Back Workouts and their Benefits

Building a strong back isn’t easy but the benefits make all the hard work worth it. Strengthening your back will help prevent injuries, allow you to lift more weight during your other lifts, and it will also help reduce the stress that you put your back through during the course of a regular day. By using strength training to build your back strength, you help prevent injury because you are conditioning your back to handle increased levels of strain. Also, by working out your back, you help increase the amount of possible weight you can lift during your other workouts because you use your back to stabilize other lifts such as shoulder press. Lastly, using resistance strength training to build back strength will help reduce the strain you put your body through on daily basis when you twist, flex, rotate, and bend your back. So which back exercises are best? The following list includes some of the essential lifts that should be a part of any strength training workout:

1.      One-Arm Dumbbell Row: This lift helps build strength and thickness in the middle of your back.

2.      Stiff-Legged Deadlift: This lift targets the lower back, and it helps strengthen it to help prevent lower-back pain and injury.

3.      Wide Grip Pulldown: This lift targets the upper back in order to widen it and develop an aesthetically pleasing V-taper.

4.      Reverse-Grip Pulldown: This lift targets the lower part of your Lats to also help widen and achieve a V-taper.

The preceding list is by no means exhaustive. However it illustrates which type of lifts should be performed during a back workout. Or simply, your back workout should have exercises that target every area of your back. For power lifting it is important to lift heavy with a low amount of reps (3-5). 

For a great sports bottle to take with you on your workouts go to:  Unobtainium Strength Water Bottle or copy and paste the following URL into your address bar http://www.cafepress.com/unobtainiumstrength.1733915445

Sneeze Post Highlighting Past Blog Posts

My blog has only been around for a couple of months, but there have already been some very important posts that I would like to highlight. The nature of blogs means that these posts get buried by the new ones that have been recently added. However, some of these early posts are essential reads for people who are new to weight lifting. They are important because they lay the overall foundation for my strength training philosophy and teachings. The three previous blog posts I want to highlight include “Why Strength Train”, “Introduction to Strength Training”, and “Essential Strength Training Exercises that should be a Part of Any Upper Body Workout”.

              Why Strength Train?

This post was originally added to my Blog on Sunday, January 31^st. It highlighted some of the benefits that come from resistance strength training. This post gave eight different reasons for starting to weight lift. To view this post, go to: http://unobtainiumstrength.blogspot.com/2016/01/why-strength-train.html

              Introduction to Strength Training

This post was originally added to my blog on Monday, February 1^st. In this post, I give some important lessons and tips to aid novice weight lifters in their journey to become as strong as possible. This is a great post that takes some of the mystery out of resistance strength training, and I guarantee that you will have productive workouts as long as you follow these tips and suggestions. To view this post, go to: http://unobtainiumstrength.blogspot.com/2016/02/introduction-to-strength-training.html

              Essential Strength Training Exercises that should be a Part of Any Upper Body Workout

This post was originally added to my blog on Saturday, February 20^th. This post highlighted some of the essential exercises that should be included in any upper body workout. It specifically discuses lifts that target the chest and shoulders. To view this post, go to: http://unobtainiumstrength.blogspot.com/2016/02/essential-resistance-strength-training.html

MuscleTech Premium Protein Plus Recommendation

There are many supplements available that can help weight lifters reach their ultimate goals. However, protein powder is the most important one of all. In fact, the recommended protein intake for weight lifters is between .5 grams and .75 grams per pound of body weight. I personally recommend that individuals who are serious about resistance strength training get at least .75 grams of protein per pound of body weight. For example, I currently weigh 233 pounds and I make sure to get roughly 174 grams of protein per day. It is difficult to get this much protein from food and thus I supplement with protein powder.

              I personally use and recommend MuscleTech’s Premium Whey Protein Plus. I typically take one serving in the morning, one serving before my workout, and then an additional two servings after my workout. Since each serving has 20 grams of protein, I am receiving 80 grams of my daily protein needs in a convenient and economical way. Next, I will list the pros and cons of this product

Pros:

• Taste: Both the chocolate and vanilla flavors taste pretty good, especially with milk.

• Cost: A five pound bag costs less than $40.

• Amino Acids: Each serving has 2.5 grams of the following amino acids: leucine, isoleucine, valine, and glutamine.

• Creatine: Each serving also has 2.5 grams of creatine which helps build muscle and aid in enhanced endurance.

•  Sugar: It has a small amount of added sugar (3g).

• Calcium: It has a good amount of calcium (110mg or 11% of your daily needs).

Cons:

•  Calories: It has a lot of calories (140 per serving).

• Cholesterol: It has a lot of cholesterol (55mg per serving or 18% of your daily needs).

• Mixing: It does not mix very well. I recommend using a blender.

Overall, this is a great protein and I plan on using it for as long as I continue to resistance strength train. It helps improve muscle performance, it aids in muscle recovery, it provides essential amino acids, and it tastes great for a powdered protein. MuscleTech Premium Whey Protein Plus can be ordered at: http://www.muscletech.com/products/sams-club/premium-whey-protein-plus/ It can also be found at your local Sam’s Club.


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