Back Exercises

[Shrum]

I have been working out for about 6 months now, I am 16 years old and 150 lbs. I have a pretty good workout for everything except my back. I was just wondering if anyone knows of any good back exercises for bulk for someone my age. Thanx

[Leviathan]

At your age and size I wouldn't focus on compound exercises. Personally, I would just play sports like soccer, running, etc. to build up your body. Maybe some hyperextensions and chin-ups and rows with lighter weights would also help.

Don't start deadlifting until you are about 18 or 19.

[Shrum]

Thanx

[Darcy Tucker]

I want everyone to post their opinion on this because I am very similar to shrum. I'm 16 and 5.10 feet tall and 160lbs. I like deadlifting and squats but am always worried that it might screw up my body. Their is no possible way I will shrink right? Just not grow anymore?

[heathj]

F that Lev..I deadlift and I'm 16...not gonna wait until I'm 18 or any of that shiat. Not like I'm gonna do any harm if I have correct form.

Good back exercises:

Deadlifts
Pullups
Seated Rows
Bent over rows
Good mornings

[Podium Kreatin]

lifting heavy will not "warp" ur body, nor harm it. in many cases, lifting during teens is beneficial, bc it strengthens the bones. the myth that lifting is bad for young ppl has no evidence to back it. ever seen a lopsided teen that became like that from lifting? probably not bc that can't happen

[Alex.V]

Somebody get Cack in here.

[Darcy Tucker]

I'm sure their must be some medical evidence though. Think about deadlifting or squatting twice your body weight and the stress it puts on your body, and now think about doing that when you have barely developed. Is their a reason why most bodybuilders are short.

[Chris Rodgers]

Most bodybuilders are short because it would be near impossible to pack on the kind of muscle you'd need on a 6'5" body to match a 5'8" mound of muscle.


Deadlifts
Deadlifts
Deadlifts
Chins
Deadlifts
BB rows
Deadlifts
Chins
Deadlifts
DB rows
Deadlifts
Deadlifts

Oh yeah, and don't forget deadlifts!tuttut

[Joe Black]

I like Latmans choices...

Heres my back workout

Chins
Deadlifts
Rows
Shrugs

total of about 8-9 sets..

[Budiak]

I can fill Cack's role.
*clears throat*

EAT SHRUM EAT YOU WHORE BASTARD SKINNY SCREWBALL JUST EEEEAAAATTT!!!

Was that alright?
When I joined the gym they told me that if young teens build too much muscle it'll screw up their bones. Pfft. If you lift incorrectly at any age you'll screw up your body.

Like my body could be any more screwed up anyways.

[Shaggy]

Originally posted by Darcy Tucker
I'm sure their must be some medical evidence though. Think about deadlifting or squatting twice your body weight and the stress it puts on your body, and now think about doing that when you have barely developed. Is their a reason why most bodybuilders are short.

You're squatting 320lb's, that's mighty impressive for a 16 year old!

[Anthony]

Shaggy, all the 16 year old's squat 320 these days. It's because they allow calculators in the class rooms and they don't know how to add without it. Either that, or they include their body weight in the squat.

[Spiderman]

Anthony,
...then you must consider that in highschools they don't teach how to Squat properly. They tell you to go down to about parallel. Most of the kids don't even go down that far. It ends up being about 110-120 degree angle they hit. Hell I could do 320 as well if I only went that low.

[Anthony]

Ah yes, the infamous quarter squats. You know, I don't care if someone uses partial reps as a training method, but when they brag about how much weight they use with partial reps - that bugs me.

[Yaz]

Well, my buttcheeks scrape the floor. (Not quite, but I'm way past 90). I only do 220. And I was never taught to squat, other than by myself. But I'm Yaz, and mother nature likes to shove me around.

[Darcy Tucker]

I never said I could but think about it if could.

[gino]

Shrum - I started lifting when I was 14 and deadlifting when I was 16, so I don't think it's too early for you to start. Finding someone to teach you proper technique could be tough, though. I had the US olympic team coach teaching me, so I learned from the best. Deadlifting is not something you want to jump into blindly. Anyhow, yes you should focus on compound movements for now. Here is a back workout that will most likely work well for you.

Deadlift - 3 heavy sets
Pull ups - 3 sets to failure
Barbell Rows - 3 sets to failure

Remember to warm up properly. Do a few LIGHT sets of deadlifts before the heavy sets, and do a few LIGHT sets of pull DOWNS before the pull UPS.

[syntekz]

I'm 17 and haven't had any problems with doing deadlifts or heavy weights on any exercise. My back exercise goes like this:

Wide Grip Chin-Ups
Deadlift
Half-Pulls "in the cage" (Works lower back)
Seated Rows

I use heavy weight on all sets except for warm ups. My back is usually sore 2-3 days afterwards. It keeps growing and growing.

[Leviathan]

Sure... you aren't going to notice any problems NOW from deadlifting in your mid-teens, but it could come back to haunt you later unless your technique is perfected.

Deadlifting puts enormous amounts of stress on almost every muscle group in the body, and this can be detrimental to your health/growth if not done 100% correctly. I rarely see people deadlifting correctly, so I suggest teens just stay away from this particular exercise until they've passed their growth spurts.

[The_Chicken_Daddy]

Some people swear by barbell rows - i can't see it.

I've tried over grip, under grip, outer grip, inner grip, one arm grip, half a grip, corkscrew reverse grip, crossbody cable grip, one arm concentration grip, semi preacher grip and even under-over half-hand grip and non have given me the feeling of sufficient stimulation.

But on the other hand...one arm Dumbell rows.... now there's something special...

