Not built for t-bar rows?

[Sonnenschein]

Hi Cathe,

I'm wondering if there is anything comparable I can substitute for the t-bar rows in PS BBA. At first I wasn't feeling much back work with them and they made my knees hurt. Then I searched the forum for help and tried the holding the bar in a towel sling to increase the range of motion--that helped with both of the previous problems and I was really starting to like the exercise, but then last time I did them something suddenly went wrong in my lower back and I was stiff and sore for three days--not good! Now I'm afraid to try them again. Any form pointers or substitutes would be appreciated. Thanks! --Karen

 

[Aquajock]

RE: I'm not Cathe but . . .

. . . my $.02 suggestion:

Maybe substitute quarter dead rows for T-Bar Rows? I do sets in a palms-down, then a palms-up position with the hands barely shoulder-width apart, and I feel it a ton in my back; plus I have to brace my core muscles and my glutes, hams and quads a lot just to keep from falling over.

Just a suggestion -

annette

 

[RBurke]

You know...I just had the same problem yesterday. I just can't get comfortable with the exercise. If I get the weight heavy enough to feel like I am working, my lower back hurts and I can't keep the other end of the bar on the floor. It slides and moves. The exercise just isn't getting it for me. I think a good exercise to replace it would be to sit on your bench and bend over doing flies with dumbells to work that part of your back. Really squeeze the shoulder blades together. Do you know which exercise I am talking about? I have a hard time with correct names for them. It's like a reverse chest fly for your back. I am so excited because my husband said that our gym finally got a pull up assistance machine. I've never been able to do even one pull up so with he assistance machine I can at least do some pull ups provided the machine helps me a little. I am going to try and replace the exercise next time I do the PS back tape. I doing a PS rotation right now. I hadn't done the tapes in a while and had forgotten how much fun they are. They seem to go really fast too because I had been doing the Slow and Heavy Series. Good Luck.

 

[SteppingFool]

Do you, by any chance, using a 5' barbell? I have Troy Lite, and usually found that the barbell is a little too short for T-Bar rows. I subsitute it by holding one heavy dumbell (usually 30-40 lbs -- my husband's) with each hand cupping the ends of the dumbell. I like that better.

Haslina

 

[SammyB]

The suggestions listed so far are great so I thought i'd add a bit about T-bar rows since I used to have problems too.

I'd say a 5' barbell is very important--it would hurt to do them with a shorter barbell. The best thing I did was wrap a towel around the end of the barbell with no weights on it and put it against a wall. If it wasn't against the wall i was stressing my body in inappropriate ways to keep it from sliding. Once I was sure it was going no where I could get in position more easily. I usually stop the video to position myself too. Otherwise it can bug my lower back.

So try a long barbell against a wall and see if that helps if you still want to try t-bar rows.

 

[Beets]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Apr-12-02 AT 06:45PM (Est)[/font][p]An exercise you can use to substitute for T-bar rows would be a bent over row with a dumbell. Stand sideways to a bench or chair, support yourself by placing one knee and the same side hand onto the bench/chair. Hold the dumbell by your side, keep the elbow close to the body and lift the dumbell as high as you can. Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together throughout the lifting and lowering movement. I Hope this description makes sense--so hard to describe exercise form in words sometimes!

 

[Sonnenschein]

Thanks so much—you guys are terrific! I love working back so I may end up using all of these. A couple questions for some of you--

Annette—I know dead rows and dead lifts, but what are quarter dead rows?

RBurke—I’ve been meaning to get back to doing those reverse flys, thanks for the reminder. Hope you enjoy that pull up assistance machine. I like the one at our gym but I rarely get there, mostly just work out at home. But when I did use it, I was really shocked at how much assistance I needed—Almost half my body weight!

SammyB—Do you ever put weights back on the barbell or just continue using it like a bodybar? I like the against the wall idea. I had been messing with this contraption I made out of two nonskid pads and a brick to try to hold the end of the bar in place. Sometimes obvious things like walls seem to escape my notice

I really appreciate your help! --Karen

 

[SammyB]

Karen,

I keep 1/2 the weight I have on the top of the barbell on the bottom. I have a 15lb barbell to which I usually add 20lbs up top and I keep a 10lb plate on the bottom to act as an anchor.

Your contraption made me laugh. I came up with the wall idea when my barbell slid right up next to the wall while I was trying to work out. I just use a small pillowcase wrapped around the end of the barbell and it doesn't scratch or dent the wall. If you have hardwood floors this will be a little more tricky, but I'm sure you could rig it up with a mat or something.

I think the most important thing (aside from getting against the wall) is to position yourself perfectly before starting. I just try to pay attention to where the barbell in relation to Cathe (the plates usually come right up to the sternum area) and copy her form. I don't like pausing the PS tape to get ready, but I feel so much better after i get into position correctly before starting instead of rushing and just doing the reps wherever I end up.

Glad the ideas help--I've gotten so much off these message boards that I'm glad I can give back a little.

Ginger (sammyb)

 

[SammyB]

Oh, by the way, when I said "around the bar with the end with no weights on it" in my initial post, I was talking about the end of the bar at the floor. I see why you thought I was talking about using it with no weights as a bodybar. It's hard to describe this stuff in words!