How to call a string with the correct form: the final guide

Here's how Barbell Row with the right shape:
- Stand with your middle under the bar (middle position)
- Bend over and take the bar (palm down, middle grip)
- Unlock your knees, keeping your hips high
- Raise the chest and straighten your back
- Pull the bar to the bottom chest
Return the bar to the floor. Inhale Straighten your back, sigh, hold it. Then make your next rap. Barbell Row five sets of five each StrongLifts 5 × 5 workouts A.
Barbell's strings are a complete body, a complex exercise. They work on the upper back, lower back, hips and arms. They build a stronger, muscular back and larger biceps. The Barbell Rows are one of the most effective relief exercises you can do to increase your squats, benches, and traction.
To avoid back pain, keep your back neutral. Do not let this round, or you will compress the spinal discs. Do not hold the panel in the air between repetitions or back. Put the bar on the floor between repetitions. Set your lower back to neutral before Barbell Row becomes the next rep.
Barbel's lines are easy to fool. You can lift heavy weights using your hips. But your upper back should do most of the work. If your torso rises too far from the horizontal, the weight is too heavy. Lower it to work on the upper back, not the hips. Barbell's strings are not thrust.
This is the definitive guide to correct form on Barbell Row.
Introduction
How to draw a row

Barbella's string begins with a bar on the floor. And the bar returns to the floor at each representative. You do not hold the panel in the air between repetitions (this is Yates Rows). You pull off the floor so you can neutralize the lower back, inhale and use the thigh muscles. The correct form on the rows of Barbell is similar to Deadlifts: each rep starts and ends on the floor. Here's how Barbell Row with the right shape in five easy steps …
- Go to the bar. Stand with your middle under the bar. Do not touch it with your shins. Middle position, toes indicate.
- Take the bar. Use an average capture width. Narrow than on the bench, wider than on the rods. Keep the bar low in your hands.
- Unlock your knees. Keep your hips higher than Deadlift. Bend your knees, but hold them so that the bar does not hit them.
- Raise the chest. Straighten your back. Do not move the bar. Do not drop the hips. Do not squeeze the shoulder blades together.
- Line. Take a big sigh, hold it and pull the barbell against the lower chest. Lead with elbows and pull them to the ceiling.
You can lift your torso at the top to lift heavy weights. But your Barbel series cannot turn into Deadlifts. If your torso rises more than 15 ° above the parallel, the weight is too heavy. You reduce the range of motion to make it easier. It’s like squatting on squats. Your upper back works less, which turns Barbell's strings into an ineffective strength and muscle builder. Lower the weight to save the torso.
Row Barbell Row 101

Your build determines how your Barbell Row shape should look like for maximum efficiency. People with shorter arms usually grab the barbell than people with long arms like me. Don't imitate the Barbell Row technique for someone else, unless you both have the same assembly. Follow these general Barbell Road rules and then tune them when you get the experience …
- The path of the bar. Vertical line from your middle leg to the bottom chest
- Barbell On the floor, above your middle leg, at the beginning of each representative.
- Stance. Medium, wider than on drafts, but narrower than on squats
- Legs. Whole foot on the floor, turn your fingers 30 ° to the side
- Knees. Unlocked, pushed back and pushed to the side so that the bar does not hit them.
- Lever. Full capture. Both palms are looking at you. The bar is low in your hands. Squeeze the bar
- Capture width Average, narrower than on the bench, wider than on the rods
- WristsKeep them straight to avoid pain in the wrist, use full grip and squeeze the bar
- elbows, Block your elbows down, pull them to the ceiling and behind the torso
- chest, Lift it down before pulling the weight to avoid rounding back
- shoulders, In front of the bar downstairs, when viewed from the side, let them hang
- shoulder blades, Above the bar and your middle foot down, squeeze them up above
- HeadNeutral, embedded with the rest of the spine. Do not look up, do not look at legs
- torso, Horizontally with the floor below, lift it up, but not more than 15 °
- Lower back. Neutral, natural arch, as when you are standing. No rounding or excessive arc
- Thighs, Higher than Deadlift, not too low or the bar will fall on your knees and lower legs
- Tune. Bar over the middle of the legs, shoulder blades over the bar, high hips, knees bent, rear neutral
- Breath. Take a deep breath down, hold it up, exhale / inhale below
- Forward. Pull your elbows to the ceiling, hold your knees back, lift your torso 15 ° max.
- Upper. Bar against lower chest, elbows behind the body, body slightly above the horizontal
- Between repetitions. Bar on the floor, do not bounce, rest, drag on, pull again
- Descent Lower the bar quickly, but under control, keep your knees back
Muscles worked
Barbola bar works mainly muscles that you do not see. When you are standing in front of a mirror in the morning, the first thing you see is chest, arms, and abs. That is why most people focus on these muscles, ignoring their backs and legs. It also leads to unbalanced, funny physical manifestations. A big chest without a back is strange. Train Barbell Builds so that you look great even when you turn around. You will work with these muscles:
- Upper back. You have to pull the shoulder blades up at the top to get the bar to the chest. It works with your widest back muscle, which gives you a v-shape: your armor ((latisimus dorsi). It also works with your traps, back shoulders and all the small muscles of the upper back.
- Lower back. Your lower spine should remain neutral when you Barbell Row avoid disc injuries. Gravity is trying to bend your back by pulling the bar down. Resistance to this force strengthens the muscles along the spine: your erectors. They protect the spine from injury.
- Abs. Your ab muscles support your lower back to maintain spinal neutrality when you use Barbell Row. It strengthens the "six packs" muscles that run through your stomach, rectus abdominis. Strengthening the muscles increases its mass. And if you eat right, it becomes visible.
- Thighs. Your hamstrings and muscles work when you lift your torso to make the barbell move from the floor. But they also work to keep the lower back neutral. The Barbell Rows strengthen your thigh muscles using dynamic and static contractions (with and without movement).
- Weapon Your forearm muscles work to keep the bar in your hands when you are Barbell Row. Your biceps works to bend the elbow and lift weight. Your triceps works to lift the upper arm behind the torso (a long head attached to the shoulder blade).
Barbell's strings are more than exercises in Latin. You don't have to hit your back on all sides, like a bodybuilder with miscarriages, pullovers, shrugs, back raises, hyper extensions, etc. It takes too much time. It does not strengthen your body as one part. And it keeps weight low by isolating your muscles. Barbell's rows and thrusts are more effective for strengthening strength and muscle mass. They train the entire back with heavier weights.
Lower security

