This past Thursday, Luke and I used Thick Bar Handles for just about everything on our Back Day, please we went pretty darn heavy, as well.

Here’s how the workout went:

Rolling Thunder Pull-ups with Weight Added – 3 sets of 3

Luke (203lbs) went with a 24-kg kettlebell added

Jedd (255lbs) went with 90lbs in plates added

I had to re-grip for all my 3rd reps. We also threw in some holds at the top of some of the reps.

Narrow Handle Thick Grip Pull-downs

We worked up to 305lbs and did 6 to 10 reps per set. These were extremely heavy, and resulted in some partial reps, as well as holds. We focused on controlling the weight, not throwing it.

Thick Handled Loadable Dumbbell Rows

I used a plate loadable handle with a 2.5″ grip. I started with 165lbs, then dropped it down to 150lbs.

Luke used the 120lb shot loadable dumbbell. Aimed for 5 reps per hand. We did 3 work sets.

Banded Straight Arm Lat Pulls

These might have a different name, but I’m drawing a blank. They hit your lats, teres major, posterior deltoids, rhomboids, and your glutes & hamstrings as well. They’re VICIOUS. 4 sets. 2 with black bands, 2 with purple bands.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

I wanted to share this workout with you that I did last Friday morning.

This was the second time I’ve done it (with just a couple of modifications), and I’m telling you, this workout is awesome.

It involves 4 separate blocks (A,B,C,D), each with 3 exercises (1,2,3), done with minimal rest between sets for a maximized pump and engorgement of the muscles.

If you’re not familiar with the exercises, watch this video:

Big Back Workout

A1. Pull-ups – 3×10
A2. Dips – 3x 10-20
A3. Ab Wheel – 3×10

B1. Pull-downs – 3×10-12
B2. Front Laterals – 3×10
B3. Crucifix – 3x15sec

C1. Reverse Curl – 3×8-12
C2. Prone Pull-downs – 3×12-15
C3. Band Face Pulls – 3×15

D1. Unilateral Pull-aparts – 3x10each side
D2. Belly Pull-ups – 3×5
D3. Chain Hammer Curls – 3×15

As you’ll notice, there’s a lot more than “Back” exercises in there. I had to modify this workout quite a bit because my Chest/Shoulder/Biceps workout got interrupted last week, and I wasn’t able to get my Biceps or Deltoid work in. I added these in where I’d normally have my other Triceps exercises (I only did one pure Triceps exercise, Dips).

I’m gonna be straight up with you here – you can’t mess around between sets with this workout, or you won’t get it all done.

A lot of people will not be able to get this workout done inside of an hour, like my buddy Mark and I did.

In fact, a lot of people are not in shape enough to do all of this PERIOD, let alone inside an hour.

If you can’t finish the workout, don’t worry about it. Work on it.

We’ve been training this way for a while, and while it’s intense, I truly feel this is a great way to train, especially on days when you don’t have strength-specific work (requires longer rest periods), and are only looking at building slabs of muscle all over your body.

Like I said, if you don’t know the exercises, check out this video, because all of them but 2 are in there:

Any questions, please let me know.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

P.S. I just completed something I worked on all last week. It’s a complete Catalog Page of all my products, many of which you might never have heard of, so I wanted to share it with you: Full Diesel Product Catalog

Many of the prices on that page are newly reduced, so be sure to check them out.

Last year, in May, I performed a Strongman Show during the Bodybuilding Contest at the Empire Classic Fitness Expo in Spokane, Washington.

I also assisted with several other events that were part of the Expo, including a Strongman contest, and that’s where I met Luke Ehlis, one of the competitors in the Strongman Contest.

Luke had been a bodybuilder prior to the Strongman Comp, and I was extremely impressed with his prowess in Strongman.

Let’s face it – you don’t often see competitive bodybuilders who are able to crossover in Strongman competition and excel, but Luke did.

What’s even more impressive, to me, about Luke is that he trains primarily in his garage, not some giant warehouse gym, not some fancy fitness center, but his own garage gym at his home.

I’ve stayed in touch with Luke since the contest and have an interview with him planned, and since then, I’ve enjoyed watching Luke’s videos on Instagram and Facebook, because the dude is an innovator.

One of the things I saw him do recently was what I refer to as a Pendulum Row. In a recent video, he attached a Bar to his Reverse Hyper device, and used the hanging weight as the resistance for his Bent Over Rows.

I thought that was awesome, because I knew it would feel completely different from a regular Bent Over Row.

This past weekend, my lifting partner, Lucas Raymond, and I got the chance to try out these Pendulum Rows, and they are KILLER!

