Patriot Health Digest
Author, fitness model, and trainer, Kirk Charles knows that while you age, your life may get harder. However, that should not keep you from staying fit. He will answer the training questions that sometimes come with age. This will help you stay Fit Beyond 40.
Lifting objects that are heavy may be a challenge, even more so as a person gets older. Strength is not only for the gym, adding strength exercises to their training routine can really help men who work with heavy loads during their everyday life. The landmine row is a helpful move. This particular variation should help give your grip strength a boost and strengthen your back, too.
To begin, you will need a landmine anchor, a barbell, and a strong hand towel. If a landmine is not available, you will need to place the end of one side of the barbell in the corner of a weight rack or the corner of the room, and then put the towel around the end to protect the surface and the barbell. Next put a plate on the opposite side of the barbell, you should start light. Straddle the bar in an athletic position, facing the heavy end of the bar. Put the towel around the barbell, and then hold both sides of the towel using an overhand style grip. This will be your position to start from. Now squeeze your muscles in your back to row the weight up in an explosive manner. Stop for a second when you reach the top, then lower it down to the position you started from, this is considered one rep.
This exercise can be done in real life—you may do movements that are similar and use the same muscles while you pick up objects and hold them at your chest level, like when you are carrying boxes. The more practice you get with this exercise the more you will put yourself in better positions when you are picking things up outside of the gym. Your training becomes more useful any time you discover an exercise that supports a real-life movement.
Your grip is challenged while you hold the towel, which is another great benefit of the landmine row. A sign of overall longevity and strength is grip strength, which is very important as we age.
You can hold it a few seconds longer at the top between each rep to raise the challenge of the landmine row. The squeeze lengthens the time you are under tension, this challenges your muscles even more. Aim for 3 to 4 sets of 8 reps to begin with, you should increase the amount of weight as you progress.
Author: Scott Dowdy
