T Bar rows. Please help

[#8]

I cant find a video of anyone doing T Bar rows, NOT on a machine, that look like he is doing anything at all to work his back. I have tried this exercise many times myself and it simply makes no sense to me. As soon as you put a 45lb plate on the olympic bar, your range of motion is severely limited. Every video I see of guys doing huge weights on this exercise are moving it about 8 inches or less. Is this accomplishing anything? Should I just be doing a regular bent over row with the olympic bar instead? Help me out and post a vid of someone doing it properly if you can find one. Remember I DONT have this machine at my gym so I can only use the olympic bar method (which sucks in my opinion)

Post away.

[MuSuLPhReAk]

They work well. Use the steel pulldown grip as you'll see in the vids below


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjXJSuAwy1I&feature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC287NsRujo

[#8]

The first vid is one I found that I laughed at. He is barely moving that weight anywhere. When I do this exercise in this fashion I dont feel anything from it at all and it just feels awkward. I dont understand its place in back training when a bent over row has at least twice the range of motion with a legit squeeze at the very top. How is that doing anything?

[moh2010]

I do it with 25s and totally bent over. ROM is much better. If you are very strong and it's too light with 25s fully stacked, then just do it near the end.

[Sean Summers]

Do it with 35's. That's how I've always done them. Let's meet up for another training session - back! Maybe this week???

[faller]

I use 45's like the first vid and always have DOMS the next day across my upper back. I stand up a bit more though, not bent over quite as much. I love this exercise!

[ironwill]

As mentioned, use 35s for more range....
Another real cool exercise is one where you put the olympic bar in the corner, ...Add some 35s, and use 1 arm at a time like a 1 arm row.....Grab the very end of the bar, on the other side of the plates where they slide on, not the open end, but right beside the collar on barbell...Man, it works real well, a little different rom than a db 1 arm row...:greet


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExuDK5iWKM8

[ironwill]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMONO_cTI-Q&feature=player_embedded

one more variation...

[Thorgrim]

Never crossed my mind to use 25's or 35's when doing t-bars before. I feel this exercise in my lower traps as much as in my lats when I do them.

[faller]

Loved that first vid IW!! I've never thought about doing it that way. The DB in our gym only go to 100lb. so i've given up on doing one rows, the T-bar one arm is brilliant! Definitely going to give that one a try once i'm done the program i'm on.

[ironwill]

John Meadows has a tonne of cool shit....

[fathead]

i tried those john meadows 1 arm rows (first vid) and found them to be so awkward and uncomfortable, however if i did them straddling the bar, same as a regular tbar row but used 1 hand they worked well for me

[Gixxer750]

You can also do the Meadows row thing with a BB... just jack it into the corner like you would the T-bar row move but stand PERPENDICULAR to it. You can use either an off set stance (contralateral arm to leg for better stability) or you can stand hip width apart. Need to be careful with this stance if you can't prevent torsion in the lumbar spine---lack of anti-rotational strength.... then choose the off set stance.
Then grab the VERY end with one hand....you can really bend over and you can really adjust your angles. Therefore hitting different fibres of your lats and traps. Your arm is abducted more than a standard one arm DB row but because of the vector angle the Oly bar provides you get a fantastic ROM. Plus, gripping the 2" end of the bar gives you great grip strength.

[ironwill]

You can also do the Meadows row thing with a BB... just jack it into the corner like you would the T-bar row move but stand PERPENDICULAR to it. You can use either an off set stance (contralateral arm to leg for better stability) or you can stand hip width apart. Need to be careful with this stance if you can't prevent torsion in the lumbar spine---lack of anti-rotational strength.... then choose the off set stance.
Then grab the VERY end with one hand....you can really bend over and you can really adjust your angles. Therefore hitting different fibres of your lats and traps. Your arm is abducted more than a standard one arm DB row but because of the vector angle the Oly bar provides you get a fantastic ROM. Plus, gripping the 2" end of the bar gives you great grip strength.

Yeah, that was second video basically, but use a BB as opposed to the T-bar ...Works well, just did it this morning in fact....

Fathead, go with a weight you can handle until you get it down, then work up....It is different muscles involved, takes a bit of getting used to....

[JonnyO]

i tried those john meadows 1 arm rows (first vid) and found them to be so awkward and uncomfortable, however if i did them straddling the bar, same as a regular tbar row but used 1 hand they worked well for me

You need to check your ego at first and learn to position yourself and your hips in order to do this correctly. Once you find the right groove it's on of the best back exercises you can find.

[fathead]

ya for whatever reason i find that they put a lot of torque through my back and im very unstable doing them this way, which is strange to me because it doesnt particularly look awkward or challenging when viewing it. if i straddle the bar and use one hand that feeling goes away and i get a good contraction... ill give them another try with less weight

[Gixxer750]

ya for whatever reason i find that they put a lot of torque through my back and im very unstable doing them this way, which is strange to me because it doesnt particularly look awkward or challenging when viewing it. if i straddle the bar and use one hand that feeling goes away and i get a good contraction... ill give them another try with less weight

You ARE producing torque through your back because of the rotational force exerted by being in a single arm movement with the load significantly away from the midline of your body. There is nothing wrong with torque as long as you can RESIST it. This is where you obliques, hips, muscle of the low back (quadratus lumorum, etc) really start to fire. Torque through your mid back is not the risk here. It is the torque in your lumbar spine. The lumbar spine has a maximum of 15 degrees rotation. It is meant to stay very fixed.
If you want to continue with this movement you may want to: support the non working hand on something secure or simply lighten the load; move slowly; avoid jerking movements; or do not flex too much at the hip (don't bend over as much) as this then can produce a sheering force on the lumbar spine; really sit into your heels and load your hips/glutes.
Your hips should NOT shift from side to side or dip/rock. You can also widen your stance.

Hope that helps

S

[XCompetitor]

#8 A lot of guys that i used to train in my gyms that had problems developing a certain bodypart were simply failing to flex the bodypart they were training while doing the exercise.This is especially true when it comes to back exercises.When doing TBAR BB Rows or deadlifts you should be flexing the Lats HARD while doing the reps. Guys you see that seem to be using sloppy form but have great backs are actually contracting their back muscles very hard when doing their reps.

[pacificx]

meadow rows, great exercise when done correctly, just started doing them and they are awesome

[faller]

You ARE producing torque through your back because of the rotational force exerted by being in a single arm movement with the load significantly away from the midline of your body. There is nothing wrong with torque as long as you can RESIST it. This is where you obliques, hips, muscle of the low back (quadratus lumorum, etc) really start to fire. Torque through your mid back is not the risk here. It is the torque in your lumbar spine. The lumbar spine has a maximum of 15 degrees rotation. It is meant to stay very fixed.
If you want to continue with this movement you may want to: support the non working hand on something secure or simply lighten the load; move slowly; avoid jerking movements; or do not flex too much at the hip (don't bend over as much) as this then can produce a sheering force on the lumbar spine; really sit into your heels and load your hips/glutes.
Your hips should NOT shift from side to side or dip/rock. You can also widen your stance.

Hope that helps

S

So you could use a bench for support much the same way as when doing DB one arm rows without placing the knee on the bench, just the arm? I tried it today after my workout to see how it felt and i see what fathead means. It was my first attempt but the twisting or off side pulling just screamed injury to me, lol.

[#8]

I tried this exercise but i used a tricep rope looped under the bar instead for a more comfy grip and deeper range of motion. This definitely works better for me and I felt it for sure. Im gonna stick with this for a while.