Barbella strings will strengthen your back if you use the correct form. But they will hurt your lower back if you make them with a bad shape. Not Barbell Row from the lower back rounded. Do not bend it without hyper-lengthening your lower spine. Both compress the spinal discs and can cause lower back injuries, such as herniated intervertebral discs. Keep your lower back neutral. Barbell Row with a natural arch, as when you are standing, and you will be safe.
What about “shear force”? Keeping the torso horizontal while you, Barbell Row, apply force in opposite directions on your spine. On one side there is an upward force, downwards – on the other. This power of shear is why people will tell you to lift your torso and make Yates Rows instead. Their thinking is that the shear force during the Barbell series can cause a vertical slip of your spinal discs. Bad lower back injury …
But anyone who makes Barbell's heavy lines doesn't know how much your disks ever slide. Your trunk muscles contract when you barbell row. This cut blocks the spine. He protects him from the shift. If your trunk muscles are not strong enough to hold your spine in position, your back will bend. Rounding the lower back during the rows is bad, you should not do that. But the fact is that the slip of your disks does not occur.
In fact, in Anatomy without a scalpel Dr. Lon Kilgore Phd wrote that spinal discs of corpses require 336 pounds of pressure. People worried about the shear force are unlikely to make Barbell Row heavy. But let's say you can. There will be more pressure for your discs. Because you can compress the muscles of the body to protect your spine more. A corpse cannot because he is dead.
Stress got a bad reputation. Nowadays, it is customary to avoid “stressful” situations. That is why so many people are weak. What you do not use, you lose. The strength of the shift is part of everyday life and sport. You bend over with high hips at some point, for example, when you pick something up. And you are more likely to suffer a lower back injury if you spend your life trying to save your spine instead of strengthening it so that it can cope with the shift.
The best way to protect your back from injury is to strengthen the muscles that support it. And practice maintaining a neutral lower back when you rise from the floor. Dumbbell rows, flipped rows, machine rows and bullets do not train it. These exercises work on the upper back, but not on the lower back. Do only thrust and rod. And if you make them with the proper shape, you will create a strong and healthy lower back.
Rod Row Video
Here is a video where you can see me Barbell Row with the proper form as part of a 5-8th level StrongLifts workout. I also answer general questions about Barbell Row at the same time. Watch from 22:40 for tips on Barbell Row.
Here's a video about Tom doing Barbella's lines in StrongLifts 5 × 5. His lower back remains neutral. His torso rises above, but remains fairly horizontal to the floor. His elbows come taller than his body when the bar touches his chest. His head remains neutral.
Barbell Row Technique
position
Average rack. Barbell Row with your heels is wider than on Deadlifts, but narrower than on Squats. The exact position depends on your grip (more on this below). The narrower your grip, the narrower your position should be so that your legs do not push your hands when you are Barbell Row. The wider your grip, the wider your position. Your heels should be wider than your hips, but narrower than your shoulders.
legs

Bar over the middle of the foot. Adjust with the help of a bar above your middle leg, like, for example, with Deadlift. This is your balance. The most effective way to barbell weight from floor to chest is the vertical line above this equilibrium point. If the strip starts over your forefoot, it will pull you forward and off balance. Or he will move to your middle of the legs and hit you on the knees. If the bar is too close to your lower leg, it will clear your lower leg.
Feet on the floor. Your whole leg should stay on the floor when you are Barbel Row. You have a better balance on your whole foot than on your toes or heels. The best balance – the best control over the bar and the best equipment. This improves efficiency, so you can give Barbell Row more weight. Do not let your heels come off the floor, or you will fall forward. Do not lift your toes. Keep your toes, heels and forefoot on the floor.
Fingers at 30 °. Point your toes in the same direction as your knees. Your knees should be pointing to the side when you are barbell row. They can not point forward, or you click on the panel. Extend your knees so that they do not leave the bar. Point your fingers up to ease this. You will stop hitting your knees and shins with the help of the bar when you are barbell row, especially if you have long hips like me.
Lever

Full capture. Wrap your thumbs around the bar. You can squeeze the bar harder when using full grip. The harder you squeeze the bar, the less it can move in your hands. Tightening the bar also squeezes the arms and shoulders. It uses more muscles. This makes it easier to work with Barbell Row. Endless grip can help you “feel” the exercise better. But this is not effective for heavy barbella strings.
Double overhand. Grasp the bar with both palms facing you (promentioned). Do not grab his palms (raised). Barbell Strings with palms up working your biceps more. But he does this by putting his wrists and elbows in an uncomfortable position. You can easily get pain in your wrist and elbow, especially if you grab a strip like on a bench, but palms up. Grasp the bar, as on the rods, with both palms down.
Hold low. Grasp the bar next to your fingers, on top of the main corns. Do not hold it in the middle of your palm. The skin of your hands will fold between the strap and your fingers. It hurts and you get more corns that can tear. Keep the bar lower in your hands, next to your fingers. Squeeze the rod so that it cannot move. This grip may feel weaker than holding the rod in the middle of your palm. Give him time, you will not return.
The tapes are good. You are a Barbell Row with a mixed clutch, because in front of one palm it will irritate the wrist and elbow. Your hands should be pointing down. This means that if the weight is too heavy to grip, your only options are chalk, belts or a hook. Few of us will weigh Barbell Row, heavy enough to need it. But if you do, use straps only on your heavy sets. Make your lightweight sets without creating grip strength.
Grip width

Average capture. Barbell Row with your grip already than on the bench, but wider than Deadlift. Grabbing the bar is wider, as when you bench-press makes weight easier for Barbell Row. A wide grip reduces the range of motion by tilting the arms. But it also lowers your torso and can put it below the horizontal on the floor. If you have short arms, a wide grip may result in your lower back curving when you are Barbell Row.
Narrow hold if your backs. Если ваша нижняя часть спины округляет, сузите захват, когда вы будете Барбелл-Роу. Это придаст вашим рукам больше вертикали к полу. Он поднимает ваш торс и удерживает его горизонтально на полу. Вес будет сложнее для Barbell Row, потому что диапазон движения больше. Но ваша спина будет более безопасной. Ограничьте свою позицию, чтобы ваши ноги не толкали руки, когда вы тянете вес с пола.
Запястья

Прямые запястья. Держите свои запястья прямо, когда вы Barbell Row. Оберните большие пальцы вокруг стержня, используя полный захват. Сожмите его, пока ваши костяшки не станут белыми. Зафиксируйте запястья на месте, чтобы у вас была прямая линия от локтей до запястий до бара. Не позволяйте запястья наклоняться назад, или они будут больны. Если ваши запястья изгибаются, ваша хватка свободна. Если это не так, вес слишком тяжелый, и вы обманываете, делая строки T-rex.
Нет строк T-Rex. Один подлый способ обмануть Барбелл-Роуд – это сгинуть запястья вверху. Вместо того, чтобы использовать мышцы спины, чтобы выровнять вес к груди, вы используете свои запястья. Вы отгибаете их сверху, чтобы получить последние несколько см / дюймов диапазона движения, которые не могут получить мышцы спины. Это обман (и делает вас похожим на T-rex). Опустите вес и держите запястья прямо, пока они не пострадают.
elbows

