
Barbell Row Benefits
True, Barbell Rows Are Harder Than Pulldowns and Dumbbell Rows!
Why can barbell row benefits trump dumbbell rows? Today, in fact, I did barbell rows with 95 pounds. Even though when I was doing dumb bell rows with heavier weights, almost 60 pounds for each dumb bell, there is no question that the barbell row is more difficult.
With a dumbbell row, you can stabilize yourself on a bench, which makes the whole movement feel a lot easier than using the bar where you have no stabilization, besides your own back muscles, hips, legs, abs.
So, yes, I have done pulldowns many times over the years, with no visible benefit, as well as the dumb bell rows, which I think had a bit of visible benefit, but I can tell now that the barbell row is the way to go for overall impact.
Why do Barbell Rows
It is harder and deserves respect, which means a proper warm up and stretching, as well as going up in weight slowly. No ego, fewer injuries, especially for regular folks like us just trying to get into great shape.
I have culled some of the major barbell row benefits from several sources which are credited at the end of the post with their links, so you can find their full articles there.
But for our purposes, I want to motivate you to include it into your workout as part of the big 5 that are recommended by Mehdi of http://stronglifts.com, which has been my guide for the last 6 months in strength training.
I think it is important to glean the most important information for yourself, but then you have to test it out with your own body, so you cannot totally rely on anyone else’s suggestions, but try out the stances, warmups, sets and repetitions and see how you feel.
No matter what, have no ego, increase your weight gradually so you can avoid injury and keep getting stronger, that is key. Bottom line, these excellent barbell row benefits can help you to really build a much stronger back and improve your posture.
Barbell Row Benefits
Apr 20, 2011, | By Emma Roberts
Barbell rows are one of the most effective exercises for the large muscles of the back including the latissimus dorsi and the trapezius. Barbell rows also have the added benefit of improving posture, as they employ the postural muscles the posterior deltoids and the rhomboids. Jessica Matthews, M.S., adds that because barbell rows are free weight exercises, they utilize more stabilizer muscles, which provides the added benefits of burning more calories and building more muscle mass overall.
Totally accurate, even before pulling the weight, you can feel your body setting, engaging for the rows, you will feel your entire core flexing, which is much different than sitting on the bench doing lat pulldowns where the movement is very isolated to your lats, as well as is the case for dumbbell rows, where you are fairly relaxed using the bench to stabilize you, and the lats again are fairly isolated.
Latissimus Dorsi
The barbell row benefits your lats. The latissimus dorsi muscle is one of the primary muscles involved in the barbell row. This large muscle stretches all the way from the top of the arm to the pelvis and its chief function is to pull the arms back in the rowing action. The main barbell row benefits for the latissimus dorsi is postural; a strong latissimus dorsi helps to maintain an erect posture and helps to keep the shoulders from slouching forward.
Posterior Deltoids
Barbell rows also involve the posterior deltoids — the muscles at the back of the shoulder. Although much smaller than the latissimus dorsi, these muscles are also deeply involved in posture, and the barbell rows help these muscles to maintain the position of the shoulders. Paul Sorace, M.S., explains that free weight exercises like barbell rows provide additional benefits to the posterior deltoids in the area of balance, stabilization, muscle coordination, and muscle control.
Rhomboids
Located between the shoulder blades, the rhomboids are one of the most important postural muscles. Weak rhomboids create the slumped forward, round shouldered appearance indicative of poor posture. The squeezing action of the shoulder blades that occurs at the top of the upward phase of the barbell row exercise especially helps to develop these important muscles and maintain proper posture.
Warning
The barbell row is an advanced exercise that requires correct technique in order to avoid injury. One of the most common errors in performing this exercise is to stick the buttocks out while doing the lift; however this action places excessive strain on the lower back. It is vital to engage the abdominal muscles as you pull the barbell in the rowing action to maintain a neutral spine position for the duration of the exercise.
Read more at the source:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/424316-what-are-the-benefits-of-barbell-rows/#ixzz2PLG0ChiW
What barbell row benefits have you experienced? Please share.
Here is a video from StrongLifts which shows how to do the barbell row, sometimes also called the Pendalay Row.
