There is more to a physique than just the mirror muscles. Mirror muscles are those that you can easily see in the mirror; the chest, delts, biceps, etc. Many so-called serious lifters place too much emphasis on these muscles, and neglect a very important aspect of upper body training; the back. While lower body training is just as important, the focus on this article is taking a look in the rearview mirror; the back muscles.

Many people hate back training for a variety of reasons. It may be due to the fact that you can’t see it easily in the mirror, you can’t really isolate it like say a bicep or tricep muscle, and it’s boring. There may be a host of other reasons, but those seem to be the most common amongst lifters.

Why should you train your back? There are a myriad of reasons why, but here are three reasons why back training should be a focus in your routine.

1. Lower Back/Spinal health.
Many back injuries could be easily be avoided if more attention was given to the lower back muscles. A strong lower back is essential to protect the spine and discs. A lot of injuries occur on lifts such as the squat and deadlift simply due to the fact that the lower back was not properly conditioned and/or not strong enough. A good way to remedy that is to make exercises such as Good Mornings, Reverse Hypers, and other lower back exercises a staple in your routine.

2. Muscle balance.
As with the lower back, many injuries occur to the chest, shoulders, and even back muscles due to the fact that there is a muscle imbalance. Many lifters tend to worship lifts such as the bench press, shoulder press, etc. and neglect the rows, lat pull downs, pull ups, etc., resulting in a muscle imbalance. This muscle imbalance can create a host of problems such as lower back and posture issues as well as shoulder problems. A good rule of thumb is to focus on rowing movements as much as you do on pressing movements; if not more! Compare your row strength to your pressing strength. If you can bench press way more than you can row, then more than likely you need to reassess your training. In other words, make rows, lat pull downs, pull-ups, etc. a normality.

3. The illusion of a small waist.
Not only can a strong back reduce the risk of injury, but it can also benefit the aesthetics of a physique as well, by creating the illusion of a smaller waist. Wide lats create what is known as the V-taper. A nice V-taper can create a wide, pronounced appearance, and make the waist appear much smaller. A thick and developed upper, middle, and lower back help create this strong, powerful look. Nothing completes the upper physique like a strong, developed back.

As you can see, back training is a necessity in any lifting routine. Many people neglect back training, but hopefully after reading this article, they will make a habit of looking in the “rearview mirror.”

Because you’re a strength guy, asking you to do single limb exercises such as one arm upright rows or one leg hack squats is like asking Nascar drivers to make right hand turns. This is not likely to happen. Let’s face it. Allowing one arm or leg to sit still just isn’t in your DNA. You’re right at home with both feet firmly planted or both hands chalked and hooked to the bar. We get it: You want to move the big loads. To be your best with both limbs together, however, either arms or legs, your best bet is to make sure each one is as strong as can be on its own. That’s where unilateral training can help.

It has been confirmed through scientific studies and also research that training one limb at a time causes the limb to make use of more muscle fibers (muscle fiber activation) and compared to use both limbs at the same time requires less force than that of using just one limb.

Consider the bent over row. When you take use of both of your arms at the same time, the equal weight on each side of your body causes you to balance out your torso. Your body remains balanced and straight as you lift the bar up. Using your right arm to perform the exercise, your torso starts to twist to the right side because of the lack of counter balancing, such as when you do dumbbell rows with one arm. It forces you to resist by contracting your oblique muscles. As you lift the bar, your body remains straight and balanced. Using just your right arm as you begin to pull up the dumbbell, with the action being fueled by the momentum, causes your torso to rotate to the left.

For this reason unilateral exercises have been found to offer the benefit of increased core training. That’s paramount for a strength athlete. Take, for instance, the standing overhead dumbbell press. When you press forward, the core works extra hard to maintain form and balance, strengthening your ability to produce intra-abdominal pressure, which is the pressure necessary to protect your spine during your major lifts like the squat and deadlifts. So even when you’re not specifically working on, say, legs or back, training one arm at a time on different body parts will ultimately help you the next time you get in the squat rack or step on the platform.

