We HAVE to do Pull-Ups & Rows to build the back right? Is it actually a myth? A lot of the framework for developing the body and understanding how it's developed usually is from Bodybuilding and Exercise Science. Now Bodybuilding training has its place to an extent (look to the old timers when I mean this) for targeting weak points and as a form of building size and strength, it isn't the Babe Ruth of developing the our bodies.
We have taught that pulling exercises are the only things that build the back. Not necessarily true. Afterall, if you don't do Pull-ups and Rows, you'll develop imbalances and weakness in that area right? Pull-ups are a great exercise and their variations along with rows ranging from weights to bands work really well but it doesn't always have to be conventional to get the back going. Think of people who have incredibly developed backs like those in Yoga, Dance and even Qi Gong. Many of these people don't even do pull-ups almost at all yet some of their development is just jaw dropping, traps and all. How can that be?
Working with weights aren't the only things that stimulate the muscles. Contracting and utilize tension or TUT, you can stimulate the muscles to a great degree. That's where something like Athlete 20XX can come into play, it's another look at how to utilize the mind/muscle connection. Qi Gong is another example that has helped developed muscle whether practicing soft or hard Qi Gong. It has many exercise that hit the upper back and rear delts. Matter of fact, if you pay attention, there can be better developed natural muscle stimulation than from poorly executed weight training movements.
Some Yogis have some bad ass development because of the practice of building that posture from spending a lot of time on the mats. They're structured and controlled. A lot of people take their eye off the ball in the sense where the back muscles are more than used than just to Pull & Row. The big picture of the functioning muscles is the stimulation of the Shoulder Girdle & Stabilization of the Spine. You can build some solid development in the back from doing Push-ups or even Push-ups held in Isometric fashion because it puts a lot of emphasis on the shoulders and spine which also connects to stabilizing the Core Muscles. It may sound contradictory because these are pushing exercises but the principle still applies here.
Animal Style Movements train the back and spine to a really high degree. Think about it, the scapula is in constant motion and your spine is working like crazy in order to stabilize you in various postures or awkward positions. The muscles in the middle back are the (no pun intended) backbone when it comes to being engaged in order to hold the scapula in place or stabilizing as well as needing to move the scapula in different directions.
The low back or in this case the Spinal Erectors are worked big time throughout the Animal Moves as well along with static holds and various postures in Qi Gong. As you can see, you don't need to do a ton of deadlifting, pull-ups or row in order to experience the benefit of a powerful back.
Where the hell is this really going? Am I putting down Pull-ups and such? Fuck no. Pull-ups are awesome in their own right and have variations that work the back like a charm along with bad ass Isometric Holds that help with the weak areas of the exercise, but they're not the king, no matter how much of a hard on some dude has for Pull-ups. I want to give people the opportunity to see how they can develop themselves without always looking to the conventional ways.
Athlete 20XX takes you to different level of understanding the ancient form of the mind/muscle connection and learning the aspects of stabilizing by mastering the mechanics.
Have fun, learn new and exciting ways to train your body and keep being amazingly awesome.
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