II. The Exercises
**A. The Main Exercises
**B. Accessory Exercises
*****1. Abdominals
*****2. Arms
*****3. Dips
*****4. Back extensions
*****5. Pull-ups/Chin-ups
**C. Other Questions
Dips
Question - What kind of dips should I do? Triceps dips, chest dips, bench dips, etc?
Do them like
this or
this
If you prefer to keep your feet behind you like
this, then go for it. It won't block out the sun and cause mass destruction, havoc, and/or genital herpes. This isn't something to obsess about, really.
Question - How wide should my grip be during dips?
Just slightly wider than your body. An excessively wide grip will wreck the shoulders, an excessively close grip will generally not allow for proper ROM (range of motion). The exercise should not feel uncomfortable in the shoulder joint or tendon area.
Question - How deep should I go?
This will be a function of shoulder joint and pectoral flexibility. Go as low as you can go without overly stressing the area. Not everyone is a
Hola Bola-like freak, with the ability to go deep with heavy weight.
At least get your upper arms to parallel. If you can't do this due to flexibility, then you really need to work on your shoulder joint flexibility.
Question - Can I do close grip bench presses or hammer-grip DB presses instead of dips?
No, absolutely no, no doubt about it...NO.
Decline DB presses and close grip bench presses (CGBPs) work the individual muscles in a somewhat similar manner, but the overall difference in workload and the resultant stress on your CNS means that these exercises can NOT be substituted evenly.
Do NOT substitute ANY free weight (or machine) exercise for a bodyweight-type exercise, even if you normally add weight to yourself when doing chins/dips
Both DB presses and CGBP are OUTSTANDING exercises, and they are both in my present training regimen. You won't need them just yet, however. They are great additions to the intermediate's training program. Stick with the dippity-dips for now, however.
Question - I'm not strong enough to do dips/I don't have dip bars, what exercise can I use as a substitution?
Probably the best alternative is to do do pushups with a heavy backpack. Touch chest to ground/floor every repetition and control every rep. This will probably be your best bet, unless you are needing to do the pushups from your knees, in which case, you have your work cut out for you.
Back Extensions
Question - How do I work back extensions or hyperextensions into my training program?
For additional training of the posterior chain (i.e. the lower back, the glutes and the hamstrings), you can add back extensions, aka "hyperextensions", reverse hypers or GHR (glute ham raises). BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN ADDING THESE EXERCISES.
The lower back muscles (the spinal erectors) are NOTORIOUSLY slow to recover. As you add weight on the deadlift, your lower back will get worked more. As you add weight on the squat, your lower back will get worked more. As you add weight on the row/clean, your lower back will get worked more. Since squats, rows, cleans and ESPECIALLY deadlifts work the crap out of your lower back, you will probably find that you won't need to do these at all.
If your lower back is tired the day after you squat and deadlift, do NOT add this work, it is unnecessary! If you do decide to add it, add 1 set to Workout A, and do only that one additional set for at least 2 weeks before gauging the necessity for a 2nd set. This is not "balls to the wall, all-out" type of training on these exercises. Do a set or 2 of 12-15 reps. It is more of a "pump set" which will allow the slight increase of workload and volume. It's not supposed to be exhausting, so don't make it so. You are doing this exercise right after heavy squats and deadlifts, so your lower back shouldn't need much additional work.
If all you have is a
45 degree or
parallel back extension machine, then tread lightly and carefully.
Question - What are some other exercises I can do in place of back extensions for additional lumbar area work?
1) If you have access to a
reverse hyperextension machine, then do a ton of reading at various Westside barbell training sites. You can use the reverse hyper to actually help rehabilitate and facilitate the recovery of your spinal erectors, but that is outside the scope of this discussion. This exercise is an outstanding replacement for the back extension.
2) If you have access to a proper
Glute-Ham Raise, then you can fiddle with this apparatus until you get the hang of nailing your hamstrings hard. These, when done properly, only mildly stimulate the lower back area, but NAIL the hamstrings hard. You will have to gauge your own hamstring recovery in order to know if these are necessary.
You can also do
"ghetto" GHR, but these are DIFFICULT. Your hamstrings probably aren't strong enough yet.
I HIGHLY recommend the use of the GHR and/or the reverse hyper.
An additional exercise which might be considered for use by an intermediate athlete would be the
pull-through.
This is one of the only cable exercises you'll ever see me recommend because there is no real free weight alternative. Grab an attached rope and face away from a low cable, squat down a bit and spread your legs, reach all the way through your legs (see the
start position). Slowly pull your upper body back through your legs until you are in an upright position,
like so
Question - Can I do SLDL or GMs instead of the back extensions?
This is an absolute no-no. Unless you are a mutant with a set of spinal erectors that recover insanely fast, you CANNOT do good mornings (GMs) or stiff leg deadlifts (SLDLs - or Romanian deadlifts - RDLs) in place of hyperextensions. GMs and RDLs/SLDLs are DEADLIFT REPLACEMENTS, not hyperextension replacements.
Read that one again....RDLs, SLDLs, and GMs are HEAVY CORE and CORE ASSISTANCE EXERCISES, not accessory work. They should be treated and trained as such.
The vast majority of trainees won't even need to do hyperextensions until at least the 2nd or 3rd month of training, many won't really need to do these for QUITE some time, and at that point, they should be moving heavy enough weights in the deadlift and squat that good mornings and SLDLs would be counterproductive to recovery if added in.
Even if you "just go light" on these exercises, they are not appropriate substitutions for hyperextensions. Hypers, reverse hypers, glute-ham raises (GHRs) are accessory exercises. They aren't needed and they absolutely MUST NOT get in the way of progress on the main lifts (squats, presses and pulls). GMs and/or SLDLs in addition to squats and deadlifts will most definitely get in the way of progress for the novice and most intermediates.
heck, there are tons of advanced athletes who can't do GMs and SLDLs after conventional heavy deadlifting without requiring close to a week to recover.
If you know for a fact that you can do GMs and/or SLDLs along with regular heavy deadlifting (up to twice weekly) and squatting 3x weekly, then One or more of the following is true
1) You are an advanced-elite athlete
2) You are a mutant
3) You are on steroids
4) You are
Spytech (which goes hand-in-hand with #1 and #2 above)
Question - My lower back is tired. Do I have to do the back extensions?
Hell no. If your lower back is getting hit hard, stay the hell away from the hypers. Your back is obviously getting nailed nice and hard. ACCESSORY = unnecessary.
They are fluff. Do them if you need fluff in your life. If your lower back is getting nailed by the pulls and squats, then no fluff is needed.