Bring Up My Back, Dave

I understand the benefits of training the entire body, but I don’t like training back at all. I never get a good workout, and I have to crush my back heavy to get it to respond. I want to make my lats wider and fuller. Can you give me a suggestion?

A: We all have a weak body part or two that we find difficult to stimulate a response, which can discourage you from pushing through barriers. Thankfully, you don’t always have to thrash your back or other body parts to get results, since there isn’t just one way to build muscle.

First, mix it up. Implement both machines and free weights to engage all muscle fibers to get the most out of your workout. Machine exercises like high-cable lat pulldowns and cable rows are ideal for adding variety to your workout while shaping, pumping and building muscle. Also, using free weights such as dumbbell rows and deadlifts propel the body to use more muscles while stimulating more deeply into muscle tissue, adding both thickness and width to your back.

Here are a few tips to get your back back on track.

• Do shorter, more frequent workouts. Instead of crushing your back once a week in a long, heavy, drawn-out session, hit your back twice a week with less exercises and sets, moderate weights and a faster pace.

• Try supersets and giant sets. Perform four exercises per workout for 3 supersets (after your warm-up). Again, use moderate weight with good form, and keep reps between 10 and 15.

• Implement pyramid sets. That means increasing the weight on each superset.

• Modulate rep speed. On your first few reps, concentrate on keeping your rep speed moderate. On the last couple reps of the set, you can crank them out a little faster.

• Flex the muscles. It is very important to contract the lat muscles hard at the beginning of the movement. When lowering the weight at the end of the movement, stretch the lats out to their fullest.

• Stretch your lats between each superset. This promotes longer muscle-extending fascia tissue and improves muscle growth.

Here is a workout you can do twice a week.

Example Workout
3 supersets of 10–15 reps
• Lat pulldown
• Bent dumbbell row
2 giant sets of 10–15 reps
• Single-arm dumbbell row
• Reverse-grip inner lat pulldown
• Dumbbell deadlift

The Exercises
• Lat pulldowns to the front of the upper chest are primarily for width, but they also hit the outer upper lats, teres areas and rhomboids.
• Bent dumbbell rows are primarily for muscle thickness, while working the center of the back, hitting the lats and erectors.
• Single-arm dumbbell rows target thickness and width, allow for a great stretch to the outer and lower lats, and help to work the teres major and minor, and tie-ins to the rear delts.
• Reverse-grip inner lat pulldowns target the inner lat and intercostals area for depth.
• Dumbbell deadlifts help add thickness to the lower back, hit the erectors to the lower traps, and indirectly work the glutes and hamstrings.

A Break from the Shake

I’m really tired of drinking protein shakes for breakfast. Is there any other way I can obtain a quick protein fix in the morning that actually tastes good?

A: You can always scramble some egg whites and add salsa or other low-calorie topping, but if you really want a great-tasting protein treat, try these easy-to-make high-protein/high-fiber pancakes. This lean-muscle-building meal is perfect any time.

High-Protein/High-Fiber Pancakes
• 1 scoop Dymatize ISO•100 protein (Vanilla Cream or other desired flavor)
• 1 scoop BarnDad’s FiberDX (unflavored)
• 2 tablespoons egg whites
• ½ cup water, skim milk or almond milk
• ¼ cup fresh berries or sliced banana on top, if desired

Mix ingredients together thoroughly in a bowl until you reach a pudding-like consistency. Heat skillet over medium heat, and add nonstick cooking spray. Pour ¼ cup of mixture into skillet. Cook until edges start to dry and bubble, then flip over pancake with a spatula and cook until lightly golden. Want thinner pancakes? Add an additional ¼ cup of skim milk or water to the mixture.

Nutritional Facts (with water and no topping or fruit)
• Calories 160
• Protein 32 g
• Carbs 12 g
• Fiber 11 g
• Net Carbs 1 g
• Fat 1 g

Importance of Gut Health

Is it necessary to take digestive enzymes when trying to gain muscle? If so, what do you recommend?

A: Enzymes are very important. Your nutrition is only as good as what your body allows you to break down and utilize. Many athletes say, “It’s not what you eat, but what you utilize that really counts.”

This is where specialized digestive enzymes such as Aminogen and Carbogen come in. They help your body better utilize the food and sports supplements (i.e., protein powders, bars, RTDs, etc.) already in your diet, so you make better use of muscle-building nutrients.

There are many effective enzymes on the market (e.g., pepsin, papain and papaya), but most just break down your nutrients into muscle energy and do not necessarily support improved muscle recovery.

Here’s why Aminogen and Carbogen are superior digestive enzymes.

• Aminogen is a halal-certified patented enzyme product with extensive clinical data showing that it helps the body to break down food protein, increases nitrogen retention and improves the absorption of amino acids. Clinical studies show that Aminogen increases free amino acids levels by 100%, branched- chain amino acids (BCAAs) by 250% and nitrogen by 32%. This is where it helps you build more muscle mass and improves recovery.

• Carbogen helps the body make better utilization of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the body’s primary energy source, so making better utilization of carbs will increase your energy and workout capacity. Carbogen has been shown to increase endurance during exercise by 143% and decrease lactic acid by 275%.

These effective digestive enzymes can be found in some of the top sports-nutrition products on the market today, so be sure to check labels.