Even though weak isn’t anywhere in your vocabulary, we all have muscles that aren’t in balance with their counterpart, and unilateral training can help expose and correct muscular weaknesses.

The next time you hit the leg press, do a set with each leg individually. Were your legs of equal strength? Was one slightly stronger than the other (in terms of number of reps with a given weight)? By training each individually, you’re able to detect that strength imbalance, allowing you to determine which limbs need extra attention, while also discovering what could be your limiting factor on your bigger lifts. If you’re going to become a stronger bencher, deadlifter or squatter, you’re better be aware of any weaknesses, even slight ,so that you can turn your training efforts toward them.

Finally, because you have a free limb, you can self-spot on many exercises, helping yourself take your sets past failure. Without a spotter, that would be impossible to do. Training each limb singly is all about learning. It’s about acquiring a baseline of strength of all your parts individually so they can be at their best together. Most strength guys don’t slow down long enough to test each limb. They don’t care about scheduling a specific workout around unilateral exercises. We guarantee, though, that if you carve out time within your month-long schedule of strongman moves to work limb by limb, the weight that was once over your head will soon be under your feet.

Training with high reps and light weight makes your muscles look more cut:

When it comes to looking more cut and shredded, it’s not done with with weights but rather in the kitchen instead. Yes, you build lean muscle mass when you lift weights, doesn’t matter if its high reps or low reps. But in order to look more cut, it’s mainly the foods that you eat that determines so. Because you can have all the muscle you want, but if you got a layer of fat covering it up, whats that going to do for your muscle definition? Ever heard of the term “great abs are made in the kitchen,” well there’s a lot of truth to that in reality. And yes, the intensity of your training does matter when you’re trying to burn fat, but if you’re not eating right nutritionally, what’s the point of your high endurance training?

To gain more muscle mass, you have to shock your muscles by keeping your muscles guessing:

This way of thinking or the concept of it is usually said by people that do not generally understand the physiology of how muscle grows and the processes that your body goes through when training to gain more muscle mass. When it comes down to it, muscles only know the movements of pulling, extending, contracting, and pushing. Changing the type of exercise performed does not change their muscle growth response. What determines your muscle growth process is the duration, volume and intensity that you apply to your body.

Training to failure is a must for maximum muscle growth:

This may be one of the most misunderstood bodybuilding concepts of all time. To achieve muscle growth, you do not need to train a muscle group to failure. It’s not necessary to workout a certain muscle growth to the point of no longer doing a repetition. All you need to do is to apply higher intensity to your workouts and to lift weights that are heavier than the previous set instead of doing an exercise to where you are no longer able to do reps.
For your muscles to grow, all you need is to do higher intense workout from previously before. It can be a waste of energy and not to mention over training to work your muscles any further than it can go. Training to failure will also result your muscles having to recover longer than usual.

As mentioned, when it comes to muscle growth and bodybuilding, there are many misunderstood concepts when it comes to training. It’s always important to do your own research or someone with reputable authority of a given training method to get the best out of your training.

If you don’t plan, you plan to fail. Doing cardio just by doing exercise is a strategy for failure. Without goals, it will be hard to know where you are, and if there is any improvement. Most people, both bodybuilders and people who haven’t trained start their cardiovascular training with a vague image of what they are going to do. What people know is that they need to take some fat off their body, but other than that, it’s difficult for them to figure out where they want to be, or to know where they are now. You can escape this process by measuring your waistline with a tape measure, and getting a body fat analysis done at your local gym. These things will enable you to identify your own reasonable fitness goals for your cardio. Keeping track of your bodyfat will help you in your progress. You can measure and take the bodyfat test every 2 to 4 weeks to see the improvement. Don’t take the test too often as you may not see results right away.

