Backmaster III: Adjustable Rowing Machine

Primary muscle groups used : lats, upper back, rear deltoids, triceps

The great advantage of the Back Master III, or similar machine is that you can work your lats while resting your lower back. Many who engage in weight training(particularly olympiclifters, powerlifters, and bodybuilders) will at some time experience lower back problems. In my last chapter (see The Importance of Conditioning the Lower Back ) I describe the importance of lower back conditioning. Another cause of lower back injuries is overstress. If the lower back, despite being well-conditioned, is being continuously overworked or overtrained, then, without sufficient rest, it will fatique and result in injury. Let us suppose that you work out hard for two hours three to four times a week, during which continual stress is placed on the lower back. To make matters worse, you work in construction, in which your back is continually belabored. It is not hard to see that, being continually stressed, the lower back will fatigue, resulting in injury. This is why I want to stress the importance of cycling the exercises in your training, so that, during this portion of your workout, the lower back is given a rest. For example, instead of doing cable rows or bent over rows, temporarily substitute rows done on the Back Master III or similiar rowing machine. This cycling principle can be applied to all other muscle groups in which the lower back is called into play. The moral? Workout HARD, rest the lower back SMART.

Tony Dolezel