06-29-2018, 01:13 AM
So I really like cable rows, smith machine rows, and most machine rows for thickness MRs. I've done t-bar rows, barbell rows, and dumbbell rows in the past, but not with the greatest success. Where I have done better with them is when running at a higher tier and putting them last, so your lats are pretty fatigued before hitting them. Two ideas that maybe you might be able to employ that could help, would be.
1. Pre-fatigue: Pull overs are awesome for this, but also any back movement that you really can connect with will do really well. Get your lats nice and fatigued and pumped, and then move onto thickness movement.
2. Forget about weight, and focus on mind muscle connection: I could be reading into this a bit, but you may want to try and drop the "power groove" idea. and reduce the weight, and focus on purely technique, a strong contraction, a nice long negative, and a good stretch at the bottom. The cue I always liked was trying to wrap my lats around my back It can be a bit humbling, at first, but when your lats are so sore it's uncomfortable to lay down at night, you know you are on the right track.
To add, I'll say I'm not against a little controlled body english. I think it has it's place in back thickness movements especially (though I may be prejudiced as that's where I've seen results). But I've always sort of divided this in my head. Loading sets for back thickness, a little bit of control body english is ok. For MRs, as strict and as tight as I can be, while trying to keep progressive overload moving forward. For pump sets, there is nothing but that muscle working perfectly, with no regard to reps, only to feeling.
1. Pre-fatigue: Pull overs are awesome for this, but also any back movement that you really can connect with will do really well. Get your lats nice and fatigued and pumped, and then move onto thickness movement.
2. Forget about weight, and focus on mind muscle connection: I could be reading into this a bit, but you may want to try and drop the "power groove" idea. and reduce the weight, and focus on purely technique, a strong contraction, a nice long negative, and a good stretch at the bottom. The cue I always liked was trying to wrap my lats around my back It can be a bit humbling, at first, but when your lats are so sore it's uncomfortable to lay down at night, you know you are on the right track.
To add, I'll say I'm not against a little controlled body english. I think it has it's place in back thickness movements especially (though I may be prejudiced as that's where I've seen results). But I've always sort of divided this in my head. Loading sets for back thickness, a little bit of control body english is ok. For MRs, as strict and as tight as I can be, while trying to keep progressive overload moving forward. For pump sets, there is nothing but that muscle working perfectly, with no regard to reps, only to feeling.