Build Your Back with Pendulum Rows

These are so stinkin’ Intense, brotherrr! The swinging action of the Reverse Hyper makes the weight pull away from you at the highest point of the Row. What I was trying to do was to get a good, solid pause at the top of the movement, but it was HARD!

To challenge our grip more, we used the FBBC Crusher, which is a free-spinning thick bar handle, much more difficult to use than the Rolling Thunder, plus, we were flexing our wrist into a partial gooseneck position, which made these even more difficult to do.

I’m telling you right now, these are a WINNER for your back training. The way you have to brace your core on these is just plain sinister. You feel them BIG TIME in your back. Try them if you dare.

Stay tuned for an interview with Luke Ehlis, as soon as I can get my act together.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

P.S. August of Arms is coming. GET READY.

P.P.S. If you want even more cool ideas to build a bigger upper back and thicker set of traps, check out YOKETOBER:

Back and Triceps Training

Here is a recent workout compilation that my buddy Mark Gannon and I did.

In it, we are Back and Triceps.

This is a crazy combination. Many people don’t realize that the triceps will assist in the movement pattern of shoulder extension, so when you work Lats and Triceps together, it makes for a freakin’ sick pump with a pre-exhaust factor that is hard to put into words.

I also threw in some Ab Wheel. Sure, it works the core primarily, but I love adding it in on this day because it also works the lats, when you pull back to the starting position, and it hits the triceps hard too, because they have to hold your bodyweight up as well.

In the video, I added text blocks to show the set-and-rep schemes we use, and in some cases the loading. Go through it and you’ll see what I mean.

Try this workout combination and let me know what you think. I bet you will be hooked on this combo as much as I am.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Each and every day I get new visitors to my site. If you are new, I want to welcome you.

Please take the time to put your email into one of the boxes to the right. You can get some of my free reports, sign up for the RSS feed, and get email updates every time there is a new post.

I want to share with you some of the most popular videos I put up last year.

I looked at all of my videos on YouTube that I uploaded last year and grabbed the top 10 most popular ones and pasted them below.

As you will see, I have three main focuses in my training.

First and foremost is Grip Strength. I work to develop as strong of a Grip as possible for the Grip Contests I compete in and because I have seen the benefits of a strong grip in my other training. Also because I love Grip Training and Grip Sport so much, I love talking about it here on the site, sharing my experiences and helping others succeed.

Next, I love Strongman Training, both Strongman like the competitions involving Atlas Stones, Log Lifting, and Odd Objects, and Strongman style training involving Feats of Strength such as Bending Nails and Tearing Cards.

Finally, I do a great deal of training with the objective of building muscle and strength. While I am not the biggest, most muscular, or strongest, I am very well rounded and understand the proper technique of lifts and want to make sure readers do lifts correctly and safely so that they can enjoy their training and see benefit.

It’s really all about helping others succeed in their goals. Much of what I post is based on questions I get from readers who are shooting for goals and want to know how to get there. Helping you attain your goals is awesome for me, so keep me posted on your journey.

So, again, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter and make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, so that you are always up to date on what is going on here at DieselCrew.com.

Now let’s check out 2011’s top videos – Enjoy!

#10 – How Often Should You Train with Grippers

Grippers are easily the most popular form of Grip Training and one of the biggest events at Grip Competitions. Unfortunately, there is not nearly as much good information about Gripper Training as there are people trying to sell them, so I put out this and many other Gripper Training videos last year.

Check out the post here on Diesel: Gripper Training Questions

#9 – Slim Lever – Grip Strength Challenge for Slim the Hammer Man

Of all of the Grip Strength Challenges I ran last year, this one was perhaps the most special, because it was devoted to Slim “the Hammer Man” Farman, who was recognized by being inducted into the York Barbell Hall of Fame Last Year. The Slim Lever is a very intense sledge hammer lift, and if you can do it by the rules described in the video below with a 16-lb hammer or heavier, then you are the freakin’ man!

Check out the post here on Diesel: Slim the Hammer Man Farman

#8 – Full Body Tension Movement – Camel Clutch (posterior chain)

For this one, I wanted to figure out a way to replicate some of the effects of the Glute Ham Raise, if you don’t have one. This variation is something that someone can do to blast the posterior chain until you save up your loose change to get the real thing.

