Why are Inverted Rows so hard?!

Today’s Workout Log

Warm-up

25 minutes of dynamic stretching and soft-tissue work

Workout

Speed Bench Press – 95 pounds (115 and 135 for sets 9 and 10) – Sets: 3/3/3/3/3/3/3/3/3/3 (2m rest)

SuperSet (Do one set of each exercise back-to-back, rest 2 minutes, repeat)

Close-Grip Bench Presses – 115-pound Dumbbells – Sets: 5/5/5
Head-Supported Dumbbell Rows – 40-pound Dumbbells – Sets: 5/5/5

SuperSet (Do one set of each exercise back-to-back, rest 2 minutes, repeat)

Inverted Row – Bodyweight (with bent knees) – Sets: 10/10/10
Scapular Push-ups – Bodyweight – Sets: 15/15/15

Cool-down

Dead Hang – 50 seconds

Workout Journal Notes

I got off to a good start on speed bench presses, throwing the weight up as fast as possible.

This week called for “Heavy” on the 9th and 10th sets, so I added 20 extra pounds to each one. It wasn’t specific as to whether it meant “Heavy” but still speed BP’s, or “Heavy” with regular BP.

I assumed it meant “Heavy” for speed BP’s and went with that.

Close-Grip bench presses felt pretty easy today too, maybe because there were only 3 sets, but I’ll definitely be upping the weight on those for next week’s “Very High” load week.

Yes, I resorted to the inferior “bent-knee” Inverted Rows today for all three sets, and I still barely completed all 10 reps for each.

I don’t know why that’s such a terrible exercise for me, but I hope to improve quickly and work my way up to the real version soon.

Scapular push-ups are always fairly easy, because I do those before every workout as part of my warm-up.

It’s a nasty, rainy day in Richmond today, so unless the sun starts beaming soon, I’m probably looking at some dirty, sloppy sprints tomorrow, but I’m ready!

Does anyone else find Inverted Rows to be MUCH harder than other pulling exercises like pull-ups and chin-ups?