Why everyone should deadlift

We have all heard of the three kings of bodybuilding; the bench press, the squat and the deadlift. Isn’t is funny how everyone does the first two but seem to forget the deadlift. I find it very odd because it is the deadlift that packs on the most muscle to your back, shoulders and even your legs. So why ignore it?

When was the last time you did a deadlift? I better it isn’t something you do regularly. So why don’t people do it? I know it is hard and you need to use a lot of weight but the results are quick and they are amazing. Your muscles grow.

And this is the main reason why everyone should be doing the deadlift - it works. After a few weeks you can master the technque and start packing on the weight. Your back and legs will grow like never before.

Some tips for getting the most from the deadlift

Perhaps the reason you haven’t been giving the deadlift much attention is because you aren’t really sure how to do it. If this is the case you need to read as much as you can about it and get the help of a professional. If you do the deadlift incorrectly you can cause yourself some serious damage. Damage that often cannot be undone.

1. Always lift slowly
When you are picking up a barbell packed with hundreds of kilos you want to make sure you go slow. If you go too fast a part of your back might not be ready and then there goes a disc. Or, you might jerk a muscle in your neck and end up with some long term pain. However, the slow motion also helps you contract your muscles and this very important.

2. Tense that back
Tensing the muscles in your back at the top of the deadlift is one of the most important aspects of the exercise. It completes the move and allows you to get a deeper contraction and a better stretch. It also helps you learn how to tense the muscles during the other parts of the exercise.

3. Don’t go to failure
People often think that you have to go to failure every single time but this is not true. The back will still grow and respond if you don’t go to failure and it is a lot safer for your health. If you are using a heavy weight on the deadlift stop one or two reps before failure and see the difference.

Conclusion
The deadlift is a great exercise that everyone can benefit from. Take it slow and make sure your technique is perfect and then you will see why it is called the king of bodybuilding.

Almost everyone I know (including myself) has complained of back pain at some point in their life. Some people get back pain while exercising, others while working at a desk, others while just walking around. Back pain has many causes but there are some things you can do to ease the pain and get your back back on track!

Common causes of back pain

Before you can delve into the exercises that help back pain it is VITAL that you find out why your back is hurting. If you do not know the cause of the pain any exercise you do is a stab in the dark and can end up doing more harm than good.

The spinal chord is delicate and filled with nerve bundles that can get damaged very easily. If you seriously injure your back you can bet your bottom dollar your life will be painful from that day on.

To find out the cause of your back problems go and see a back surgeon or neuroligist. Do NOT see a chiropractor or a physiotherapist. You want to make sure your spine is 100% healthy and you are going to do your neck or nerves any permanent damage. To do this you will need X-rays and maybe a CT scan.

Do not muck around with your back. ever.

Exercises that help back pain

Once you have got the “all clear” to do some exercises you should get advice from a physiotherapist. They can help you get your back into proper alignment. Do NOT go and see a chiro. These guys crack your back and neck and as far as my research and experience tells me they do not do much good. A dear family friend is in a wheel chair because of a young chiro who tried to crack a sore neck back in place.

Don’t risk it.

1. Fitness ball work
One of the common exercises prescribed for back pain is the fitness ball work. The fitness ball is fantastic because it is unstable and forces you to stablize yourself. Furthermore, you can get a really wonderful back stretch on it whilst fully supporting your back in all places. It also provides a bit of a massage for your back as you roll around.

Again, do not start doing fitness ball work without the advice of a professional. You might do more harm than good.

2. Crunches
Crunches are actually an excellent exercise for helping the back. This is particularly true for people who are a little overweight and putting a bit too much pressure on the lower back. You see crunches strengthen your abs and this helps take some of the load off of the spine. It is a really good exercise to do if you want to prevent future back pain. The crunch is the safest abs exercise (in my book) because it keeps your lower back in touch with the floor at all times. No chance of strain there.