Закрыто в нижней части. Изгиб локтей внизу сокращает диапазон движения. Он опускает ваш туловище и может вызвать округление задней части спины. Он также создает вредные привычки для тяги, где запуск каждого представителя с заблокированными локтями имеет решающее значение для предотвращения травм бицепса. Выпрямите руки перед тем, как вы нажмете на Барбель. Локти не будут болеть, пока вы не увеличите их. Ваша спина будет в более безопасном положении.
За твоим торсом на вершине. Прикоснитесь к груди с помощью бара, потянув локти за торс наверху. Соберите видеомагнитофон самостоятельно, чтобы проверить свою форму. Если ваши локти не отстают от вашего торса, вес слишком тяжелый. Не сгибайте запястья назад, чтобы принести планку к груди. Не бросайте сундук, чтобы встретить бар. Оба обманывают. Опустите вес, чтобы вы могли вытянуть локти за ваш туловище.
Потяните с локтями. Строки Барбелла не являются обратными завитками. Вес тяжелее, и ваши руки недостаточно сильны, чтобы поднять его в одиночку. Вы должны использовать свои сильные мышцы спины. Не пытайтесь скрутить вес. Установка с прямыми локтями. Возьмите провисание из бара, потянув его, пока он не коснется верхней части отверстий в пластине. Поднимите планку, сгибая локти и приводя их к потолку. Они должны заканчиваться за твоим торсом наверху.
Закрой локти. Держите локти на 75 ° вверху, например, когда вы скамьей. Точный угол будет зависеть от вашей сборки, угла наклона, захвата и т. Д. Но ваши локти не могут быть перпендикулярны вашему торсу. Это перемещает планку над вашей передней частью стопы и забалансом. Локти не могут касаться вашего туловища, потому что это слишком близко к вашим ногам (вы ударите их). Переместите планку над своей серединой ноги, засунув локти.
торс

Горизонтальный. Настройка для строк Барбелла с горизонтальным положением туловища с полом. Вы должны видеть прямую линию от головы до бедер со стороны. Эта линия должна быть параллельна полу. Если ваши бедра ниже груди, вы слишком сильно сгибаете ноги. Выпрямите колени, чтобы поднять бедра. Если у вас сундук ниже ваших бедер, ваши локти согнуты, или ваш захват слишком широк. Исправьте его, чтобы поставить туловище горизонтально.
Поднять 15 ° Макс. Ваш торс может подняться, когда вы будете Barbell Row. Это облегчает подъем веса, задействуя мышцы бедра. Вы можете выровнять тяжелые веса, если вы сдвинете планку с пола, открыв бедра. Ваш туловище будет расти, когда вы это сделаете. Пока он не поднимается выше горизонтально на 15 °, ваши бедра не будут занимать слишком много работы от мышц верхней части спины. Но вы будете работать с ними более тяжелыми весами.
Нет 45 ° Обратные углы! Поднять ваш торс на 45 ° выше горизонтали – это обман. Он превращает ваши ряды стволов в Deadlifts, используя слишком много бедер. Это облегчает подъем веса, снимая работу с верхней части спины. Ваши бедра могут помочь вам сдвинуть планку с пола. Но они не могут выполнять всю работу. Если вы не можете удерживать туловище от поднятия более чем на 15 ° выше горизонтали, вес слишком тяжелый. Опустите его, чтобы вы работали с верхней частью спины.
Не будьте пуристом. Вы не можете обмануть свои ряды Барбелла, подняв туловище на 45 °. Но вы не можете пытаться быть строгим, сохраняя его горизонтальным на каждом представителе. Это все равно не работает. Ваш торс всегда будет подниматься, когда вы попадете в сундук с баром наверху. Единственный способ сохранить горизонтальность – это придерживаться легкого веса. Но легкие веса не укрепляют верхнюю часть спины. Не будь пуристом. Пусть ваш торс поднимается. Просто ограничьте его до 15 °.
Нижняя часть

Нижний Нейтральный. Самый безопасный путь к Барбелл-Роу с нейтральной спиной. Это не означает плоскую заднюю часть. У вас должна быть естественная арка в нижней части спины, когда вы стоите. Но вы не должны перегибать его или не допускать этого. Оба сжимают спинномозговые диски и могут вызывать травмы нижней части спины, такие как грыжа межпозвоночных дисков. Установите нижнюю спину нейтральной, прежде чем Barbell Row весит с пола. Держите его нейтральным во время подъема.
Поднимите свой сундук. Самый простой способ удержать поясницу от округления – это поднять грудь. Установите для строк Барбеля и откройте свой сундук, подняв его на потолок. Это выпрямит верхнюю часть спины, а нижняя часть спины последует за ней. Если вы сделаете это правильно, у вас будет прямая линия от головы до бедер. Сожмите латы (подмышки), чтобы зафиксировать сундук на месте. Затем сделайте большой вздох и ряд.
Колени
Разблокирована. Настройка для строк Барбелла с согнутыми коленями. Ваши ноги должны быть почти прямыми, прямыми, чем на тягах, с высокими бедрами. Но ваш коленный сустав должен быть разблокирован. Чем больше вы согните ноги, тем легче добраться до бара и схватить его. Чем меньше вы согните ноги, тем больше ваши колени остаются в стороне, и тем меньше вероятность, что вы ударите их баром. Разблокируйте колени, но держите ноги как можно ровнее.
Выходит. Не Барбелл-Роу с вашими коленями вперед, или вы ударите их с помощью бара. Держите колени в стороне, отталкивая их в сторону, как когда вы приседаете. Вы не можете сделать это, если ваши ноги направлены вперед. Настройте пальцами на 30 °. Затем подтолкните колени в том же направлении, что и ваши пальцы, когда вы будете Barbell Row. Бар будет подниматься без попадания на колени. Особенно, если у тебя длинные бедра, как я.
Не обманывайте себя с колени. Не расправляйте свои согнутые колени, чтобы штанга двигалась с пола. Вы можете использовать мышцы тазобедренного сустава. И какое-то движение колена неизбежно, когда вы более тяжелые весы Barbell Row. Но ваша верхняя часть спины должна выполнять большую часть работы. Если ваши колени выпрямляются, когда стержень покидает пол, а затем перестраивается внизу, чтобы опустить грудь, вес слишком тяжелый. Опустите вес и сделайте это правильно.
Бедра

