups are a great exercise for your back to and if you're working out at home pullup bars are very affordable to buy or make.
  • ShaneT99
    ShaneT99 Posts: 278 Member
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    You see a lot of guys obsess over their pecs, but neglect everything else. From the front they look like Ahnold, but from the back they look like a 12 year old girl.

    Ha! What makes that so funny is that it's true! Or the guys with huge chest and shoulders being held up by little chicken legs because they never work their lower body.
  • mark996
    mark996 Posts: 184 Member
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    Get...Out....Of...The...Smith...Machine.......

    You're not working a single solitary stabilizer muscle at all during crap in the smith machine. Rows are great, but you're taking away from half of the work out. I haven't rowed my bodyweight before, but I've hit 285x2 with a log press several times. The Row is a great workout.

    http://stronglifts.com/how-to-perform-the-barbell-row-with-proper-technique/
  • imagymrat
    imagymrat Posts: 862 Member
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    :
    Get...Out....Of...The...Smith...Machine.......

    You're not working a single solitary stabilizer muscle at all during crap in the smith machine. Rows are great, but you're taking away from half of the work out. I haven't rowed my bodyweight before, but I've hit 285x2 with a log press several times. The Row is a great workout.

    http://stronglifts.com/how-to-perform-the-barbell-row-with-proper-technique/


    lol ...:laugh: :laugh: ok, ok!! hahaha! I don't use it all the time!!
  • mark996
    mark996 Posts: 184 Member
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    haha, I know, just got to get a good harassing in. Looking at you I'd say you're doing a pretty dang good job of working out. Appreciate all these posts you're making about old school workouts, good stuff.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Get...Out....Of...The...Smith...Machine.......

    You're not working a single solitary stabilizer muscle at all during crap in the smith machine. Rows are great, but you're taking away from half of the work out. I haven't rowed my bodyweight before, but I've hit 285x2 with a log press several times. The Row is a great workout.

    http://stronglifts.com/how-to-perform-the-barbell-row-with-proper-technique/

    Kind of missed the point, there, I believe. OP was not talking about doing ROWS w/Smith Machine (unless I misread it), but doing inverted push ups. For that exercise, it doesn't make any difference -- all you are looking for is something to hold on to. You can do them with a Smith Machine, a regular power rack, TRX suspension--sometimes I use the handrails on my treadmill because there is nothing else suitable in my basement.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    I think that back exercises are one of the only groups where machines might actually be the preferred modality for most people--at least the non-athlete population that I primarily work with. I find that most people do not--and often cannot--do rows with dumbbells or bars and maintain proper form.

    Actually, some of the best exercises I have found are the Hammer Strength plate loaded machines--Iso lateral High Row, Iso Lateral Pulldown, Iso Lateral Row and DY Row--or their MTS versions.
  • mark996
    mark996 Posts: 184 Member
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    The hammer strength machines are really good. I misread the OP statement about rows in the smith machine, my fault. Machines can be useful for people who cannot do free weight movements, but shouldn't be substituted just because someone isn't knowledgeable in using free weights. The benefit for most people is to use free weights, but as you've mentioned, there are machines that can be just as beneficial for SOME, not all, movements.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    I tried the inverted row again today in a power rack. I think I decided I like doing it with a TRX system better. The more I do it, the more limiting I find the bar.

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