back exercises

Hi, it might seem stupid, but is it okay to include pull-ups and horizontal rows in the same workout or should they be used in separate routines, and if yes, how much of each in proportion to each other? Thanks.

I combine them in the same workout in nearly equal proportions all the time.

I cannot work them at the same time. If I want to work my back hard then my biceps won’t be able to keep up. So I work lats one day and the rest of my upper back another day. I do that same with my pushing exersices - chest one day, shoulders another.
Loke

It depends. You could separate them or combine them in the same workout. I’ve done both. Sometimes I do equal amounts of each and other times I do more rowing to make up for any imbalances that have occurred from doing more vertical pulling over the years. So check yourself for imbalances. You may need to do more rowing than pulling.

Do them both. Pull-ups help give you a good lat spread, where as the row is made to give you lat density. Keep them in equal porportion unless you have a weak point and you need to adjust your training accodringly.

It absolutely is okay to combine pull-up(vertical pulling/scapula depression) and rows(horizontal pulling/scapula retraction) in the same workout. You would want to spend most of your time prioritizing whichever function you are weakest in to address your imbalance. This, for most people, turns out to be horizontal pulling due to our ego’s causing us to emphasise chest training(horizontal flexion) so much, especially early on in our training life. It is a completely valid option to alternate between periods of training all of the back in a single workout with a phase wherein you separate the two planes of pulling across two workouts, possibly altarnating sets with a pushing exercise: pairing agonists and antagonists. ie. pull-ups paired with seated military press; barbell rows paired with bench presses. Check out a recent Heavy Metal of Ian’s for an explanation of this, or if you haven’t already, definitely get ahold of his GET BUFFED! book, easily the single best book on strength training and bodybuilding currently available. Good Luck.

My training consists of the performing only one type of pulling exercise at a time… however, I perform 3 full-body training sessions per week. In each workout I perform 5 sets of 5 reps of 1 squat-type exercise 1 pull exercise and push exercise. Different exercises are used each day of the week unless I am trying to emphaisize a particular movement. In which case I will use two exercises in 1 week rather than three and train the movement I am emphasizing on both Monday and Friday. For instance, if I felt the need to emphasize bent rows, I would train it on Monday and Friday, but on Wednsday I would use a differnt pulling exercise (i.e., pullups or upright rows). That being said, I don’t think there is anything wrong with performing two pulling motions in the same day since most trainees probably train in a more traditional bodybuilding or powerlifting split. Just realize that whichever exercise you put first will get more emphasis since you will be fresher.

you want good back developement, do 3 sets of rows and 3 sets of pullups after you have done a deadlift routine ie. 3 sets bent leg 3 sets straight leg. don’t worry about your biceps. Use as heavy weight as possible for you to get at least 6 reps with good form and negatives. laters pk