Diary of a Hinge Row

June 14, 2014: Just got Foundation, let's test where we are.  Hinge Rows, eh?  Look easy enough.  I can do pullups, so I'll probably breeze through these.

Reps: 15, 10, 8, 2

"Okay, give me a month to build endurance and I've got this."

End of June: Holy crap my grip is sore.

End of July: Failed 4x12.

End of August: Failed 4x12.  Again.  Vent on the forum.

End of September: Redid 2nd cycle, build endurance.  Grip isn't so sore anymore.

Beginning of October: Did 4x12!  I'm so close to mastery!

End of October: Failed 4x15.  By a lot.  Biceps feel twice as big as normal.

End of November: Failed 4x15.

End of December: HINGE ROWS ARE STUPID!  WHAT A DUMB EXERCISE!  I CAN DO FULL PULL UPS; WHY CAN'T I DO THESE?!?  And I live in Canada and I can only do these outside and it's -30 and I have to wear a parka which adds 25lbs and I'LL NEVER DO THIS EXERCISE AGAIN!

End of January: Got sick.  Wonderful.  Redo 2nd cycle to rebuild endurance.  Again.

End of February: Alright, Hinge Rows.  I don't like you, you don't like me.  They changed the SL progression, and so you are the only PE1 standing in my way.  Let's finish this.  ... Failed 4x15.  I don't even care anymore.

End of March: Did 4x15, plus 6 more after.  Holy mother of crap!

April 5: Ran to my workout location.  Discovered I forgot my rings.  Sigh.  Did F6, ran back, grabbed my rings, ran back, set them up.  First set of 15, no problem.  Second set, no problem.  Third set, fourth set.  Do I still have gas left in the tank?  Here we go ... 5 ... 10 ... 12 ... oh my god oh my god ... 15!!

I'm so happy right now!  Hinge rows I love you!

Final Tally

295 days

66 workouts

2869 total reps

RC PE1 Mastered

Splendiddd

One can only admire your dedication and consistency!

Talk about an emotionally volatile experience lol

Nick Roy said:

Talk about an emotionally volatile experience lol

You could say it unhinged me.

"Unhinged!"

Starring Sensei JP!

Awesome job.I'm currently working through them. I just about to start my first reload week. So far I find them easy but I'm sure 2nd cycle is going to show me just how difficult these can be.

still a better love story than twilight

Wow, almost 3000 reps to achieve mastery, hehe

Congrats! I am on my second week of this journey. I hate hinge rows and swivel hips!!!!!!!

Congrats Sensei and thanks for posting. I feel the same as you on these and this was just what I needed to reboot and re-energize my focus....

Congratulations!! This one is the last PE1 left on my list too. I've been on it since August last year. At the begining I was quite confident I would get through it in no time. After all Judo is all pulling and grip strengh, right? Turns out it doesn't work that way. I failed miserably time after time.

On the bright side, I have found out that the iM is pure gold for me. I discovered how tight my lats where and it has helped a lot with back pain ant thoracic pain due to the tight lats and erector spinae which also gets a strecth to some extent. So even if I fail over and over again at the PE I'm always happy to get the opportunity to do the strecth.

For the last couple of cycles, I feel it's so close... so close, but I never get to mastery. (I still have to put up that poster of Coach Sommer glaring down on me. Maybe that would do it)  Anyway, I'm trying a different approach this cycle to try and find out where it is I am losing it. FYI, I'm on a 3 day split + 2 HS.

I did:

- 5x12 the first day of  week 1, passed easy.

- 5x13 the second day of the split in week 1, passed not so easy.

- 5x14 today in week 2, passed but not so easy at all.

Next week I might, just might, get this over with... I'm really only one rep per series short at this moment. If I don't succeed I don't think I'll be go back to the progressive schedule. I think I will be attempting 5x15 every workout until I bust this thing open 

Impressive! and congrats!! 

I'm working on this abominable exercise for 7 months. 

Here is some questions for you who mastered it. 

When I did 4X12,

I could do 12, 12, 12, 12, total 48

the third and fourth set wasn't perfect though. couldn't make APT and sag just a little bit.

but when I try 4X15, the reps drop tremendously

15, 13, 6, 6 ;;; total 40

I could do 48 in total in 4X12, but now I did less in 4X15. 

why this happen to me? lol

Add reps on your later sets, rather than the initial ones, if you can't immediately get the full 15 (i.e. 12/12/12/15).    Basically, you're going to failure early, and you'll see that same sort of taper when you hit failure in early sets.

For what it's worth, in the last two months I switched from 4x12 to 5x12, which is the same volume as 4x15.  The first time I tried it I didn't get all five sets, the second time I barely did it, and then when I tried 4x15 I not only did it but got extra reps after.  Soon after I got the full 5x15.  Javier's idea of adding one rep every week to each set also seems interesting and worth investigating.  Be sure to tell us if it works for you.

Are you flying through the next progressions then?

I haven't started the next progression yet.  I did 5x15 one more time to make sure I didn't dream it, and now I have a deload week coming.  I envision no problems with regular rows, but the last time I thought that it took me ten months, so who knows?

I'm taking it slow, regardless if I can pump out 5x15 of PE2 on my first try.  I have never really trained my pulling strength before.  Martial artists do hundreds of pushups but virtually zero pulling exercises.  I'm lean and athletic enough I can do pullups, but that's mostly because I'm light, not because I'm strong.  I will slowly build up my strength, not blindly rush ahead.

Besides, I have no desire to get to RC PE6 before I have to. ;D

Sensei JP said:

... Besides, I have no desire to get to RC PE6 before I have to. ;D...

LOL

You have wisdom beyond your years, grasshopper.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

You cracked me up, especially with "End of February: Alright, Hinge Rows.  I don't like you, you don't like me. "