Exercise in the morning

These cardio exercises should be done immediately after waking up in the morning, without any breakfast. Wake up, stretch out, go to the restroom, get some ice cold water, and finish your cardio exercise before eating anything. This will assure you that the energy you use is from your fat stores in the body, not those carbohydrates from your bloodstream.

Accumulate them

Aside from the cardio exercise, you should also watch what you eat. Do the usual stuff and stay way from eating high fat meals or overeating. Simple sugar and starchy carbohydrate should be eaten in moderation. Doing cardio will be more effective over time.

Get Better Results in Less Time with Hybrid Workouts

Hybrid exercises, sometimes called complexes, consist of sets of several different exercises performed together in one giant set. They can be performed using barbells, dumbbells or a weight plates. Hybrids have proven to be an effective training tool for athletes although athletes are not the only ones who should incorporate hybrid training into their workout. Hybrids are an effective tool for anyone looking to improve their level of conditioning or increase strength. They are also an excellent workout to perform when you are limited for time, which most of us are during the holiday season. Hybrids, therefore give you no excuse to miss your workout.

Hybrids as a Warm-Up

Hybrid training can serve as an effective warm-up, much more so than walking on a treadmill or riding an exercise bike. When performing hybrids as part of a warm-up – perform each exercise for six repetitions, without any rest between exercises. Lighter weights will be used in this type of hybrid workout since your work sets are still to follow. Studies have shown that performing this type of workout as a warm-up allows for greater performance during the actual workout.

Hybrids as a Workout

When performing a hybrid workout, each hybrid is performed up to three times with a rest period between each hybrid. Up to five minutes rest should be allowed between each hybrid to ensure complete recovery of your metabolic system. Increase the weight or number of reps performed at each workout to increase its demands. The number of repetitions performed with each exercise should be based on your training goals. When training to improve conditioning levels or lose bodyfat, ten to twelve reps should be performed per exercise. Hybrid workouts train the entire body and are best performed on alternate days, such as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Example Hybrid Workouts

Upright row

While standing, grasp the bar slightly wider than shoulder width using an overhand grip. Pull the bar up to the top of the chest. Keep the elbows above the bar. Keep the shoulders back and the chest forward. Do not lean forward.

Hang Snatch High Pull

Grasp the bar with a wider than shoulder width grip. Feet should be under the armpits. Keep the shoulders back and chest forward. Knees slightly bent. Lower the bar down to the top of the knees making sure to keep the back flat. When the bar reaches the top of the knees drive the hips upward and shrug the shoulders extending the ankles, knees, and hips in a jumping motion. At the top of the shrug pull the elbows upward until the bar reaches the top of the chest.

Squat & Press

Start with the bar on the bottom of the traps. Squeeze the shoulder blades together keeping the chest expanded. Feet should be approximately shoulder width apart and toes slightly turned out. Sit the hips backward keeping the shins vertical, as in sitting in a chair. Keep the spinal erectors tight. Allow the knees to bend as the hips sit backward. Squat as deep as flexibility allows. After reaching the bottom, drive the head and chest upward when coming out of the bottom of the squat. After reaching the top of the squat, use the upward momentum to drive the bar overhead, as in a rear military press.

Bent over row

Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width. Bend over at the waist keeping the shoulders back and the eyes looking forward. Arch the back slightly and keep the knees slightly bent. Lower the bar close to the ground and pull it to the bottom of the chest. Do not use the legs to drive the weight up.

Conclusion

Hybrid exercises, if selected properly, condition the entire body and improve the body’s ability to recover. The total work performed in a workout using hybrid exercises forces the body to get stronger. For instance, 5 sets of 6 reps for three sets, performed three times is 270 reps of total work completed even before your workout is started. If done four times a week, 1080 additional reps are done each week. The number of reps can be altered to accommodate any strength and conditioning level. Hybrid workouts are also great when you do not have the time to perform a normal workout. The amount of workouts that can be developed by changing the movements or changing the number of reps used is unlimited. Give hybrid workouts a try as a warm-up before your next workout or as a workout next time you want to get a great workout in less time.