Check out the post here on Diesel: Innovative Posterior Chain Training

#7 – Backwards Blob Lifting

See more Blob Lifting Videos

#6 – Build Muscle Mass and Strength – How to Do Rows the Right Way

I hate when I see exercises being done incorrectly on the web. It’s one thing to do them incorrectly if you have been training for many, many years. However, when new trainees see long-time veterans doing movements on-line incorrectly and they try to replicate that form, the new trainees can get hurt pretty badly. Since Rows are such a beneficial movement, I wanted to put this one out there and people seemed to get a lot of value out of it.

Check out the post here on Diesel: How to Perform Dumbbell Rows

Those are 10 through 6 for the year’s most popular videos. Check back later in the week for the rest of the 2011 Top 10 Most popular Videos.

Make sure you are up-to-date. Sign up for updates in the box below.

All the best in your training,

Jedd

Rows for a Big Back and Grip

Hey everybody.

Recently, I ran a poll on my Facebook page and I wanted to see which of three videos you preferred.

Between “Never before Seen Sledge hammer Exercise,” Row Variations for a Big back and Grip,” and “How to Bench without Nagging Wrist Pain,” Rows for Back and Grip won out by a solid margin!

Thanks for voting, and make sure to add me as a friend on Facebook, because I plan on doing this more down the line.

Rows are an excellent exercise for packing on muscle on your back. This muscle not only helps fill up your tee shirt, but it also helps balance out the strength ratio between your pushing and pulling power, helping you maintain better shoulder health.

But many do not realize that Rows can also be used to build Grip Strength. Especially if you have access to a variety of handles, you can use Rows to load up your lats, as well as strengthening your hands and Forearms.

Equipment Used

Loadable Dumbbell (Olympic Plates)

My favorite implement to use for heavy side rows is a normal loadable dumbbell that takes Olympic plates. You can really load these up. As you will see in the video, I go from 112 to 212 lbs. I usually just load 25’s on it, as opposed to adding 10’s. I will usually hit 2 sets at each weight. The last set with 212 is only a partial range of motion. I pull it as high as I can without using a ton of body english and then get into the next variation.

Inch Dumbbell

Before my open hand strength gets too severely wasted, I go to the Inch Dumbbell. I don’t get my reps up as high as I want to in this clip. I’ve done a lot better in the past. When you try this or something similar, you will see that keeping a Grip on the handle while your elbow bends over the course of the range of motion is tougher. This increased challenge is what makes Rows with Grip Implements so great for athletes to do. It is very similar to a wrestler grabbing the wrist or ankle of his opponent and trying to pull it in close to him.

Plate Loadable Thick Handle Dumbbell

I’m not sure where i got this dumbbell, but the loading area is for standard plates. For that reason, I have three 25-lb plates loaded on each side and I never take them off. It’s more likely that you will train thick bar rows with something like this, since Inch Dumbbells are so hard to come by. You’ll notice right away it is much easier to deadlift a thick bar dumbbell than it is to row it, because of the elbow bending during the range of motion.

Shot Loadable Thick Handle Dumbbell

This dumbbell comes from Steve Slater at Strongmanstuff.com and it is awesome. The day I got it, I loaded it up with steel shot as heavy as I could get it. It’s roughly 127-lbs which makes it great for Rows and many other dynamic lifts like Hand-to-Hand Pops and Clean + Press. The lighter weight also allows you to get that open hand work in while also getting lots of reps, so some emphasis shifts back to the Back / Lats / Delts / etc.

No Thick Bar Implements?

If you don’t have the above equipment, you might try Fat Gripz. These handles pop right onto your dumbbells and barbells and provide a removable thick bar handle.

Also, if you join The Grip Authority, I’ll show you how to make an instant thick bar handle for less than $5 that are even tougher on the Grip than Fat Gripz.

Technique

A few things to remember when doing Rows like this:

• Variety = Results: It is good perform a variety of movements. For instance, I sometimes use different handles with my Lat Machine for Pull-downs and Seated Rows.
• Form is Key: I try to stick with good form. If I find myself having to throw the weight, I like to just shut the set down. This way I don’t jerk something loose in my shoulder and feel it for the next 6 months. Cheat reps are something you will have to decide upon yourself, but I don’t like doing them anymore, myself.
• Stick in a Heavy Set: I like to work in heavy sets, like the 212-lbs on the Olympic Loadable Handle and the Inch Dumbbell. Going super heavy like this makes everything else feel way lighter. I still stick with strict movement though, to avoid tweaking something.

Rows are awesome. I do them quite often in my training. I just love how they make me feel, and what the heck, if it feels good, do it, right?

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Ultimate Pull-up Training

If you remember from one of my previous posts on big back training, you’ll know that there are several ways to modify conventional pull-ups.

BIG VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP (more…)