Monday, June 27, 2011

How To Do Barbell Bent Over Rows

by

healthy_blogging

Rows are among the best compound exercises you'll ever do. In a previous post, I showed you how to do dumbbell bent over rows. Now I'm going to show you to do the exercise with a barbell. The barbell bent over row is very important because it:

  • strengthens and develops your back muscles
  • tones and strengthens your core
  • tones and strengthens your shoulders
  • tones and strengthens your arms
  • strengthens and develops your chest
The bent over row with barbells is the big cousin of the exercise with dumbbells and is essential to the continued progression of any strength training workout. So now, let's get started.

How To Do Barbell Bent Over Rows

You'll need a barbell for this exercise, you can choose from either the fixed or Olympic barbells, but the exercise becomes more challenging (and thus better) if you use the Olympic bar, so we're going to focus on the Olympic bar for this very reason. It's always important to start out with a warm up set, this helps loosen up your muscles and prime them for the exercise. Add some weight to the bar - just enough for a warm up set (e.g. sixty pounds). Now, pick of the bar using a pronated grip (palms facing you); you can use either shoulder width (for more core development) or wide grip (greater emphasis on shoulders, chest and upper back).

The next thing that you must do is bend your knees. Now lean forward until you're at a 45 degree angle. Do not arch your back, this could do severe damage to your spine. Make sure that your head and back are correctly aligned. Using a rowing motion to pull the bar toward your stomach. Now lower the bar to your starting position. That's one repetition. Do nine more then add more weight. You'll want to add enough to provide resistance but not to the point that you won't be able to perform the exercise. In other words, the weight amount should allow for four to six repetitions per set; after five sets of this exercise you can do something else. Each week add twenty pounds while keeping the number of reps and sets consistent.

The barbell row takes a little time to learn, but once you've mastered it, you'll experience fantastic strength gains.

Some of you are taking classes this summer. Have you found the right balance between studying and exercise? Increased mental awareness is correlated with physical exercise. Make time for both of them.

"Great Chest and Whole Body Workouts: How To Do The Barbell Bent Over Row" copyright 2011 Great Chest and Whole Body Workouts. All Rights Reserved.