My routine:

Pull-ups
Deads
One arm rows(2 sets)
Cable row(1 set)
~end of list~

Takes about 30 minutes. Ace.

[Anthony]

Picking something off the floor isn't going to have ill effects on you unless you lift it improperly. Same goes for any exercise. Besides, deads are among the easiest to learn.

[Cackerot69]

Haha, Budiak.

Shrum, do not listen to Leviathan.

Read this, follow this:

"How do I get big?"

I don't know how many times I have heard that question. Want to know how to get big? EAT MORE! That is the ONLY way to gain weight. No supplements, no training routine, and not even Anabolic Steroids will make you gain weight if you are not eating enough!

"But I have a fast metabolism, I eat all the time but I still can't gain any weight"

Look. No matter how fast your metabolism, you can gain weight. Its all just a matter of finding the amount of calories you need to consume on a daily basis. Here's how to find out: For one week, record EVERYTHING that you eat or drink...everything that you goes in your mouth. Calculate how many calories, protein, carbohydrates (carbs), and fat are in each meal. Add up these numbers to get your daily total. If your weight didn't change at all this week, then you have just found your AMR (active metabolic rate). In other words, this is the amount of calories you need to consume on a daily basis to stay at your current weight. In order to gain, you have to add calories to this number...500 should do the trick. If not, add another 500. Keep adding until you start to gain (1 pound a week is a good amount to shoot for, any more than that and you are adding some fat). Pretty simple, huh?

Macronutrient Ratio's

The three macronutrients (macro's) are carbs, protein, and fat.

Each macronutrient has a caloric value...

Protein-4 calories
Carbs-4 calories
Fat-9 calories

My favourite, and usually a very effective macronutrient breakdown for gaining muscle is:
40% carbs
30% protein
30% fat

That's 40% of calories from carbs, and 30% from fat and protein.So a person taking in 3000 calories per day would consume 300g of carbs, 225g of protein, and 100g of fat. Don't be afraid of carbs, they are not the evil the media and many other writers make them out to be.

Most of your protein should come from animal sources, beef, fish, eggs, and milk are some good quality protein sources. Carbs should come from grains, oats, and veggies, but try to stay away from simple sugars. Fats from non-saturated sources...oils, eggs, and peanut butter are all very good sources of fat, try to avoid saturated fat as much as possible (solid at room temperature).

Remember, to gain weight...you have to eat more calories than you burn off. As your weight increases, so will your caloric requirements. To keeps gaining, you have to keep adding the calories.

Training To Gain Muscle

Now that you have a basic understanding of nutrition for weight gain, i will teach you the basics of weight training to gain muscle. If you eat to gain weight, and don't weight train, you are going to get fat. I'm sure muscle weight gain is your goal, so you have to train, and you have to do it right.

Weight training is very simple, but most people make it much more complicated than it really is. First things First, put down that muscle magazine! The training routines outlined in these mags are those of elite bodybuilders, who have years and years of training under their belt. They are poor routines for a natural (without Anabolic Steroid use), and certainly are not suited for a beginner.

OK, now that that is out of the way, i will tell you the basic principles of training for muscle growth...

Train no more than 5 times a week, 3-4 would be best. This allows for maximum recuperation and prevents burn-out (overtraining).
Train each muscle group only once a week. This provides the muscle group with plenty of time to rest and grow.
Overload. In order for your muscles to grow, you must get stronger. Try to add weight, or a rep EVERY workout.
Train your whole body. Don't neglect any bodyparts, especially your legs...since your legs alone make up half of your body!
Use a full Range of Motion (ROM) on every rep of every set. Never sacrifice ROM for heavier weight.
Don't overlap muscle groups. Ex. when you train back, no matter how well you "isolate" it, your biceps will be involved to some degree. Therefore, don't train your biceps the day after back, or vice versa. Same rule applies to chest, shoulders, and triceps....and Quads and Hams.
Utilize free weight exercises as much as possible.
Utilize compound exercises as much as possible. Compound exercises are exercises that involve more than one major muscle group. Examples of compound exercises are:


Squats
Deadlifts
Bench Press
Chin Ups
Rows
Overhead Press
Parallel Bar Dips



Train to failure. This means training until you can't possibly do one more rep during a set. If a training program tells you to do 10 reps, then you should reach failure on your 10th rep. DO NOT stop just just because your only supposed to do 10 reps, just make sure to add weight on your next workout.
Don't exceed 20 sets per day training. This is just generally speaking,but it is a good guideline. I recommend 6-12 sets for large bodyparts (chest, back, legs), and 4-6 sets for small bodyparts (biceps, triceps, calves, traps).
Use a 6-12 rep range most of the time. This has been shown to be the ideal rep range for muscle growth.
More isn't always better. Don't make the mistake of thinking that's the more you train, the more you will grow. This is not the case. Remember, training is just a stimulus for growth...you grow outside of the gym.
Rest

Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep EVERY night. This is one of the few areas of bodybuilding where more is actually better.

Conclusion.

I have just outlined a basic guideline more muscular weight gain. You must understand that your diet is the most important aspect when trying to gain weight (and any other time). But, in order to gain muscular bodyweight, all three factors must be present and well planned. Master Nutrition, Weight training and recuperation...and you will be on your way to you bodybuilding goals.

[Alex.V]

ooooooooooooooooooo.

*gives cack a cookie*

[Shrum]

Woah, I wasn't expecting so many replies. Cack thanx for taking so much time to write all that, good info. Right now I am eating 6 meals a day but i still don't think I'm eating enough of the right stuff. I'll try the method you described.