A blog about my life, fitness and fun! (...and maybe a few cat pictures...)

A blog about my life, fitness and fun! (...and maybe a few cat pictures...)

Thursday, March 16, 2017

All the nitty gritty details about my back workouts.


In my weekly workouts, I used to list all the exercises I do when I lift. But then I stopped because I didn't think anyone really cared! Plus, I am a creature of habit, and good or bad, I normally do the same thing each time, so I figured it was useless to keep posting it. However, since I haven't elaborated on my lifting for awhile and a reader requested that I explain more exactly what I do, I figured it was a good time to write a post about what exact exercises I do when I lift and what equipment I use.

Today, I will give you the nitty gritty details about my back workouts!



When I lift back, I do the upper body lifts, core exercises, and lower body strengthening exercises. Here's the break down of each of those types of exercises!


Upper Body:

Equipment- pull up bar, free weights, chair or resistant band, towel, piano bench, gloves (Even though I use gloves, I have a lot of callouses on my hands and they sometimes hurt when I lift!)



It should be noted that before I jump into my heavy lifts, I warm up with lighter weights. I warm up my rotator cuff, do wide grip pull ups with chair assistance, bicep curls, and shoulder press.





Wide Grip Pull Ups/Neutral Grip Pull Ups




Sometimes I do a set with no assistance, but otherwise I use a resistant band for both of these lifts. I do 5 sets of 6-7 reps. I am exhausted after doing just a set of these. My whole body is engaged and I feel like I have to puke!


Dumbbell Row


We have an actual weight lifting bench in the basement but it's rather large. I'd rather just use my extra piano bench for these! Rows can also be done in a lunge position but I like to put my knee on a bench for more stability.

Bicep Curls

Bicep curls are done last because they are an isolation exercise. I like to do the lifts that involve several muscles first before isolating smaller muscles. Some would say since I use my biceps in some of my other lifts there is no reason to even isolate them, but I do them anyway to add a fourth lift to my back workouts.


That's right, I only do four lifts when I do back. These are four quality exercises I can do at home. I personally would rather do several sets (5!) of quality exercises than the standard 3 sets of a bunch of different exercises that may not be as effective.

When I go to Planet Fitness, it takes me a lot longer to lift back because I also do lat pull down, cable row instead of dumbbell row, and inverted row with the TRX cables.


Lower Body:

**Note: I don't properly lift lower body anymore (aka squats, lunges, etc.) due to it aggravating my ITB. The following exercises are things I can do for my hips/glutes that don't bother my ITB. I miss properly lifting lower body A LOT.**

Equipment- towel

Donkey Kicks


Hydrants


Kickbacks



Core:

Equipment- towel, stability ball

Bicycle Crunches


Stability Ball Knee Tuck


Forearm Plank



Stability Ball Sit Ups




Okay, so now you are probably wondering how I put this all together. I do the workout in circuits. Most of the time it goes like this:

Wide Grip Pull Ups- 5x6
Bicycle Crunches- 5x40
Donkey Kicks- 5x20

Neutral Grip Pull Ups- 5x6
Hydrants- 5x20

Dumbbell Row- 5x10x25lb

Stability Ball Sit Ups- 5x15x15lb
Bicep Curls- 5x10x15lb
Stability Ball Knee Tuck- 5x15
Push Backs- 5x20

Forearm Planks- 5x1 minute


If I'm lucky, Jelly sleeps on the couch the whole time I workout!
What are your favorite back exercises to do?

18 comments:

  1. Jelly is a fine training partner! I miss lifting at the gym because my favorite back exercises were pull ups, lat pulls and seated rows.

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    1. That is funny you say those are your favorites because lat pulls and cable are what I do when I DO lift at the gym! I just add them to the repertoire. It takes longer. Oh, I do inverted row with TRX at the gym instead of dumbbell row... but I know you can do that at home!. :)

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  2. I find it so interesting to see exactly what others do for workouts. I definitely think there is something to be said for doing really effective exercises but fewer types and just adding more sets.

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    1. You can thank Meranda because she is the one who asked for this! :) I am nosy too and like to see what people do, wear, what their workout space is like, etc.

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  3. I love this post! It is very helpful, especially because these are all exercises I can do at home, too! I love doing rows at home. Do you ever do them from plank position? That is super tough but it makes my whole body feel engaged! I have a big yoga ball at home but never know how to use it, so I'm going to try your exercises. Also, I love your lower body exercises; they're low impact but obviously still get the job done because you are looking strong and fit!

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    1. I have done those before! I agree, they are a great full body exercise. Everything has to be set or you will roll over. I haven't done my lower body exercises in about a week due to my hammy hurting, but I did them yesterday and now today I am SORE. So I guess they do SOMETHING. :)

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  4. Great post! I like to see what exercises other people do, and I have no clue about lifting. Glad I have a printed sheet I follow at the gym or I'd just be doing arm curls all day :) I haven't done any weights in a few weeks now. Looking forward to going to the gym tomorrow to do it!

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    1. Before I knew what to do, I would just hope from machine to machine, no idea what I was doing!

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  5. I didn't realize you used a resistance band for your pull ups! I never knew that was possible. I use a medicine ball to jump into the pull up, but I still suck at it.

    I love your stability ball sit ups! I'm going to give those a try!



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    1. I think the resistance band is way better than using asst. pull up machines because it allows you to move in a more natural motion. I like the stability ball sit ups because I feel like it helps me focus on my abs and not use my back to come up.

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  6. I've also started missing weight work. I moved my Pure Barre class last weekend so I could do more weight work at home. I love Pure Barre, but I'm starting to think I need to change things up a little bit.

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    1. Pure barre sounds like a great workout, from what I head. Mainly lower body?

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  7. Thank you! This is such a great resource...and incentive ;)

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  8. I do all of these except the pull ups and the crunches. I don't think I'll be able to use my stability ball much longer though. I lost the pump when we moved and it badly needs air! I've had it for a couple of years so maybe I should just buy a new one instead of buying a pump!

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    1. Mine needs air too! That sounds like a job for Paul...

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  9. Thank you for this! I actually read the blog post earlier but didn't comment cus I hadn't watched the videos yet (cus I didn't know if there would be sound or not). Thank you for showing the stability ball exercises I will be doing them for sure. Looks like those sit ups will be good core exercises to, no?

    On the rowing exercises, are you wearing a harness connected to your ceiling?

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    1. Yes and sit ups on a bar don't hurt my back. I loop a resistance band around the bar for my pullups.

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