Высокие бедра. Настройка для строк Барбелла с высокими бедрами. Они должны быть выше, чем на тяги. Точная высота зависит от вашей сборки и того, насколько вы согнете колени. Но ваш торс должен быть горизонтальным к полу, поэтому ваши мышцы верхней части спины выполняют большую часть работы. И ваши ноги должны быть почти прямыми, чтобы держать колени назад и в стороне от бара. Разблокируйте колени, сохраняя высокие бедра.
Без низких бедер. Сгибание на бедрах с помощью прямых ног может быть сложным, если вам не хватает гибкости. Возможно, вам придется согнуть колени больше, чтобы добраться до бара. Но имейте в виду, что ваши коленки продвигаются вперед. Вы, скорее всего, ударите их баром, особенно если у вас есть длинные бедра, как у меня. Постарайтесь сохранить свои бедра так высоко, насколько позволяет ваша гибкость. Это улучшится, поскольку вы продолжаете делать строки Барбелла.
Не читай с бедрами. Вы можете использовать мышцы тазобедренного сустава для более тяжелых весов Barbell Row. Вы можете открыть их, чтобы получить бар более легко от пола. Но ваш туловище не может подняться выше 15 ° выше горизонтали. Если это так, вес слишком тяжелый. Ваша верхняя часть спины должна выполнять большую часть работы, а не ваши бедра. Это строки Барбелла, а не тяги. Используйте бедра. Но не обманывайте. Опустите вес, если ваш туловище поднимается слишком далеко от горизонтали.
chest
Поднимите свой сундук. У вашей нижней части спины меньше шансов округлить, если вы Барбелл-Роу с грудью. При настройке поднимите сундук к потолку. НЕ сжимайте плечевые лопасти внизу. Сожмите латы (подмышки) вместо того, чтобы зафиксировать сундук на месте. Ваш сундук упадет между повторениями. Поднимите его еще раз, прежде чем делать следующий повтор. Вот почему вы должны Barbell Row каждого представителя с пола: вы можете использовать лучшую форму.
Хит ваш сундук. Вытяните планку с пола на нижнюю сундук. Точная позиция зависит от вашей конструкции, захвата и угла наклона. Но вы должны перемещать планку вертикально, потому что это самый эффективный способ для Барбелл-Роу. И бар должен начинаться над вашей серединой, потому что это ваш баланс. Если он движется по кривой, вы слишком сильно или слишком низко стучите в грудь. Или бар не находится над вашей серединой стопы внизу.
Не держите его на вершине. Вам не нужно держать планку против вашего торса наверху. Вам не нужно сжимать лопатки и верхнюю часть спины, чтобы «чувствовать» ваши мышцы лучше. Просто вытащите планку с пола быстро и ударитесь о нижнюю сундук. Если вы сделаете это правильно, ваши локти закончится за вашим торсом наверху. Это означает, что ваша верхняя часть спины делала свою работу с Барбель Роу весом от пола.
shoulders
В передней части бара. Настройка для строк Barbell с вашими плечами перед баром. Это держит ваш туловище горизонтальным, бедра высоко и колени назад. Настройка с помощью плеч над планкой не работает. Ваши бедра заканчиваются слишком далеко назад, что плохо сбалансировано. Или ваши колени слишком согнуты и на пути к бару. Ваши плечи должны быть перед баром, как при Deadlift. Но ваши бедра должны быть выше, чтобы ваш торс оставался горизонтальным.
Голова

Головка Inline с торсом. Не смотрите, когда вы Барбель Роу. Это сжимает спинные диски на шее и может повредить его. Не смотрите на свои ноги, или ваша спина будет круглая. Держите голову в ряд с остальной частью позвоночника. Со стороны вы должны иметь прямую линию от головы до бедер. Если это странно, продолжайте практиковать и быть терпеливым. Вы привыкнете к этому и оправитесь, не повредив шею.
Избегайте зеркал для проверки формы. Это неэффективно и вызывает плохую форму. Вы не можете видеть свою спину, если вы Barbell Row перед зеркалами. И вам нужно посмотреть, что перечеркнуло вашу шею / спину и может нанести им вред. Хуже того, Барбелл Роу в стороне от зеркал и поверните голову, чтобы проверить вашу форму. Это крутит вашу шею и может повредить ее. Видеозапись самостоятельно, чтобы проверить вашу форму. Поверните зеркало, чтобы избежать плохой формы.
Путь вверх

Потяните с локтями. Установка с прямыми руками и запертыми локтями. Затем вытащите планку с пола, потянув локти к потолку. Продолжайте тянуть, пока они не вернутся за ваш торс наверху. Не пытайтесь Барбел Роу вес, просто сгибая руки. Они недостаточно сильны, чтобы скручивать вес. Используйте свои сильные мышцы спины, ведущие к локтям. Потяните их назад и за торс.
Используйте свои бедра. Открывайте бедро, когда бар выходит из пола. Используйте свои сильные мышцы бедра, чтобы получить импульс внизу. Ваши колени не должны двигаться, только ваши бедра. Если вы сделаете это правильно, ваш торс будет подниматься выше горизонтали. Затем он останется там, пока ваши локти снова вернутся, чтобы завершить движение. Не будьте строгими, сохраняя горизонтальный туловище. Используйте свои бедра, чтобы вы могли более тяжелые веса.
Хит ваш нижний сундук. Точная позиция зависит от вашей сборки и формы. Но бар должен двигаться вертикально над вашей средней ногой, пока ваш торс остается горизонтальным. Нападение на верхнюю часть груди обычно слишком велико. Это означает, что бар начал слишком далеко вперед, а ваши локти слишком далеко. Это может вывести вас из равновесия. Бар для живота обычно означает, что вы слишком сильно поднимаете свой туловище. Это снимает работу с мышц верхней части спины.
Поднимите свой торс на 15 ° Макс. Вы должны поднять свой туловище, когда вы будете Barbell Row. Это позволяет вам поднимать тяжелые веса, задействуя ваши более сильные мышцы бедра. Но ваш туловище не должен подниматься выше горизонтально на 15 °. Если это так, вы делаете свои бедра, а не спине. Вы поворачиваете свои ряды штанги в тяги. Если вы не можете поднять вес, не поднимая торс более чем на 15 °, он слишком тяжелый. Опустите вес.
Спуск
Нижняя панель быстро. Верните планку на пол после того, как она ударит по груди. Он должен опускаться быстрее, чем он поднимался. Не опускайте его медленно, чтобы больше чувствовать мышцы. Вы утомляете их за то, что важно для Барбелл-Строков (например, на тяготах). Это не значит, что вы должны сбросить планку. Вы должны держать его. Но опустите его быстро. Barbell Row на резиновых матах, чтобы уменьшить шум пластин, попавших на пол.
breathing
Вдохните внизу. Сделайте большой вздох, держите его и сверните. Это увеличивает давление в вашем туловище, защищает нижнюю часть спины и удерживает грудь. Ваше кровяное давление будет увеличиваться, когда вы задерживаете дыхание. Но когда ваш набор закончен, он вернется в нормальное состояние. И более сильные мышцы, которые вы создаете, делая тяжелые ряды Барбелла, уменьшат ваше кровяное давление. Они налагают меньше внимания на ваше сердце. Большое дыхание, держите его, сверкайте.
Держите свое дыхание на вершине. Не выдыхайте по пути вверх или вверху ваших рядов Barbell. Вы не хотите терять устойчивость туловища, вокруг своей нижней части спины и страдать травмой позвоночника. Задержите дыхание, пока вес не вернется на пол. Если вам хочется пропустить, вы слишком долго ждёте внизу. Затянитесь, вздохните и взбейте вес. Не ждите времени, когда вы вдыхаете воздух.
Между представителями