3. Yoga stretches
One of the best things you can do for an out-of-align back is get some advice and start doing yoga. Some yoga postures work wonders for rebalancing your back and getting everything back where it should be. The yoga styles that work with the breath are particularly beneficial.

The great thing about yoga is that is builds up strength in your back at the same time as developing some flexibility. Your back will be much more healthy after a few weeks of yoga.

Conclusion on exercising, back pain and chiropractors

If you have a sore back you need to stop exercising straight away and get some help. Do not train through it and hope it will go away as this will only make it worse. As I said, back injuries are some of the most serious of any injury so make sure a true professional is looking at it.

Finally, I don’t mean any offense to the chiros out there but I really have no faith in the practice. I know at least 10 people who are worse off for going and getting their back and neck crunched. My own mother one of them.

The chin up is one of the best exercises there is. It builds real strength, power and awesome muscle growth. However, many people struggle with the chin up as it can be quite hard to do. This post will show you how to improve your chin ups and take them to all new heights.

How to intensify your chin ups and pull ups

Improving your chin ups is about doing a few things differently. It is a combination of techniques and tricks that will get you over the line and help you move towards new muscle gain. The most important things you need to do are:

1. Learn the correct technique
2. Learn how to “cheat” correctly
3. Learn how to add intensity

This post will look at all three of these crucial elements.

1. The correct chin up technique

As I always say, if you have poor weight lifting technique you will have poor muscle gain results. The chin up is no different.

Quite often at the gym I see people pumping out chin ups so fast I wonder whether they feel the burn at all. They have no idea which muscle it is working and are obviously missing the point.

When you do the chin up you need to have a shoulder width grip with your palms facing towards you. The repetition needs to be done at a snails-pace; super slow and very controlled. Make sure you pull yourself up as if your elbows were doing the work. This helps you to isolate your lats.

Finally, make sure your have a full range of motion; letting yourself stretch all the way down and pulling yourself all the way up.

2. How to “cheat” correctly with the chin up

Cheat reps are quite famous in bodybuilding circles. Many professional bodybuilders use cheat reps to help them fire over a plateau. This is quite a good technique but it is not without its dangers.

Cheating implies one crucial thing - you are breaking your perfect technique. And any time you break your technique you are in danger of injury because the exercise technique is designed to be safe and effective. However, a proper cheat set can shock your muscle into some new growth.

So, how do we do it properly?

Firstly, do not do it very often. Once a month is enough. Any more than that and you run the risk of corrupting your long term lifting technique.

Secondly, you need to do it in a controlled manner. Do not compromise your lifting technique so much that other muscles come into play and you end up doing yourself an injury.

Thirdly, use tried and tested methods of “cheating”. Pro bodybuilders have the cheating down to a fine art and are more than happy to share their secrets.

The reason we cheat with chin ups is so we can learn to add more weight to the chin or so we can pump out a few extra reps. To do this we need to strengthen the muscles by giving them something new to do. The best way to cheat with the chin up is to perform half reps where you just do the top half or the bottom half of the motion while adding weight to your waist or feet. Or, you can do a super slow repetition where you do the decline motion over two minutes. This is full on!

3. Adding intensity to the chin up

If you want to add intensity to the chin up you need to start adding weight. Everyone at the gym can bang out 20 or 30 chin ups but not many of them can do 10 with a weight disc strapped to their waist. This is the real test of strength and it is this method that will add on some real size. There is no way around it.

Conclusion on chin ups

Start adding weight to your chin ups today. Keep your technique controlled and very slow and you will start to see some crazy growth in no time at all.

Benny from London asked: “I really want to get a nice wide V-taper back like Arnie, Ronnie Coleman and Bruce Lee. What are the best exercsies to widen my back and lats?”

This is a great question that I thought I would answer for everyone.

