27 APR: back and conditioning

Straightforward, nothing fancy, nothing planned.  Just a lot of pulling.
  1. Push - Pull superset
    a. T-bar row:  45 x 12, 12; 70 x 10, 10; 85 x 10, 10; 95 x 10
    b. Puhsup:              10, 10;         10, 10;         10, 10;         10
  2. Archer's row*: 40 x 5/5, 5/5, 5/5; 47 x 7/7, 5/5, 5/5; 53 x 5/5, 4/4, 4/4
  3. Kettlebell snatch: 35 x 10/10; 10/10; 10/10
  4. Kettlebell curl ladders: 25 x 1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,1,2,3,1,2,3
Archer's Row:  I've found this exercies to be a tremendous benefit for my grip, core, and back strength.  I call it the archer's row because I use a stance, grip, and angle of pull identical to my longbow.  I've been shooting my longbow for about a month now, and can tell my back strength is way above what it was 10 years ago (when I was shooting regularly).

Using the adjustable cable stack, I raise the pulley to shoulder height.  The handle is made of 1/2inch webbing, and I slide the roller handle out of the way and grab the webbing loop directly with my finger tips, identical to my archery grip.  I then do rows using only the tips of my middle three fingers.

I can tell my right hand is much stronger than my left, since I only shoot right handed, but balance is always a benefit, so I do Archer rows with my left as well.

What is interesting is that pulling a 63# bow is easier than a 50# weight, because I use my left arm to brace the bow.  With a weight stack, my left arm is out, as if holding a bow, but is free floating.  I have the full load on one arm - the abdominal support needed to do this is tremendous.

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