Weight on The Floor. The plates must touch the floor at the start of every rep you Barbell Row. Pull the weight from the floor against your lower chest, then return it to the floor. Don’t hold the bar in the air between reps. Your lower back will tire, can round and you’ll Barbell Row less weight. Return the bar to the floor like when you Deadlift. Use the short rest between reps to set your lower back neutral, raise your chest and breath.
Don’t Bounce. Barbell Row dead weight from a dead stop. Lower the bar to the floor. Pause for a second. Set you lower back neutral, get tight and breathe. Then row the weight to your lower chest. Don’t bounce the weight off the floor. Your muscles must lift the weight, not the rebound off the plates. Barbell Row dead weight like when you Deadlift. This will be harder. But you’ll build a stronger, more muscular upper-back.
Общие вопросы
Lower Back Pain

Bad form is the main cause of back pain on Barbell Rows. Your lower back must stay neutral. Keep the natural arch in your lower back like when you stand. Rounding your lower back is bad because it squeezes your spinal discs from the front. Excess arching of your lower back is also bad. It squeezes your spinal discs as well but from the back. The safest way to Barbell Row is with a neutral lower back.
To stop lower back rounding, raise your chest. Lift your chest towards the ceiling when you setup for Barbell Rows. Don’t squeeze your shoulder-blades yet. Squeeze your lats (armpits) instead to lock your chest in position. Take a big breath and pull the bar to your chest. Return the weight to the floor and raise your chest for the next rep. Don’t keep the bar in the air between reps. Your lower back will tire and can round as a result.
If your lower back rounds despite raising your chest, arch harder. Pull your lower back to the ceiling to get that natural arch. This will be hard. You may feel it pull in the back of your legs (hamstrings). Do your best. If your back still rounds, raise the bar. Use big plates of 45cm/17″ diameter so you bend over less. If you only have small plates (or aren’t strong enough yet), raise the bar by putting plates flat under the weight.
Some people get back pain because they arch too much when they Barbell Row. This squeezes your spinal discs in the opposite direction than when you round your back. Hyper-extending your lower back is bad. Stay neutral by keeping your head neutral and squeezing your abs. Tense them as if you were going to be punched in the stomach. A belt can cue you to squeeze your abs by giving them something to push against.
Belts provide your lower back extra support. They help you lift more weight. But they don’t protect against bad form. Rounding your back increases the risk of injury with or without belt. The injury can be worse with belt because of the heavier weights it allows you to lift. Don’t Barbell Row with a belt to make up for bad form. Don’t mask the pain with painkillers either. Always focus on lifting with proper form.
Most people can fix lower back pain by improving their form. If you hurt your lower back and can’t Barbell Row, you can substitute it while your back recovers. Just don’t expect bad form to improve without practicing Barbell Rows. You can do Inverted Rows or Dumbbell Rows meanwhile. They don’t train your lower back. But that’s also why they’re less effective for building strength and muscle. They train less muscles.
Hitting The Knees
The bar will hit your knees if you put it too close to your shins. The proper way to setup for Barbell Rows is with the bar over your mid-foot. This is your balance point. Moving the bar over your mid-foot is the shortest way up, the most effective way to Barbell Row and stops the bar from hitting your shins. Setup with the bar over the middle of your foot. If it touches your shins when you stand in front it or bend over, you’re too close.
The bar will also hit your knees if your hips are too low. The lower your hips, the more your legs are bent and the more your knees and shins come forward. This gives the bar no other way than to hit your shins and knees on the way up when you Barbell Row. Raise your hips. Raise them higher than when you Squat and Deadlift. Your legs should be almost straight with your knees unlocked and your torso horizontal.
Long thigh bones like mine put your knees more forward and in the way of the bar. You can artificially shorten your thigh bone by pushing your knees out when you Barbell Row. Don’t let your knees hang forward. Push them to the side like when you Squat. Setup with your toes turned out about 30° to make it easier to push your knees out. This will make your feet and knees point in the same direction.
Мошенничество

