When your dumbells aren't heavy enough anymore, THIS is how you get around it. Heck, even if you're tired of just using a dumbell at all, this is a great alternative.

Very simply, you're going to use the EZ bar as though it were a dumbell...gripping in the center and rowing it up like a dumbell.

This is a GREAT way to really overload your back muscles because here's the deal...when you're using one arm as opposed to two, you can put more neural energy into that one limb and adjust your body position to move favorable leverage to move that the weight with one limb.

Basically, what that means is that you can one arm row more than 50% of what you can two arm row. Like if you can barbell row 200 lbs, you'll easily be able to one arm row MORE than 100 lbs.

I like to use lifting hooks for this one, to maximize the amount of weight. I've found using lifting hooks also really helps with balancing the bar.

So here's what the exercise setup looks like - I've got the bar loaded with 150 lbs + 20 lbs for the bar itself - so that's the equivalent of a 170 lb dumbell.

You'll notice, too, that NONE of the plates are larger than 25 lbs - this is to ensure a decent range of motion. If you use 35's or 45's, you'll shorten it too much and the plates will hit the floor every time you lower the bar, throwing off the balance of the exercise.

Here's the start position. You'll notice the bar is INSIDE the plant leg. This is CRITICAL for optimal balance. You can't have a heavy bar on the outside of your leg because it'll be outside your base of support and you'll fall over.

Think of your hand and legs as a triangle - your knee on the bench, other foot planted wide and your hand on the bench.

When you pick the bar off the floor for the first time, you'll very easily be able to tell where you need to adjust your grip on the bar (forward or backward) - the bar will tip immediately.

Now row up. In the video, I don't use a 100% strict movement. This is a power-oriented exercise when you've using maximum weight here, so I pull fast and hard and do have a small upper body dip. Believe me, it still works!

And don't worry...guys, you won't hit anything important unless you're TRYING to (and I can't imagine that!)

Do all your reps on one side then switch to the other. I found it easier to just pick up the bench and set it on the other side of the bar, rather than trying to move the bar.

The movement is the same - this side gives you a good view of hand and leg position on the bench. Be very sure to keep a tight arch in your lower back and really lock your entire body into this movement.

As you're pulling up, you can even picture yourself pushing DOWN hard against the bench with your hand, to contribute to the force being applied.

That's the exercise! Same basic idea as the dumbell version but this gives you another good option.

I've also got a few pics of me doing a PR (personal record) with this exercise. I've got the bar loaded to 200 lbs in the pics here :)

Fun stuff! Definitely good for building the back and overall body power. You really have to put everything into this movement to really get up to big weights.