Highlights of Week 2 (for those who know 5/3/1 this is the "3 rep" week)
Squat
300x8
Military Press
135x7
Deadlift (link to video)
435x8
trying the rounded upper back a la Bob Peoples (the "Tennessee Pulling Machine" a man well worth the time to read about if you care about the history of powerlifting), Konstantinovs, etc...Have been trying this for about a month now, which may or may not be noticeable in any of the videos. Definitely buys me an extra half inch or so and doesn't hurt in the form of lower back rounding.
Bench Press
220x7
Did all the usual assistance work.
Also DB Rowed 160x10...
(as an aside rant: Henceforth DB rows shall refer to a dumbbell rowed in a bare hand for X number of reps without the weight hitting the floor. I refuse to disambiguate between "constant tension" and "non-constant tension." Its a goddamn dumbbell row, if you have to drop it, its a new set. You don't put yourself on the ground after every pullup or chinup do you? Hell, even barbell rows are assumed to be held in hand the entire time...when the weight touches the floor the exercise is given a special name: PENDLAY rows, which in and of itself is basically a cheat row. There. End rant.)
Saturday, October 16, 2010
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(whoops, didn't mean to delete Aaron's comment, I was merely consolidating all of mine into one larger one)
ReplyDeleteA row and a deadlift are two fundamentally different exercises. Go look at ANY video or literature...no one puts DB rows on the ground between reps. NO ONE.
To approach a row with the same mentality as a deadlift completely misses the point. It's a DEAD-lift, as in from a dead stop.
Look, there's no counterargument to be made here, if you can't hang on to a dumbbell for multiple reps under "constant tension" then its just too heavy.
This sort of thing basically falls under the category of common sense. As in, hey look...everyone from this fitness model to Matt Kroc does it the same way, this must be an established standard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR_OlzO0y9w&feature=fvsr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7jAIdoORxI
...particularly if youre doing them for grip strength. Then it makes even less sense to put it down between reps.
The deadlift is started from a dead stop, but why can't rows? Some people do touch and go deads, benni magnusson has his recent vids.
ReplyDeleteLots of people do chins resting at the bottom, instead of keeping constant tension. Rows and other pulling stuff is a different game than pushing.
My argument is that dead stop rows have their place in training, what it is I don't know, but I'm trying to find out. Just because people do them that way doesn't mean its written in stone.
To agree with you, I only write about the tension stuff as a training observation to remind myself to mark the difference, kind of like differentiating between bench grips.
I'm trying to keep the lift under tension, and in this last training session, I failed to do so (because the DB was heavy and I was tired) and my grip also failed me, so next time I'll do 100lbs, but try to keep it under tension.
I also just yesterday thought about my pendlay rows and how they too were not under tension, and was thinking of ways to keep them there. Because of that problem, I'm starting to like DB rows more.
I'm not trying to over-complicate things, I'm just trying to be consistent with my lifts, and, similar to what you said, a dead stop row is different than a "tensioned" row.
"My argument is that dead stop rows have their place in training, what it is I don't know, but I'm trying to find out."
ReplyDeleteOK, that's your argument. Let's ignore the fact that it presents no evidence whatsoever to support your assertion.
Mine is this. Rows are for primarily for lat strength, secondarily for grip strength and tertiarily (this may or may not be a real word, I'm not sure) for core strength.
NONE of these goals can be achieved more effectively by doing a "dead stop row." Your lats don't get stronger as compared to constant tension, neither does your grip, nor your core strength.
So yes, you CAN do them (as a matter of free will I suppose), but it is less effective than the alternative.
If the goal of training is to get as strong as possible in the most efficient manner, then dead stop rows have no place in training.
Let me be clear, I'm referring to a DB row as an assistance for the upper back. Pendlay Rows and certain variation of barbell rows are exempt from this argument.
ReplyDelete...although I do believe Pendlay Rows dictate a dead stop because it is virtually impossible to keep form while also keeping tension at the bottom of the rep. Were it possible, tension at the bottom would be preferable to a dead stop.
With Dumbbell rows, due to the upper body support of propping up one hand, this is not an issue.
-- Nice work on the squats and deadlifts. This time the 435x8 was legit. I'm guessing that in one or two rounds of 531 you won't be able to hit 8 reps on a 3-week. Also, next week should be interesting; I'm predicting at least 4 reps on the 1-week :)
ReplyDelete-- In what federation are DB rows one of the core lifts? IPA?
True. Thanks Danny for putting things in perspective.
ReplyDeleteI do wish DB Rows were a core lift though, then we could debate the legitimacy of raw vs. equipped Row. Elbow sleeves? Straps? DB Row shirt(think the opposite of a bench shirt, it would pinch your arms IN)?
I'm good with any form of DB rows, as long as you go below parallel, and wait for the pull command :)
ReplyDelete