Cheating is tempting when the weight is too heavy to Barbell Row with proper form. If you can’t get the bar to your chest, the normal thing to do is count it as a failed rep. You repeat the weight, maybe deload, and work your way back up. This is what you do on Squats. You don’t turn them into half Squats when the weight is too heavy to go all the way down. But Barbell Rows are easier to cheat, in all kinds of sneaky ways.
Raising your torso more than 15° is the first way to cheat. This is lifting the weight using your hips instead of upper-back. It also shortens the range of motion: the bar touches your body lower, at your belly. This turns your Barbell Rows into a Deadlift-Shrug hybrid that works your hips and traps more than your upper-back. Your torso doesn’t have to stay horizontal. But if it rises more than 15°, the weight is too heavy.
Dropping your chest is the second way to cheat. Instead of pulling the bar all the way up to your chest, you finish the rep by dropping your chest to touch the bar. This shortens the distance the bar moves. And it takes work away from your upper-back muscles in the hardest part of the range of motion. Your torso can raise 15° when the bar leaves the floor. But its angle must remain constant after that until the bar hits your chest.
Using your knees is the third way to cheat. You start with bent knees and high hips. But you pull the weight off the floor by straightening your legs. And you then quickly rebend your knees to drop your torso. The former is like Squatting the weight. The latter shortens the range of motion. Both take work away from your upper-back. Your knees should be bent. But if they move when you Barbell Row, the weight is too heavy.
Example: this guy Barbell Rows 135kg/295lb using great form overall but with some cheating. He rebends his knees to lift the weight. He also drops his chest to finish each rep. Now he Deadlifts 272kg/600lb so I’m sure he knows what he’s doing. Cheating has benefits for advanced lifters, you can use heavier weights to break plateaus. But most people shouldn’t cheat because it’s a slippery slope that builds bad habits and can cause injury.
How much cheating is too much? Purists say only your arms should move. Ego lifters say anything counts as long as you hit your chest. I say your torso can rise but not more than 15°. This is the issue with Barbell Rows: some are stricter than others which makes comparing hard (not that you should do that…). That’s why they’re an assistance exercise, and why people rarely care about how much you Barbell Row.
What matters is consistent Barbell Row technique. Don’t raise your torso higher each StrongLifts 5×5 workout so you can keep adding weight. If you can Barbell Row twice the weight 12 weeks later, but your torso is now 45°, did you get stronger? No. You shortened the range of motion and used more hips. That’s like turning Squat into half Squats: fake strength and half the gains. Use consistent form and consider deviations fails.
Barbell Row Variations
Pendlay Rows
Coach Glenn Pendlay was first to recommend Barbell Rows with a horizontal torso and the bar returning to the floor on each rep. He wrote about it online more than a decade ago which is how I discovered this technique. Some called this a “Pendlay Row” to differentiate from the Barbell Row form bodybuilders usually use. But as Glenn Pendlay said, all Barbell Rows should be Pendlay Rows because it’s more effective.
The difference between Pendlay Rows and the Barbell Row you typically see in gyms is that the bar starts on the floor on each rep. You don’t keep the bar in the air between reps. Your torso doesn’t rise 45° either. It stays close to horizontal with the floor. This makes the Pendlay Row a more explosive exercise. And it works your upper-back, lats and lower back muscles harder than bodybuilding-style Barbell Rows.
The Barbell Row form described in this guide you’re reading is therefore a Pendlay Row. It’s the form I use and recommend on StrongLifts 5×5. Your torso should never rise more than 15° but stay close to horizontal with the floor. And the bar must start and return to the floor on each rep, like on Deadlifts. This is safer for your lower back because you can set it neutral between reps when the bar is on the floor.
Here’s video from coach Glenn Pendlay showing how to Pendlay Row with proper form. Notice the bar starts on the floor on each rep, unlike with bodybuilding-style Barbell Rows. The torso stays horizontal to the floor and doesn’t rise more than 15°. Lower back and head stay neutral, straight line from hips to head. Chest stays up while the elbows go back and behind the torso at the top.
Yates Rows
Yates Rows are Barbell Rows with an upright torso and underhand grip. The weight hangs in the air and doesn’t return to the floor until your set is over. Your torso is 45° incline instead of horizontal. The bar touches your body lower, on you belly. Your grip is narrower with your elbows close to your body. Most people do Yates Rows because that’s what all the bodybuilding magazines and websites teach.
Yates Rows are named after the bodybuilding champion Dorian Yates. He won the Mr Olympia 5x and was known for his back development. Dorian Yates used Yates Rows to emphasize his “lower lats” (more on that in a second). He stopped doing Yates Rows with an underhand grip after tearing his left biceps. Here’s a video of Dorian Yates showing how to do Yates Rows. He uses a normal grip instead of the reverse grip…
I don’t recommend Yates Rows. Dorian Yates was an amazing bodybuilder. I remember watching his training videos when I started lifting, what an intensity! But Dorian Yates has admitted using steroids for 12 years. He gets my respect, I wish more people were honest about that. Because what worked for him won’t for people training naturally like us. We’ll get better results with Barbell Rows than Yates Rows. Here’s why…
Targeting the “lower lats” is a waste of time. Ваш lattissimus dorsi is one muscle that runs from your arm to your lower back. How low it attaches to your spine depends on your genetics. Backs with high lats look smaller just like high calves like mine look smaller. Yates Rows can’t change your lat attachments. Yates Rows can’t turn tendons into muscle. The only thing you can do is increase the size of your lat muscles as a whole.
The best way to train your lats is with heavy Deadlifts and Barbell Rows. Deadlifts force you to keep the bar close using your lats. Barbell Rows force you to lift the weight using your lats. Strengthening your lats increases their muscle size. It gives you a v-shape because your lats are your broadest back muscle. Your genetics determine the final shape of your back. But combined with a healthy self-esteem, you’ll be happy with the result.
Yates Rows are indeed easier than Barbell Rows. The underhand grip on Yates Rows uses more biceps. This makes Yates Rows easier for the same reason Chinups are easier than Pullups. More muscles working is more strength. But few wrists and elbows can handle an underhand grip on Yates Rows. They’ll usually hurt, especially if you grip too wide and lack flexibility. Dorian Yates stopped rowing underhand after tearing his biceps.
Yates Rows are also easier because the range of motion is shorter. Your torso is incline and the bar touches your belly. On Barbell Rows the bar starts on the floor and your torso is horizontal. You must move the bar over double the distance to hit you chest. Barbell Rows use more muscles and strengthen them over a longer range of motion. That’s why they’re harder but also more effective to gain strength and muscle mass.
Barbell Rows are a more natural movement than Yates Rows. Barbell Rows are similar to rowing on a boat. Your torso stays perpendicular while you row the resistance to you. Your torso moves slightly back and forth to add momentum. This helps your upper-back and arms row the weight. You wouldn’t row a boat by keeping your torso incline like on Yates Rows. You row like on Barbell Rows because it’s more effective.
You can’t use your hip muscles on Yates Rows. Your back starts incline and remains incline for the duration of the set. Your upper-back and arms have to lift the weight alone. With Barbell Rows each rep starts on the floor. You can open your hips to get the bar moving. This helps your upper-back and arms handle heavier weights. And as long as your torso doesn’t rise more than 15°, it won’t take work away from these muscles.
Yates Rows are stressful on your lower back. Your torso stays incline the whole set. Your lower back must stay neutral to avoid compression of your spinal discs. If your trunk muscles get tired mid-set, your spine will bend. This can cause injury. Barbell Rows are safer because each rep starts on the floor. Your lower back gets a break between reps. And you can set it neutral and tight to avoid lower back rounding on your next rep.
Barbell Rows are safer and more effective. Don’t do Yates Rows. Do Barbell Rows.
T-Bar Rows
T-Bar Rows are Barbell Rows done on a T-Bar machine. You setup on foot stands with the bar between your legs. The bar is fixed on one end and has a T-shaped handle on the other end. You grip the handle and row it to your chest. Some T-Bar machines have chest support to rest on. You can also do T-Bar rows without machine by putting the bar in a corner. Pull the other end to your chest using a v-handle.
Most people do T-Bar Rows like Yates Rows. Their torso rises 45° on each rep. Or it stays incline during the whole set. Raising your torso 45° takes work away from your upper-back by using more hips. Keeping your torso incline stresses your lower back and may cause Injury. It’s safer and more effective to T-Bar Row like you Barbell Row: horizontal torso at the bottom, 15° max at the top, bar on the floor between reps.
T-Bar Rows are easier than Barbell Rows because the range of motion is shorter. Unless you have long handles, the bar will hit your chest before your elbows go all the way back. Your upper-back and arms can’t get a full contraction at the top. The range of motion is even shorter if you do T-Bar Rows with an incline torso. This is like doing half Squats instead of full Squats. More weight but half the work and half the gains.
Barbell Rows are easier to setup than T-Bar Rows. You don’t need a machine. You don’t need a v-handle. You don’t need to block one end of the bar to prevent it from tilting over. You control where the bar goes which leads to a safer and more effective bar path (straight vertical). There’s no good reason to do T-Bar Rows instead of Barbell Rows. Barbell Rows are simpler and more effective. Stick with Barbell Rows.
Machine Rows
Machine Rows are Barbell Rows using a machine. You sit upright on a bench with your chest against a vertical support and row the weight to you. Or you lie incline on a T-Bar machine with chest support while rowing the weight. Or you raise the bench you use for the Bench Press and pull the bar from underneath you to your chest. Machine Rows emphasize your upper-back and arm muscles.
Machine Rows work less muscles than Barbell Rows. Your lower back, hips and legs do nothing. You don’t have to balance the weight, the machine does it. You don’t have to balance yourself, you’re sitting. With Barbell Rows, your lower back and abs must keep your spine neutral. Your hips and legs must keep you balanced. Barbell Rows work more muscles. That’s why they’re more effective for gaining strength and muscle.
Machine Rows only make sense if some lower back injury prevents you from doing Barbell Rows (but Inverted Rows are better, see below). If your lower back is fine, do Barbell Rows. You want to strengthen your back, not keep it weak. If you hate Barbell Rows and can’t figure how to do it right, do more Barbell Rows. Practice is how you fix bad form and how your least favorite exercise often turns into your most favorite.
Dumbbell Rows

