Building a strong back

[GRIT]

Ok back-wise:

Mon I do 1x20 stiff leg dead lifts and 3x5 squats

Wed I do 1x20 reg. dead lifts and 5x5 bent over row

Fri I do 5x5 squat and 5x5 shrug


Is that gonna build a strong back? Seems like I am hitting the lower back pretty good, by the way I feel the next day, even 2 or 3 days after one of them workouts. But not sure I am hitting the upper back enough. Care to give me any advice? I was thinking about throwing pullups in there on Wed 5 sets till exhaustion. What do you think?

BTW the 1x20 deads arent as wuss as they sound, my god they are mother fucking tough

 

[casualbb]

BTW the 1x20 deads arent as wuss as they sound, my god they are mother fucking tough

Dude, I believe you! Hell, 15 reps of SLDL just about kills me.

In reponse to your question, 20 reps isn't that great for either strength OR hypertrophy. I think what might work a little better would be to do lower reps, say 5-8 and not to failure. My reasoning being that low-ish reps seems to work best for strength building. Also, when doing so many reps, one's form can degrade if you're not 100% vigilant, which can be dangerous.

-casualbb

 

[bignate73]

i agree, dip down into the lower numbers from time to time so you can work a bit heavier.

but yeah, 20 rep deads are no joke. i do mine til my grip dies, rest about 15 seconds and go for some more, rest, and finish it off. usually get about 15 with 225. that finishes me off.

 

[jerkbox]

i might add pullups to hit the lats...just a suggestion.

 

[Debaser]

I think you'd overtrain on that. You're doing squats twice and deads twice in only a 5 day span. Squats also work your lower back, so you're frying your lower back with power movements every other day--not enough time to recover. I'd do something more like this, it's a routine by John Christy that would work on your back a lot without overtraining (at least it didn't overtrain me). If you want you could do 1 x 20 instead of 2 x 5. Personally I prefer higher reps for squats (20), and lowish reps for deads (4-8). Somewhere in between for stiff leggeds (8-12). This routine is good for preventing injury too, with the core strengthening accessory work like the back extension and side bends. I would add in an L-fly there as well however.

Monday
1. Crunch: 1 x 10
2. Squat: 2 x 5
3. Stiff-legged deadlift: 1 x 10
4. Bench press: 2 x 5
5. Dumbbell rowing: 2 x 5
6. Barbell static grip: 1 x 60 seconds

Thursday
1. Side bend: 1 x 10
2. Deadlift: 2 x 5
3. Press: 2 x 5
4. Standing barbell curl: 2 x 5
5. Standing calf raise: 1 x 10
6. Back extension: 1 x 10

 

[DrBones]

Yea.. your back routine definitely needs some work...
My back routine consists of the following..

Tuesdays
5x5 rack deadlifts (bar below the knee)
3x6-10 Wide Grip Pull ups
2x7-10 Bent over rows

My leg day is on Friday so I have plenty of time to recover...

This routine has definitely added a lot of beef to my spinal erectors and where there used to be absolutely no lats... now rest a couple slabs of beef...

 

[Debaser]

I understand peoples' devotion to 5x5, however...

Deadlifts I believe should be trained to the utmost of ones capacity, and if you're doing 5 sets you just can't do that...

I did a set of rack deads yesterday, and ended up getting 10 reps out of weight I thought I would only pull up 6-7. I was making so much noise that half the gym stopped in their exercises and were looking at me

afterwards I was drenched in sweat, dizzy and felt like throwing up (thankfully I didn't though it wouldn't be the first time).

Do another FOUR SETS? I would be in a wheelchair today.