Back Day

So yesterday I was caught up with errands and forgot to post on my blog about my exercise routine. Right now I will post yesterday's workout and tonight I will post today's workout (which I haven't done yet).

Yesterday's workout was my back day. Its probably one of my favorite workout routines since it includes my favorite compound movement exercise, the dead lift. I will now run through what I have done:

Exercise 1: The Almighty Dead Lift 135x10, 225x8, 315x6, 365x4

This is my favorite exercise, as mentioned above. Its a compound movement, meaning it hits multiple muscle groups at once. This exercise might sound easy, but trust me, if you do not have the correct form, I recommend you to not do them or else you might risk injuring your back. Start with light weight and practice your form before going any heavier.

This youtube video demonstrates the conventional dead lift form:



Anyways, my first set, which I consider my warm up, was only with 135 lbs. This weight is something I can do very very easily but I stay in control, focusing on form rather than pulling the weight and dropping it rapidly without control mindlessly. After my warm up set I added another 45 lb plate to each side, bringing the total weight to 225 lbs. I pulled 8 reps with it, although I can do more but I would rather save my energy for the heavier sets. After 225 lbs, I threw on 315 lbs. This is where it gets hard for me. I pulled it 6 times. I probably   could have hit 10 reps but I did not want to go to failure. After that I put on another 25 lbs. on each side bringing the weight to 365 lbs total. I pulled it 4 times. I probably could have gone to about 8 reps, but again I did not want to go to failure. I will save going to failure some other day when I feel like pulling a PR (personal record). By the way, there are many sides to whether training to failure is good every time you workout. This debate has been going on for a while even amongst personal trainers and professional bodybuilders. What do you guys think?


Exercise 2: Pull Ups 1x10, 1x8, 1x6, 1x4

Pull ups. Nothing fancy. First set was relatively easy but then as I progressed, it got harder and harder. The first 2 sets I didn't do dead hangs. The last two sets, I did. Maybe I should try doing dead hangs for all 4 sets next time.

For those that do not know what dead hang pull ups are, watch this video:



There is another type of pull up that looks beastly that I wish I can do, but I do not have the upper body strength to do them yet. The pull up looks like as if you were to do a normal looking pull up and from there you spring above the pull up bar and perform a dip. I do not know the real name of the exercise; maybe one of my readers can inform me?

Here is a video of the pull up to dip:







Exercise 3: Cable Machine Rows superset with Cable Machine Pull Downs 1x10, 1x8, 1x6, 1x6

This was really really tough. I was already tired from doing the previous two exercises and after this superset, I was extremely fatigued. With cable machine rows, I normally start off with 100 lbs. and work my way up to 170 lbs. This time, I didn't even go anywhere close to 170 lbs. I started with 100 lbs and ended up only going to 140 lbs. With cable machine pull downs I also did a lot less. I probably can normally start off with 100 lbs and go up to 160 lbs. This time I started with 100 lbs and only went to 120 lbs. On the last set, I couldn't even do 120 lbs. so I had to drop the weight back down to 100 lbs with the pull downs.

My superset routine went like this:

                                 Rows:                           Pull Downs:

1st set:                      100 lbs.                         100 lbs.
2nd set:                     120 lbs.                         110 lbs.
3rd set:                     130 lbs.                         120 lbs.
4th set:                     140 lbs.                         100 lbs.



For those that do not know what rows or pull downs are, here are some videos:


This is the Cable Machine Back Row.




This is the Cable Machine Pull Down.


That sums up my workout routine. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Also, I normally do not superset my rows and pull downs. Heck, I don't even normally do pull downs since I believe its almost the same thing as a pull up, essentially. I replace my cable machine rows with bent over rows next time and substitute the pull downs with something else as well. Let me know what your back workout routines look like. And another question, how much do you guys dead lift? Comment below and include your age and weight.