UKC

Hello,

I am trying to train for a ski race in March involving pulling a pulk. After an injury a year ago my back is still a little weak, does anyone know any good upper back exersizes to improve strength?

In reply to ford23:

I have no idea what a pulk is, nor whether you pull it towards you or behind you. It may be that my ignorance is unusual, or it may be common. Perhaps a little bit more detail so that more people can understand, together with some details about what your current training programme is, would help you get more worthwhile advice.

T.

In reply to Pursued by a bear:

Pulk is a sled that you tow behind you, probably with around 30-40kg of gear in. Training at the moment has mainly been focused on cardio (6 sessions a week) and 2 strength training sessions but mainly focused on legs, now need to focus more on upper body strength
thanks

In reply to ford23:

Doesn't that involve more leg and core strength than back strength? Because it's attached to your hips with a harness and you ski forward if I've understood correctly

In reply to ford23:

From that description it sounds like anterior core would be more useful than upper back. I'm imagining the strain on your torso pulled back and that you'd need strong abs to resist that force.

For the upper back pull ups are often considered one of the best exercises along with various types of rows: dumbell rows, cable rows, bent over barbell rows etc. But they don't seem very specific to what you are doing. What exactly did you do to your back?

In reply to ford23:

Deadlift.
Snatch Grip Deadlift.
Dead stop 1 arm Dumbell rows.
Yates Row, if you back is still feeling weak.

Heavy weight (relative to you), Low reps (so you lift with good form) Medium/High number of sets (so you get the correct intensity)

In reply to ford23:

As well as the weights/gym exercises, why not train pulling a tyre ( or two) behind you?

In reply to ford23:

Add tricep exercises and if you have ski poles some "Nordic walking" or jog with ski poles and put as much force as you can through the poles.

In reply to riddle:






This!

I'd add in Turkish Get-Ups and back squats. Also 'specificity'; pull stuff with a similar set up to a pulk.

In reply to ford23:

Jefferson curls
Hollow body hold

In reply to Rick Graham:

Many gyms now have a huge steel chain for this. If in south yorkshire try exercise4less. £10 a month and they have two or three of these chains and a strip to haul them down. That should help. Also, having had a session of hauling your week spots will show up as extra tired areas, then you can use a variety of exercises to strengthen these needy areas. A decent personal trainer at a gym (you get a free session at x4l when you enrol) can recommend good exercises for each muscle/group.