About widening your back

The wide v-taper back is one of bodybuilding’s most prized posessions. Many people think it is because of Ronnie Coleman’s perfectly developed back muscles that he was so successful at winning so many Mr. Olympia titles in a row.

I think they are right.

But out of all the famous backs in the world I think Bruce Lee’s is the most popular. When he did his signature cobra flex in Way of the Dragon millions of people were inspired to develop a v-taper back.

Training the back is quite difficult but can be very rewarding. The feeling of a sore back after a good workout is second to none. If you want to start making widening your back the goal of your back workouts then this post is a good place for you to start.

There is something very important that you should now about widening your back:

It is not so much which exercises you do but how you do them that counts.

Let me explain. Take the chin up as our example. The chin is one of the best back building exercises there is. However, you will work a different part of your back depending on where you put your hands. This means that the same exercise can work many different functions for the back. In this post I will show you not only what are the best exercises, but how you should do them to maximize your results.

The best exercises to widen the back

The best exercises to widen the back are the one’s that target the lats and cause them to grow faster than the rhomboids.

1. The wide grip chin up
If your shoulders can handle this exercise it is hands down one of the best exercises there is. Some people (me included) cannot handle too many wide grip chin ups as it puts a lot of pressure on the shoulders. If you think this might be you try starting with about a shoulder width grip and work your way out.

The main trick with the chin up is to pretend you are pulling yourself up by your elbows. Really make sure you are tensing your lats and closing your shoulder blades. If you keep the reps nice and slow and remember these two tips your will feel a greater contraction in your lats.

You should also start to add weight to your feet or waist as soon as you can do more than about 10 reps. If you do this your back will explode into some really amazing growth.

2. Bent over rows
The bent over row is probably the favorite of most bodybuilders for building the lats. It is a lot easier to do than the chin up (people are lazy!) and it hits the lats pretty well.

The problem with the bent over row is that it is hard to get the technique right. Most of the time when I see people doing it at the gym they are doing some retarded version which ends up working their posterior deltoids instead of the back.

If you want to do it properly don’t try to be too tough. Use a light weight, keep your back straight and work on the contraction of the muscles as opposed to the lifting itself. Back training is mostly a mind game.

Conclusion
These are the two best exercises for widening your back by developing your lats muscles. In both exercises experiment with an underhand and an overhand grip and try different hand grip widths. By mixing it up your back will be forced to grow and adapt.

The deadlift is the best exercise there is for developing a huge back. It is powerful, heavy and no nonsense. However, some people fail to pay proper attention to the deadlift technique and wind up in serious trouble.

This post is about some of the classic mistakes made while doing the deadlift.

What can happen if you deadlift wrong?

If you make a habit of deadlifting with incorrect technique there are some serious problems that can follow.

1. Pulled muscles
The most common basic affliction that come from not respecting the deadlift is pulled muscles. These can set you back for days and weeks.

2. Back injury
The back injuries that come from bad deadlift technique are what really worry me. I see people at the gym who will wind up with some serious problems if they don’t remedy their lifting soon. Back injuries are extremely painful and in some cases so debilitating that you can’t go about your daily activities.

3. Neck injuries
I have heard of a few people who have damaged the joints in their neck from using too much weight and bad technique. The neck is a continuation of the spine and as such pressure can come from many places.

The list goes on an includes: shoulders, hips, ankles, burst intestines, etc. You really need to be careful with this exercise.

The worst deadlift technique mistakes

Here are some of the worst things you can do when you are doing the deadlift.

1. Too heavy
If you pick a weight that is too heavy for you you are gong to cause yourself huge problems.

The deadlift is an exercise that allows you to use a heavy weight but this does not mean that you have to use a heavy weight right from the get go. You need to work up to that weight and start with a lighter weight so that you can develop and master your technique.

Most of the problem that come from the deadlift are a result of a weight that is too heavy. Start small and build up. This is the best way to approach weight training as a whole.