Dumbbell Rows are a single-arm Barbell Row using dumbbells. The usual way to do them is on a bench. Put your left knee and left hand on the far ends. Your torso should be horizontal with the floor like when you Barbell Row with proper form. Grab the dumbbell in your right hand and row it to your chest. I prefer to rest the dumbbell on the floor between reps. But some people keep the dumbbell in the air like with Yates Rows.
Dumbbell Rows emphasize your upper-back like Machine Rows do. The range of motion is longer, you get a bigger stretch at the bottom. But your hips, lower back and ab muscles don’t have to balance you and the weight like on Barbell Rows. Dumbbell Rows can help you train around a lower back injury. But for gaining overall strength and muscle, Barbell Rows are more effective because they work more muscles with more weight.
Progressing is also harder with Dumbbells. You have to add weight each workout to get results with StrongLifts 5×5. Small increments work longer than big ones. But dumbbells usually go up by 2kg/5lb. Few gyms have dumbbells with smaller increments or adjustable ones. You have to add 4kg/10lb each workout instead of 2.5kg/5lb or less with Barbell Rows. You’ll plateau faster on StrongLifts 5×5 if you use dumbbells.
Inverted Rows

Inverted Rows are horizontal Pullups. Lie with your back on the floor in the Power Rack. Grab the bar, raise your butt and straighten your torso. You should hang from your arms with only your heels touching the floor. Now pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar. Pull with your elbows so you use your upper-back and arms, not your legs. Unlike Pullups, Inverted Rows train horizontal rowing (the opposite of Bench Press).
Most people aren’t strong enough to do Inverted Rows with proper form the first time. Don’t be surprised if you can’t touch the bar with your chest without cheating with your legs. Inverted Rows force you to lift your body-weight, like Pullups do. They’re easier than Pullups because your torso is more incline (some call them “Fatman Pullups“). But they’re harder than Barbell Rows where you can start with lighter weights.
Progression is also harder with Inverted Rows. You start out by trying to get more reps each workout. Once you can do sets of ten reps, you elevate your feet to shift your center or gravity and make it harder. When that gets easy, you add weight using an x-vest or loaded rucksack or chains. All of this works. But it’s more complicated and time-consuming than Barbell Rows where you just add weight on the bar.
Inverted Rows are like Dumbbell Rows: they don’t train your lower back, hips and legs. They only train your upper-back and arms muscles. Inverted Rows can be a helpful temporary substitution exercise if some lower back injury prevents you from doing Barbell Rows. But it also makes them less effective for gaining overall strength and muscle. Barbell Rows use more muscles, with heavier weights. This is always better.
Barbell Row vs Power Cleans
Barbell Rows are safer than Power Cleans. Many people injure their wrists, elbows and shoulders doing Power Cleans because they lack flexibility. Power Cleans require more time and effort (and often a coach) to master proper form. Barbell Rows are easier to learn and build your upper-body muscles more than Power Cleans do. Many gyms lack the equipment to drop the bar safely on Power Cleans.
Power Cleans can be useful for athletes who must be explosive for sports. But you can develop power faster and more easily by increasing your Squat and Deadlift. Power Cleans are fun if you’ve spent the time and effort to learn proper form. But if you just want to get stronger and build muscle, Barbell Rows are better. That’s why Barbell Rows are part of StrongLifts 5×5.
Barbell Rows Are Safer Than Power Cleans
Power Cleans consist of pulling the bar from the floor on your shoulders. The top position is like a Front Squat with horizontal upper-arms. But you need flexible wrists to keep your elbows high. If your wrists are tight, they’ll carry the bar and bend under the weight. The bar will stretch and hurt your wrists and elbows. The weight of the bar can also hurt your shoulders if you have existing issues like shoulder impingement.
You don’t need flexible wrists and healthy shoulders to do Barbell Rows safely with proper form. Your hips must be flexible to keep your lower back neutral while you bend over and row the weight. But you can easily fix that by raising the bar. Load it with big plates of 45cm/17″ diameter. Or put plates flat on the floor under the weight. You’ll bend over less and need less flexibility. Power Cleans don’t have such quick fixes.
Lower back injuries are less likely on Barbell Rows. The movement is slower. This makes it easier to lift with proper form. Power Cleans are faster. Many people pull the bar to their shoulders by doing a reverse curl and leaning back. This squeezes your spinal discs and can injure them. You can do Barbell Rows wrong too and hurt your back by rounding it. But Barbell Rows are easier to do right because they’re slower.
Barbell Rows are safer to fail than Power Cleans. If you can’t lift the weight, you just lower the bar back to the floor. If you fail to rack the weight on your shoulders with Power Cleans, you’ll have to drop the bar. It will drop from a higher position than with Barbell Rows. It will make more noise, especially if you Power Clean without bumper plates or platform. And the bar can hit your arms and legs on the way down which will hurt.
Power Cleans are safe if you’re flexible, use proper form and have the right equipment. You can work on improving your flexibility. You can spend time and effort mastering proper form. And you can buy bumper plates or build a platform to drop the bar. Or you can just Barbell Row. They need less flexibility, are easier to learn and require the same equipment you use to Deadlift. Barbell Rows are safer for most people.
Proper Form on Barbell Rows Is Easier Than Power Cleans
Barbell Rows are a slower movement than Power Cleans. You can’t Power Clean slow. You have to be explosive. But the faster you lift, the harder to control the bar and your body. The more your form can breakdown and cause injury. The Barbell Row is also a shorter movement. The bar moves half the distance. Less things can go wrong. Barbell Rows look less intimidating and complicated than Power cleans, and they are.
Many people say you need a coach to learn how to Power clean. This is true if you want to become an Olympic Weightlifter. It’s false if you just want to get stronger. All it takes is stretching, videotaping yourself, watching videos, comparing your form against them and tons of practice. That’s how I did it. Most people don’t have time for that though. They want results fast. Barbell Rows give faster results because they’re easier to learn.
Don’t do Power Cleans if you’re new to lifting weights. Learn to Squat, Deadlift and Barbell Row with proper form first. These movements are slower and easier to learn. They’ll teach you to move your hips properly and keep your lower back neutral. After three to six months, when you can Squat 100kg/220lb and Deadlift 140kg/300lb, you can try Power Cleans. Build a foundation of strength and technique first.
Most Gyms Don’t Have Equipment for Power Cleans
