goergen1
11-01-2007, 01:53 PM
Back Medicine
by Bert Sorin
I know many of you out there probably wake up the same way I do: Hit the alarm, take a deep breath, slowly roll out of bed, and make those first awkward / painful steps to the shower. It is just part of heavy / intense weight training, mornings are going to be tough. Heck, some mornings I resemble cro-magnon man until noon, wattling around with my back only semi-erect.
That was the story until three weeks ago. Partly because of necessity (recent slight back injury while cleaning) and partly because of talking with a friend of mine (Louie Simmons) who takes in extra workouts during the week for recovery, I decided I needed to do something.
Now, I go into the gym every morning, first thing, and jump on the Back Attack. 3x20 with light weight, super setted with Standing Ab Crunch on a high pulley 3x20. The pump you get in the low back is unreal! The first 10 reps on the crunch are with the feet shoulder width apart, and the next 5 are with the right foot in front, and the last 5 with the left foot forward.(This works the obliques without adding a lot of twisting to the spine.) I also change the deck height of the Back Attack, as well as the action arm position to place emphasis on different parts of the back, hamstrings and glutes.
Going back and forth between this back extension (Back Attack) and the back stretching (ab crunches), I am really working the supporting muscles of the spine from both front and back, and one stretches out the other.
I have found this little routine to be more helpful to me than anything I have done lately in my training. My afternoon workouts (which are my main lifting and throwing sessions) are MUCH higher quality, with less warm-up time needed to "get the kinks out." My back is fully recovered and my abs have gotten stronger to boot. I feel that this gives my blood a chance to get pumping early in the day, elevate hormonal levels, faster recovery time from heavy workouts, and adds some tonnage to my core training that I might not get to in the afternoon.
I have tried every anti-inflammatory, pain killer, etc. to make my back feel better, and nothing compares to this little circuit that takes me 5 minutes each day.
Live Strong,
Bert Sorin
by Bert Sorin
I know many of you out there probably wake up the same way I do: Hit the alarm, take a deep breath, slowly roll out of bed, and make those first awkward / painful steps to the shower. It is just part of heavy / intense weight training, mornings are going to be tough. Heck, some mornings I resemble cro-magnon man until noon, wattling around with my back only semi-erect.
That was the story until three weeks ago. Partly because of necessity (recent slight back injury while cleaning) and partly because of talking with a friend of mine (Louie Simmons) who takes in extra workouts during the week for recovery, I decided I needed to do something.
Now, I go into the gym every morning, first thing, and jump on the Back Attack. 3x20 with light weight, super setted with Standing Ab Crunch on a high pulley 3x20. The pump you get in the low back is unreal! The first 10 reps on the crunch are with the feet shoulder width apart, and the next 5 are with the right foot in front, and the last 5 with the left foot forward.(This works the obliques without adding a lot of twisting to the spine.) I also change the deck height of the Back Attack, as well as the action arm position to place emphasis on different parts of the back, hamstrings and glutes.
Going back and forth between this back extension (Back Attack) and the back stretching (ab crunches), I am really working the supporting muscles of the spine from both front and back, and one stretches out the other.
I have found this little routine to be more helpful to me than anything I have done lately in my training. My afternoon workouts (which are my main lifting and throwing sessions) are MUCH higher quality, with less warm-up time needed to "get the kinks out." My back is fully recovered and my abs have gotten stronger to boot. I feel that this gives my blood a chance to get pumping early in the day, elevate hormonal levels, faster recovery time from heavy workouts, and adds some tonnage to my core training that I might not get to in the afternoon.
I have tried every anti-inflammatory, pain killer, etc. to make my back feel better, and nothing compares to this little circuit that takes me 5 minutes each day.
Live Strong,
Bert Sorin