2. Not keeping the back straight
Many people curve or arch their back when they bend down to pick up the weight and then again when they stand up. This is incorrect and can cause serious back problems.

During the deadlift one needs to use the legs to pick up the weight while keeping the back straight and head up. If you can learn to tense your back muscles correctly while standing up then the rhomboids, lats, etc. will do the work themselves and there is no need to focus on anything other than the legs and the straight spine.

3. Not keeping the head up
The head has a proper place in almost any exercise you do. Failure to keep your head in that place puts pressure on your neck which can be quite serious. Learn where the head should be and keep it there!

4. Going too fast
A lot of people think the deadlift needs to be pumped out at a rapid pace but this is completely untrue. The deadlift is much more effective if you can do it slowly while tensing all the right muscles. It is much easier to focus on your form when you are moving slowly.

Ronnie Coleman video showing us the real deadlift

Here is a Ronnie Coleman video showing how heavy the deadlift can go. Do not try this at home. Ever. As usual Ronnie has gone above and beyond - this is amazing.

Most people who train their back for real size use the bent over row. It is one of the most popular back exercises. However, I often see it being performed incorrectly.

This back exercise is an awesome way to widen your back and lats so that you develop the much sought after V taper. Here is all you need to know about the bent over row.

What muscles does the bent over row target?
The bent over row is one of the best back exercises there is. You can alter the area of your back that is targetted by shifting the position of your hands but in general the bent over row is a lats exercise.

The latissimus dorsi (lats) are the muscles that run down the side of your chest on your back, starting up and your shoulders and ending down near your lower back. They are involved in motions that pull backwards such as the pulling part of a rowing movement.

How to do a bent over row to target your lats
If you want to widen your lats then you should first move the bent over row to pole position in your back workout. As we have talked about before you can add some intensity to an exercise by placing it first in your workout when you are fresh and your muscles still have energy.

Here is a step by step guide to doing the bent over row:

1. Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoudler width apart.

2. Squat down and pick up a medium heavy bar bell with a grip slightly wider than shoulder width.

3. Stand up and balance the weight while you are resting.

4. Bend your torso forward at your hips so that you are bent over.

5. Keep your head up and your spine perfectly straight with a good bend in your knees.

6. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and then imagining you are lifting the weight with your elbows and lats only lift the barbell up you your ribs.

7. You should focus on the feeling in your lats and make sure that you don’t start to slouch or bend your back.

Important tips for the bent over row
One thing I like to do when I am performing the bent over row is alternate my grip from overhand to underhand. With an underhand grip I feel like I can get a tighter contraction in my lats but with an overhand grip I feel like more of the lats get targetted and I can handle a heavier weight. As such I alternate between the two each set. I feel this gives me a more overall workout.

You should also spend some time alternating where you lift the bar bell to on your chest. A lower position (towards your waist) will hit a different part of your back than a higher position.

The most important tip, however, is to use a light weight. That’s right. The contraction of the muscles is tighter, you learn how to perform the exercise better and you avoid injuries. I once had a bodybuilder friend of mine who had been lifting for well over 10 years tell me that he only just (in his tenth year of lifting) felt like he had truly mastered the bent over row. It takes time.

What exactly is the back?
This might seem like a stupid question but I really have to address it as I need to specify what muscles I am targeting with these exercises. If I don’t tell you I will get 10 emails tomorrow complaining of how I said that such and such an exercise was for the back when it is really for the shoulders.

So, just to clear things up, when I say “back exercises” I mean exercises that primarily work the lats and the rhomboids. I am not talking about traps exercises so much here so don’t worry about them.

The BEST Back Exercises for a GIANT Back
Here are my favorite back exercises that will blast your lats and rhomboids into new growth.

1 - The dead lift
If you aren’t using dead lifts in your routine then you might actually be crazy! This single exercise is the best exercise of any exercise, not just back ones! I am willing to make this huge claim because I am so certain that the dead lift will help you gain muscle. It works so well. Be careful with the dead lift, however, as it is easy to pull a muscle. Warm up, keep your technique sound and always go slow.