Power Cleans require you to drop the bar from your shoulders to the floor on each rep. You can’t do this with regular iron plates. It breaks the bar, the plates and the floor. It makes a ton of noise and will piss off your gym manager. You need bumper plates made of rubber to absorb the shock when you drop the bar. But few gyms have bumper plates because they cost 50% more and take more space (they’re thicker).
The only way to Power Clean without bumper plates is to drop the bar on your thighs. Drop the bar from your shoulders to your mid-thighs while doing a quarter Squat. Keep your hands on the bar to slow it down. Your legs will absorb the weight. Now lower the bar to the floor like on the way down of Deadlifts. This is how people used to Power Clean before they invented bumper plates. I’ve done it and it works.
But it hurts. Heavy weight will bruise your thighs on every rep. I Power Cleaned without bumper plates for months. The bruises on my thighs I could take. But not how lowering heavy weight stretched my biceps and lower back on each rep. There were no bumper plates for sale in Belgium at that time. I had to ship them internationally which was crazy expensive. So I quit doing Power Cleans after reaching 100kg.
Most gyms won’t allow you to Power Clean because it breaks the equipment and makes too much noise. You can drop the bar on your thighs but it will hurt once the weighs are heavier. You can stay away from failure but that limits your progress. You also switch to a gym with bumper plates or buy your own and build a home gym. Or you can just do Barbell Rows using the equipment you use already use on Deadlifts.
Barbell Rows Build More Upper-Body Muscle
Power Cleans are mostly a hip movement. The bottom is like a Deadlift. Your knees and hips straighten to lift the bar and create momentum. The top is like a Front Squat with your shoulders catching the bar in a Quarter Squat like position. Your traps shrug under the weight while your lats keep the bar close. But your arms don’t curl the weight but just hang on the bar. Your legs do most of the work.
Barbell Rows work your upper-body mostly. Your lats, traps, rear shoulders and the rest of your upper-back pull you shoulder-blades back to lift the bar to your chest. Your arms work to bend your elbows behind your torso. You can use your hips to get the bar more easily off the floor and lift more weight. But your torso shouldn’t rise more than 15°. Your upper-body does most of the work on Barbell Rows.
StrongLifts 5×5 with Power Cleans instead of Barbell Rows makes the program imbalanced. It adds more exercises for your lower body. It can turn you into a frog with big legs but small arms. Here’s a quick comparison of the weekly volume your body gets with Power Cleans vs Barbell Rows:
- StrongLifts 5×5 with Barbell Rows: 80-85 reps for lower body (Squat, Deadlift). 100-125 reps for your upper-body (Bench, Press, Row).
- StrongLifts 5×5 with Power Cleans: 110-130 reps for lower body (Squat, Deadlift, Power Clean), 75 reps for upper-body (Bench, Press).
StrongLifts 5×5 with Power Cleans is 50% less volume for your upper-body each month. Big difference. And you lose the biceps work you get from Barbell Rows (by bending your elbows back on each rep). Unless you don’t care about bigger arms, you’ll have to add Barbell Rows or Chinups on top of Power Cleans to work your arms. But this increases how much time you spend in the gym. It’s simpler to just stick with Barbell Rows.
There Are Easier Ways To Build Explosiveness
Power Cleans build explosiveness. They develop the ability to generate force fast. In physics, Power is how much work you can do in a given time (P=W/t). You’ve done work if you applied force to the bar and it moved (Work = Force x Distance). You can move that bar slow or fast. If we both Deadlift 200kg, we’re equally strong. But if it took you ten seconds to lift but me only two, I have more power.
You must be strong and fast to be successful at sports. You need the strength to apply force against opponents. Think of grappling in martial arts or pushing someone away in football. Stronger is better. But you need to generate that force quickly. You need to be fast. You can’t do a Power Clean slow. The only way to pull the bar on you shoulders is if you’re fast. That’s how Power Cleans develop power for sports.
But increasing your strength increases power too. Remember, Power is Work / Time. Double your Squat and you increase how much work you do in the same amount of time. You’re therefore more powerful. It’s a myth that lifting weights make you slow for sports. You don’t become “muscle bound” if you get stronger. And a quick look at basic high school physics shows why. More strength is more power.
The other way to increase power is to decrease the amount of time it takes you to do the work (again, Power = Work / Time). But it’s much harder to decrease the Time part of the Power equation. In The Sports Gene, David Epstein wrote reaction times are around 200ms whether you’re a pro athlete or average person. The bottom limit is 150ms. You can double your strength. But you can’t halve your reaction time.
The simplest and fastest way to build explosiveness for sports is therefore to get stronger. Double your Squat from 60kg/135lb to 140kg/300lb and you’ll be stronger and faster at the same time. Practice your sport so you can apply the strength and power you’ve built with Squats, Deadlifts and Barbell Rows. You’ll be a more explosive and competitive athlete despite never doing Power Cleans or plyometrics like box jumps.
Power Cleans Won’t Increase Your Deadlifts
Some people Power Clean to increase their Deadlifts. There are oldschool no-Deadlift programs which claim you can increase your Deadlift by not Deadlifting. The thinking is that Deadlifts overtrain the lower back. You should therefore avoid it and do Power Cleans and Goodmornings instead. Power Cleans build power from the floor. Goodmornings strengthen your lower back. Put together, your Deadlift magically increases…
But it doesn’t work. The best way to increase your Deadlift is to Deadlift. Just like the best way to get better at playing guitar is by playing guitar. You don’t get better at guitar by playing violin. It doesn’t matter if they’re both string instruments, they’re not the same. Yes, Deadlifts and Power Cleans are both barbell exercises. They both involve pulling weight off the floor. They look alike. But they’re not the same movements.
Specificity is key to getting stronger. To get good at something, you must practice it. Technique on Deadlifts is different than on Power Cleans. The movement is shorter and the weight is heavier. Strong Deadlifters always have great technique because that increases efficiency. The only way to improve your Deadlift technique is to practice Deadlifting. It won’t improve if you never Deadlift but Power Clean instead.
No Power Cleans Then?
Of course not. If you’re interested in Olympic lifting, Power Cleans are a great introduction. Power Cleans are also the only way to get the bar from the floor to your shoulders on the Overhead Press if you have no Power Rack. And Power Cleans are fun if you know how to do them right. But the learning curve is bigger, you need bumpers and you can get stronger without Power Cleans. Most people should just Barbell Row.