A few excerice questions

[anabolicdragon]

Ok, I was watching blood and guts this weekend(I thought colmeans video was better by the way) and he was using the pullover machine, what bodypart is that supposed to hit, I've only seen it in one gym I have ever worked out at, anyone use this machine?

2nd question. Chins. Do you guys use these. I have been using them for years and lately (the past 2 years) I don't think I have progressed with them at all in strength or in the size of my back. I know chins are supposed to be one of the kings of back excerices but now I question that. What do you ghuys think about chins? While on back what do you guys do to bring out the cookie cutters in your upper and mid back.

Legs, this is the one that pisses me off. MY quads are pretty thick near the top of my legs but near the knee there is nothing no muscle whatsoever. What can I do do work on bringing up the muscle near the knee. I was told to do leg presses with my feet close together.

 

[xcelbeyond]

I'll put in my $0.02 worth on back/lats. Not sure what you mean by "cookie cutter" bro?

Back used to be one of my weak parts - like when I did a lat spread people would say do a lat spread! Now it's one of my better bodyparts. I believe lat width is a result of "more" muscle. That increase muscle size happens from heavy basic exercises and stretching. I do the pulling anything stationary for 30+ seconds to stretch lats. Best basics are deadlifts, bent-over rows, close-grip pulldowns, and close-grip rows.

Getting back muscle to "show" is diet!

xcel

 

[anabolicdragon]

thanks.

You had me laughing when you said "like when I did a lat spread people would say do a lat spread! :

Cookie cutters I meant when all the details come out in the back like when you do a rear double biceps.

Thanks for the info.

 

[stevehnsn]

I also have $.02

I have done pullovers before, both with the machine and with a dumbell. IMO they are good for a change once in a while, but not vital. Pullovers hit your serratus, pecs, shoulders and lats, all pretty much indirectly. Some swear that it expands your rib cage, but I'll let that myth stay where it is.

Chin ups are good, but so are pull-ups. Do pull-ups with hands pronated (palms turned away), with any variety of grips from wide to medium to narrow. I usually do chins just sparingly enough to break plateaus in my pull-up routine.

Want definition in your back? The key is your diet and cardio protocol. Lose fat, get defined. It works. While your dropping fat though, you can do isolation exercises for the "little muscles" in your back such as rhomboids, and teres major and minor. Try reverse flys as an example. Make your traps thick with super-heavy shrugs, done twice weekly, in order to better separate that muscle from your lats and others.

In order to bring up muscles located around a joint, you must do exercises that either flex or extend the joint, in this case you are extending your knee with exercises such as squats and leg extensions. Based on this you can see that you need to do exercises that place the most tension on the knee joint, despite the fact that this is a motion we usually try to minimize. Such exercises include leg extensions, walking lunges, and any sort of leg pressing, squatting, extending, etc... with a close stance. And again, want to see striations? --> watch your diet.

Good luck with your goals bro!

 

[preist943]

1 pullovers ok i know what there 'suposed' to do ,heres my take ,i feel it in the upper lat armpit area i do not feel it pulling the rib cage or in the chest ,also i find you can get strong at this one fast if worked hard around 6-8 reps

2 chins nope dont like em pain in the ass to strap 45p around my waist and try to jump up to the bar ,and i have to much ego to get a step ladder for my little ass

3 the lower quad is my prob too , ive brought it up by doing leg ext and then deep hack squats

oh by the way i think the bent row is the king for back reg and reverse grip

 

[Crowler]

HA HA HA I used to do a set of squats with 20 reps to get breathing real heavy and then do a set of DB pullovers across the bench.

This was suppose to expand your rib cage. I don't know if it worked but back 26 years ago the muscle mags said it would.

 

[Mojo Rising]

back

My keys for back growth are 1 heavy basics(6-10reps) and 2 stretching as Xcel said.

Normal back workout is low row 1st or alternate dead lifts

2nd lat pulldowns or chins(contest mode usually as offseason i can do only around 6 good ones)

3 1 arm dumbells or t bar
4 some hammer strength back machine
I think its good to stretch a little between sets... helps me recover much faster anyways. Good luck with it.