2 - The chin up
I have been using varieties of chin ups all my training life and I am glad I did. They add amazing power and strength and make gaining muscle seem easy.

Remember when you are doing chin ups that the negative motion is just as important as the pull up and to take it at least twice as slow as the way up. Another great tip is to imagine you are pulling yourself up from your elbows, not your hands. This generally helps you tense your back muscles much better throughout the motion.

3 - Bent over rows
If you can get the technique for this right (most people can’t) then you will gain some muscle. It is important to not bend over to far or not enough. Again, imagine your elbows doing the pulling and focus on tensing your back muscles to get the target right.

4 - One arm bench rows
This is a great supplement to a full on workout. If you still have a bit of energy left after your chin ups and dead lifts then you should whack out a few of these. Make sure you go really slow with the bench rows. I have seen people doing these like they are trying to kill someone behind them by throwing a powerful elbow! It’s bad. Keep your back straight, the movement slow and always focus on tensing your lats.

Final word
Remember, training your back is mainly about getting the technique correct. It doesn’t matter what exercise you are using - if your technique is poor then your progress will also be poor. Spend as much time as you can reading and learning about the correct way to do the exercises and never be afraid to ask for help at the gym from the big guys. They were small once too and will usually be happy to help.

• You can tense the DESIRED muscles well during and after the exercise
• You can feel soreness in them (good soreness) the next day
• You dont feel sore in any other related muscles
• MOST IMPORTANTLY - you are growing

If these things are present you can assume your technique is ok and you can start increasing the weight.

Heavy Weights
When training for maximum back growth you need to use a heavy weight. You should aim to fail within about a 5-8 rep range. That means, choose a weight that stresses your muscles so that you cant do more than 8 reps, but you can do at least 5. If you are doing around 5-6 reps, you should be an advanced trainer who is used to using heavy weight.

However, heavy weights and low reps presents a problem. If you dont build up to it you simply will sacrifice technique to pump out the heavy reps. So, remember this when training:

Perfect technique is more important for muscle growth than heavy weights.

If you remember this and truly acknowledge its truth, you will be more successful with your training. Its a common theme here at RMO - short effective training is much more valuable than farting around for two hours at a low intencity.

Progression
Remember, you must continue to add weight or increase the intencity every time you go to the gym. If you have been on the same weight for more than a month you know you are doing something wrong.

But, adding weight is harder than it sounds if you want your technique to stay perfect. So, you need a method that will allow you to do that last extra rep so that you can improve your strength before you add more weight. And here are two ways you can do that:

1. Training Partner - I highly reccomend training weights with a friend who is stronger or equal to you in the gym. When you are on your last rep let your friend know and then get him to help you do the harder part of the motion while you concentrate on the negative by your self. This allow you to push past your boundaries and boost your growth. For example, if you are doing a chin up, your partner should help by lifting you up to the bar and then you do the downward motion extra slowly by yourself.
2. Cheat Rep - This tecnhqie works but it is not for beginners because it goes against the RMO way of training if you get it wrong. The idea is to use some bad technique (yes, thats right!) to help get the weight to the top position so that you can perform one or two slow negative reps as mentioned in number 1. For example, instead of slowly curing the barbell up in barbell bicep curls, you flick it up to your chest using your body motion and then do slow reps on the way down.

I do not advise you to do either of these two unless you are really stuck on the same weight and cannot seem to progress.

I will be writing a lengthy article soon on more techniques you can use to push past those annoying plateaus! It has been a long time coming and many people have requested that I do so.

Conclusion
Start off with a light weight until your technique is perfect. Then, build up to heavy weights until you can do a 5-8 rep range without mucking up your perfect form.

Next article will will address the two other best exercises for back growth and then put together the routine.

Train hard!

Rt

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