Underdeveloped back and lower body

[kyleb]

Bodyweight exercises and your apartment gym will be a good start, but nothing's going to replace a power rack.

[Ponies]

do pull ups and bent over rows with good form

[N 82 50 24]

By bent over row do you mean just lean over with some dumbbells and pull them up? What sort of alignment should the dumbbell be in?

FWIW, my upper back is so weak I can only do a few unassisted pull ups. Maybe like 4 at most. But I can do 10+ chip ups. Is this standard or is it another example of my imbalance?

Also, w/r/t to the pullups, should I go for a wide grip? It seems like that would most effective for my goals here.

[Blarg]

Wide grip pull-ups are now said to be too much of a strain on the shoulders for the value they provide.

[shemp]

It is common to have more chins than pullups because you recruit more delt and bicep in the chin. The difference will largely go away as your numbers go up, but it will persist in low rep weighted pulls/chins. 4 & 10 is a good start, don't sell yourself short.

I don't have any opinions on grip width. I use all kinds of grips myself, but don't tend to vary width much.

[N 82 50 24]

I'm by no means weak or out of shape. I can bench my weight 8x w/o too much trouble, etc, etc. So I wouldn't expect my numbers to be too bad. It's just that some parts of my body are in MUCH better shape than others.

With regards to deadlifts, I've been trying them in the gym with dumbbells. I feel a ton of strain in my upper legs, but not so much in my upper back. Is just pulling on the weight going to do it for me? FWIW, I'm doing it like this: http://www.criticalbench.com/exercis...l-deadlift.htm

[Subfallen]

You could always do thruster tabatas with the dumbbells. I think anyone who could get a 12-score with 75lb dumbbells would be a monster.

[408w8lifter]

[ QUOTE ]
i have the apartment gym problem too......

question: my dumbells only go up to 50lb, so to deadlift i just put 2 50s together and since it is pretty easy i do it like sets of 15x3 to make it challenging. is there anything wrong with this?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes you cannot deadlift properly without a barbell. Dumbell deads are useless for your back but you can work your hamstrings doing them...

[408w8lifter]

[ QUOTE ]
Wide grip pull-ups are now said to be too much of a strain on the shoulders for the value they provide.

[/ QUOTE ]

Totall [censored] this is probably because so many lifters do them improperly.

[408w8lifter]

[ QUOTE ]
I've never *really* lifted for size. I mainly just lift to burn some calories and try to get a little muscle mass to help burn more calories around the clock. Obviously also for looks. But what's kinda happened to me is I've overdeveloped my muscles like biceps, triceps, chest, etc. I have decent pecs/arm circumference and I'm not obese or anything (6'0", 205). But I have a terrible looking
back/lower back area. I also have fairly nondescript legs. I think I need to work these areas much harder as I would like my back/lower body to catch up to my front upper body.

This is what I'm working with at my apt's gym (it's actually very nice, not like most apt complex gyms), which is kinda small.

1) Dumbbells up to 75 lb
2) Incline bench
3) Standard array of cybex machines: curl, tricep, leg extension, leg press, shoulder press, chest press, lateral pulldown
4) Assisted pull up/dip machine
5) Unassisted dip/ab thingy
6) A bunch of treadmills, ellipticals, stair master, etc

There's no squat or bench press or anything in that realm.

My typical lifting workout consists of something like:

1) 50 lb dumbbell curls (one in each arm, one at a time) or 40 lb dumbbell curls (one in each arm, at the same time) -- I have trouble holding onto them for too long because of hand cramps, so I usually don't do more than about 8-10
2) 75 lb dumbbell press. These usually aren't too hard, I kinda wish the gym had bigger ones.
3) 12-14/20 on the lateral pulldown going behind my head.
4) 20 lb dumbbell shoulder raise thingys (like swing your arms out wide snow angel style, but don't go too far above shoulder level)
5) Shoulder press machine, around 8/(15?)
6) Unassisted dips, usually around 10 before my hands turn purple ... which is too bad because 10 isn't usually too hard

That's about it -- I do two to three sets of each exercise. I do sometimes mix in things like dumbbell flys on the bench or maybe a tricep extension while laying down on the bench, but not all of the time.

So, I know my workout sucks. I know my gym isn't great. I could join one as they aren't *too* far away and it isn't a money issue. The issue is that it's just so easy to get to my apt gym that I never skip going because I don't feel like dealing with getting there (I usually skip going for some other dumb reason like work or hanging out with friends). But I do make it there a fair amount -- 2-3x a week. I plan on bumping it up to 4-5x a week to try to make this happen AFAP while doing it the right way. So if I can, I'm going to keep going to this gym.

Here's what I think I should add:

1) Dumbbell rows w/ one knee on the bench
2) Push ups
3) Crunches
4) Lunges
5) Leg press machine
6) Ab raises on the unassisted dip/ab thing

Also, I'm considering getting one of those doorway pull up contraptions (not a bar, like a set of pipes that uses your body's weight to hold you up).

In closing, I'm looking for advice on how to proceed. I'm a very driven person and I will work hard to fix this issue with my fitness -- I lost 50 lbs this year and I'm trying to fix what losing weight didn't address.

Any suggestions outside of joining a gym and getting a personal trainer?

(FWIW, I'm taking pictures along the way. Once I have some good changes I'll post em here in H&F)

[/ QUOTE ]

Ordinarily I would pick a post like this apart as either you are lying or using bad form, but rather than do that I'll just give you a couple tips. For back, since all you really want to do is add a little size, you just want to work your lats a bit. With the limited equipment you have pulldowns are fine follow them with dumbell pullovers and one arm dumbell rows. For legs just do squats lunges will do nothing but give you a nice ass. They are usually one of the main leg exercises in womens training articles...I recommend you go pick up a barbell somewhere and some weights. These can be had on craigslist for cheap, or any sporting good store. I am sure noone will steal it. If you do pick one up you have a ton more options, deadlifts and barbell squats will be in your range.