Main thing with back is feel your back do the work.... to many people make a bicep movement, also to much momentum is used. Make sure your form is right and use your mind muscle connection. Good luck!

 

[MikeS]

Ive done tons of weighted chins. I even did them for a stretch recently. I think they are the best movement for lat width for MOST people. Im not one of them. I like extremely heavy lat-pulldowns. Im talking you do them with the mentality of a 21YO doing his big bench press. Always trying to get stronger and move more weight! When you can do sets with 300lbs+ you will have big lats too. Also of course 1/2 deadlifts, bar rows/tbar rows
hammer rows with that same mentailty can not be forgotten.
Screw the lat pullover machine. You can use it as a finisher once in a while, but it should not replace your heavy compound back excercises. It a huge muscle group and IMO needs to be trained heavy with basic movements.

For lower quads do hack squats feet pointed out. Leg extentions-feet out also. Lunges too, although I dont do those.

 

[canino]

MikeS is right

chins are probably the best for width on most people. I still do them, although it is harder at 250. The thing with chins is I see alot of guys trying to go straight up to the bar and touch there chin. Straight up. Instead, I try, and you may want to experiment with this, is to try and think about touching your mid-chest to the bar instead of the chin. When you do this your body goes into an arc and your chest sticks out and hits the lats directly and for some reason I don't feel my bi's as much doing them this way.

Pullovers are awsome for width as well, if done properly. Instead of pulling with your hands think about pushing down with the elbows which are rested on the pads, and in the bottom position of the pullover stick that friggin chest out as far as you can and that squeezes the shoulder blades together.

Hacks, Hacks, Hacks, Hacks for down by the knees. Feet low on the platform, ankles together, toes pointed out a little. You can also play with the width of your feet, but keep the feet low on the platform. Oh, go rock bottom PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[vitor]

My

I noticed My back started to get huge when I added extemely heavy T-Bar rows, Barbell rows, Dumbell rows, and Lat pull downs with this special bar at my gym. It is a straight bar with two metal loops at the end so my hands face each other. Make it a priorty, to train it hard and heavy, I love training back but I love training period,

 

[BALDNAZI]

Are you all scared of the mighty pullover????

Not a flame,cause I know all of you,but the pullover is KING.The machine is good,very good in fact,but nothing replaces crossbench dumbell pullovers. I see very few people do this in any gym I have been in,and most stare in amazement as to what the hell me and my partner are doing with a 140lb dumbell in such a "weird" position. "Gee,whats that for,tris?uh does that work your neck?That looks like it hurts" Damn fucking right it hurts.If you keep your hips low,elbows slightly bent,get a full mind bending stretch,and then a slow,unbelievably painful contraction of your chest and lats at the top,you have done it right.DEEP breaths are key.I know after a set like this of 6-8 reps,when I get up off the bench,I feel SWOLE. Everything is full of blood,and Im thick as hell.The pump is so good,the pain is awesome.

Arthur Jones called the pullover "the upper body squat" and without it, full potential of the upper body could not be reached.
I agree,because my body took on such a better,thicker, more imposing look since I added them years ago.My lats are thick and veiny and my chest is deep.As far as the rib cage expansion,I do not believe its a myth.Look at the rib cages of BB's from long ago,when the pullover was as important as the bench,squat etc.Their rib cages were huge.Mine has definetly expanded,I know my body,and this is the case.

To be honest,I think most people in the gym are a group of scared little pussies.They go for the easy route(machines/cables at the exclusion of all basic movement),when in reality there is only one way.If you do not have the far superior genetics of the elite athletes,then only hardcore basic heavy movements will get you huge.I believe religiously that pullovers are one of those......

 

[wolverine]

I did pullovers in the past, but always felt it more in the pecs than anything else. Maybe I need to give them another go round.

 

[boing]

I enjoy pullovers, nice and heavy slow reps use it to finish off.
Plus when you get up off the bench and look in the mirror youre whole upper body swells up. lol

Boing "the English_Bulldog"