Welcome to day 35 of our Train Like Frank Zane series. This is the last week of our training program, and today is our final "Pull Day," focusing on back, biceps, and forearms. Throughout the past month, we've tried a lot of different exercise variations so today I'll share my thoughts on the ones I liked and the ones I liked the most. So, let's dive into day 35 and train like Zane!
To kick off our workout, we will start with a classic exercise, the wide grip lat pulldown. I believe there are no great substitutes for this basic old-school staple movement. It really targets the lats effectively, especially the upper lats, just like Frank Zane emphasized. Our goal today is to work the lats from top to bottom, including some movements to target the middle and lower sections.
Between sets, I want to highlight an important aspect that Frank Zane emphasized - stretching. Spending time contracting and shortening the muscles during a workout should be balanced with an equal amount of time lengthening the muscles. This practice of stretching between sets makes a lot of sense to me and is something I will continue to incorporate into my training routine.
Next up is a narrow-grip pulldown with the torso angled back at 45 degrees. This puts the angle of pull halfway between a pulldown and a row, which helps us hit the lats from all angles. Make sure to keep your torso in one spot and resist the temptation to swing the body.
Moving on to the next exercise, we will perform dumbbell rows. This exercise allows us to work the lats from our last angle, targeting both the middle and lower sections. It's crucial to focus on driving the elbows back, rather than pulling the hands "up". This will help to activate the lats and minimize biceps engagement.
Now, let's discuss the benefits of incorporating resistance bands into our workout. By adding bands to exercises like dumbbell rows, we can change the direction of resistance and target the muscles more effectively. This combination of vertical and horizontal resistance creates a unique tension throughout the range of motion, enhancing the contraction and stimulating muscle growth. Bands are a fantastic tool to enhance various exercises and ensure consistent resistance.
After working on our back, it's time to shift our attention to biceps. One of my favorite biceps exercises is the seated straight bar curl. Although straight bars can be tough on the biceps tendon, with the hands overly pronated at the bottom of the movement, by sitting down, and only focusing on the top half of the range of motion (ROM) reduces the risk of injury. This exercise allows for a peak contraction at the top, ensuring a proper focus on biceps development. By eliminating swinging motions and focusing on controlled movements, we can maximize the effectiveness of the exercise.
To complement the seated straight bar curl, we will move on to incline bench dumbbell curls. Performing these curls facedown on an incline bench creates tension at the peak contraction point, providing consistent resistance throughout the exercise. It's important not to go too heavy on these curls to maintain proper form and optimize the squeeze at the top. Remember, the goal is to focus on the biceps and avoid cheating by using momentum.
In conclusion, the Train Like Frank Zane series has been an incredible journey. Throughout this month, I have learned valuable lessons from Frank Zane's training philosophy. Stretching between sets, focusing on different angles, and incorporating resistance bands are just a few of the techniques I will continue to implement in my own training. It's important to adapt and evolve our workouts to achieve optimal results. Thank you for joining me on this fitness adventure, and I hope you have enjoyed the Train Like Zane series as much as I have.
Stay tuned as we finish out our last week of the series, including one more Leg Day and one more Push Day.
-JG
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