Remember to keep your core tight, flat back, parallel to the floor. Watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQBSRBgRLVI
How To Get Fit Fast - Fat Loss and Strength Gain Chart
Date | Body Weight | Body Fat Percentage | Pushups or Pullups | Squats (below Parallel) | Deadlift |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Monday December 23, 2013, Day 8 | 195lbs | 22.7% | 5 sets of 17 + 8 + 7 = 100 in under 10 minutes | 5 sets of 75lbs, warm up with 45lbs, rest between 2 and 5 minutes between sets | |
Sunday December 22, Day 7 | 196lb | 22.9% | 5 sets of 16 | none | none |
Saturday, December 21, Day 6 | 197.5lbs | 23% | 5 sets of 16 | none | none |
Friday December 20, Day 5 | 199lb | 23.3% | 5 sets of 14 | 70lb | none |
Thursday December 19, Day 4 | 200lb | 23.5% | 5 sets of 13 | 65lbs | none |
Wednesday December 18, Day 3 | 202lb | 23.8% | 5 sets of 12 | 60lbs | none |
Tuesday December 17, Day 2 | 204.5 | 23.9% | 5 sets of 11 | 55lbs | none |
Monday December 16, 2013 Day 1 | 205lb | 24% | 5 sets of 10 | 45lb bar | none |
October 31, 2013 Day 5 of the 30 Day Adventure | Pullups - today shoot for using 85lbs on the stack assist. Did 4 sets with 85lbs, will shoot for 5 sets on sunday or monday.. | Rest | Shoot for 5 sets of 120lbs, going up 5 lbs from Wednesday did 4 sets of 120lbs...will shoot for 5 sets again on monday..or next time ...it was tiring...grr |
||
October 30, 2013, Day 4 of Hashi Mashi 2 | Today did maximum number of pushups possible. I have not tried that for many months and glad that I have gotten back to it. I did 40 which is not awful in the scheme of things, so that actually motivated me. I also did sets of pushups in between squats, 21 pushups between each set of squats. | 5 sets of 5 reps using 70lbs | Rest | ||
October 29, third day of this 30 day Hashi Mashi Adventure, results so far have been promising, 5lbs down and 1% bodyfat down. Keep going | Today did pullups using 90lbs on the stack and will shoot for going down to 85lbs | Rest | 5 sets of 115lbs, did one set of 135lbs, so not too far back but have to make progress slowly | ||
October 28, 2013 Wow it has been way too long since I was keeping track, but better late than never! | 5 sets of 20 pushups, will take some time till I can build back up to the max pushups that I was doing which was 56 back in April | 5 sets of 5 only using 55lbs, it will take time to build up again to 130lbs...it is a good thing I still had this table so I can see how fast I have lost strength over the last 6 months. | Rest | ||
April 3, 2013 Day 286 | Shoot for sets today, not max.. | warm up with 45lbs2x5, 65lbx1, 95lbsx2, then 115lbs x1 then 120lbs 5setsx5reps - did them..should stay at 120 till it feels easy enough to move up to 125 | shoot for 150lbs...good form.....decided to stay at 135lbs...1set of 5 reps...that was enough for today, did not want to push it! max 155 or 160..see how we feel.. | ||
April 2, 2013 Day 285 | Rest Pushups - Take a Break! | Rest | Rest | ||
April 1, 2013 Day 284 | 56 full pushups - the last 10 were purty difficult... | warm up with 45lbs2x5, 65lbx1, 95lbsx2, then 115lbs x1 then 120lbs 5setsx5reps - did them..should stay at 120 till it feels easy enough to move up to 125 | Rest | ||
March 29, 2013 Day 281 | Will shoot for 52/53 | Have to see if I can do any! And I did..whew...warm up with 45lbs2x5, 65lbx1, 95lbsx2, then 115lbs 5setsx5reps...did not feel too bad...happy I could do them..kept strict form...now rest for 2 days.. | shoot for 150lbs...good form.....decided to stay at 135lbs...1set of 5 reps...that was enough for today, did not want to push it! | ||
March 27, 2013 Day 279 | 52 - went up 1 | 135lbs 4 sets of 5, felt pull in right thigh...so stopped at 4 sets, will go down in weight | Rest | ||
March 25, 2013 Mon Day 277 | 51 - went up 1, the last 5 were pretty difficult, consecutive full pushups | 135lbs 5 sets of 5 reps, these were so @#$ hard, went up 5lbs but think I might have to stay here for a week or so till I am moving the weight easier | 165lbs is the goal for today, did warmups of 95, 135 and 155 and then 1 set of 5 reps of 165lbs. I think the form can be better, so stay at this weight in the meantime. | ||
March 23, 2013 Sat Day 275 | 50 - Yeeha! Did many shoulder dislocations for warmup | 130lbs is my new High, 5 sets of 5 repetitions, up 5lbs from last workout. | Rest Deadlift | ||
March 22, 2013 Fri Day 274 | Rest - Wedding Celebration | ||||
March 21, 2013 Thur Day 273 | Rest | ||||
March 20, 2013 Wed Day 272 | Rest | 125lbs 5 sets of 5 reps, went up | 155lbs 1 set of 5 reps, up 5lbs using mixed grip, left overhand, right underhand | ||
March 19, 2013 Tue Day 271 | 45 pushups first set max | Rest | Rest | ||
March 18, 2013 | Chest so sore, could not even do 1! | 120lbs 5 sets of 5 reps, went up | Off Today | ||
March 15, 2013 | 41 repetitions nose to floor, yea, i have a long nose | 115lbs 5 sets of 5 reps, went up 5lbs from the previous workout | 150lbs 1set of 5 reps, up 10lbs | ||
March 13, 2013 | 40rep max | 110lbs 5 sets of 5 reps | 140lbs 1 x 5 | ||
June 21, 2012 | 1 | 2 repetitions using 45lb bar | 2 reps 45lb bar |
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