lats

[lylemcd]

I find that my grip on the bar play's a significant role in how much my biceps come in to play during pulldowns. The fact is you see alot of guy's just completely missing the idea of fully contracting your lat, and just bouncing the bar off their chest with their biceps, without pinching in their shoulder blades.

This has to do with their form, not the movement. It's not that they are only using biceps so much as NOT using back.

The only way to train the midback with rows and not involve the biceps is not to bend the arms and do a rearward shrug (i.e. pure scapular adduction/retraction).

Lyle

 

[eleven11]

This has to do with their form, not the movement. It's not that they are only using biceps so much as NOT using back.

The only way to train the midback with rows and not involve the biceps is not to bend the arms and do a rearward shrug (i.e. pure scapular adduction/retraction).

Lyle

So your bent over at an almost 90 degree angle, arms straight and squeezing your shoulder blades together?

also. wide, very wide or narrow grip? my guess is very wide.

 

[Bob Smith]

Shoulder-wifth or wider. You can do them with a bar (as your described) or on a pulldown machine.

 

[lylemcd]

Shoulder-wifth or wider. You can do them with a bar (as your described) or on a pulldown machine.

I have folks do them on a T-bar machine of some sort.

Nice ass, BTW.

Lyle

 

[Bob Smith]

Thanks, I figured youd like that. Ill email you a pic of Jewel in a couple minutes.

 

[thick]

Please correct me if I am wrong but this straight armed scapular adduction isn't being recommended as the primary back exercise for lat development is it?

So your bent over at an almost 90 degree angle, arms straight and squeezing your shoulder blades together?

also. wide, very wide or narrow grip? my guess is very wide.

 

[Bob Smith]

No.

 

[lylemcd]

Please correct me if I am wrong but this straight armed scapular adduction isn't being recommended as the primary back exercise for lat development is it?

No, someone had made a comment about working the midback wthout involving the biceps and I simply pointed out that it's not possible unless you don't bend the arms.

Hence the shrug-back.

It can make a good secondary back exercise (for example, if your bis are trashed from heavy pulldowns or chins and that's going to limit your midback work) or as a way to continue exhausting the midback after your arms fail in a set.

So a back workout might be
chins: 4 sets of 6-8
Now that the biceps are tired, doing full rows is probably a losing proposition, arms will limit what you can do to your midback. So you do

Shrugbacks: 3-4 sets of 10-12
then traps, low back, etc.

On a different back day, you could do full rows as your first back exercise and follow it up with lat shrugdowns (same movement, shrugging down instead of back) or pullovers or some other lat exercise taht doesn't involve the biceps.

Because of the amount of weight most people cna use on shrug backs or shrug downs, machines are generally a better idea (or hang weights off a belt and do chins but only shrugging your body up). My old training partner, who was a strong motherfucker, was able to max the Hammer Iso Row machine out (5-6 45 lb plates per side) on shrugbacks. Trying to do that with a bent over row would have killed his back.

Lyle

 

[thick]

I totally agree and was worried that some might read through this thinking that the best back exercise would be the shrug back due to eliminating the bi's. When i had access to a machine I did them at the end of my back w/o and really enjoyed them

No, someone had made a comment about working the midback wthout involving the biceps and I simply pointed out that it's not possible unless you don't bend the arms.

Hence the shrug-back.

It can make a good secondary back exercise (for example, if your bis are trashed from heavy pulldowns or chins and that's going to limit your midback work) or as a way to continue exhausting the midback after your arms fail in a set.

So a back workout might be
chins: 4 sets of 6-8
Now that the biceps are tired, doing full rows is probably a losing proposition, arms will limit what you can do to your midback. So you do

Shrugbacks: 3-4 sets of 10-12
then traps, low back, etc.

On a different back day, you could do full rows as your first back exercise and follow it up with lat shrugdowns (same movement, shrugging down instead of back) or pullovers or some other lat exercise taht doesn't involve the biceps.

Because of the amount of weight most people cna use on shrug backs or shrug downs, machines are generally a better idea (or hang weights off a belt and do chins but only shrugging your body up). My old training partner, who was a strong motherfucker, was able to max the Hammer Iso Row machine out (5-6 45 lb plates per side) on shrugbacks. Trying to do that with a bent over row would have killed his back.

Lyle

 

[ac253189]

i've recentl changed my form and notice a diference. I also heard it is important to make a concious effort to squeeze the back muslces. the more oyu think about it, the more muscles ull get in the squeeze.

 

[lionel]

Whats shrugback? A squeezing of the shoulder blades in a barball row position? Whats a shrugdown too?

 

[Chip Bronson]

if i might add my $.02, the deadlift with a lat spread in the upright position will give a top-to-bottom lat pump and build them like a mofo. when you stand up with the weight, do a full lat spread and hold for a couple of seconds. great pump and you will see great results in terms of lat size and width.

 

[lylemcd]

Whats shrugback? A squeezing of the shoulder blades in a barball row position?

It's the row shoulderr squeeze without the arm bend.
So you let your shoulders move forwards/shoulder blades spread apart (huh, huh, spread), and then squeeze them back.

Whats a shrugdown too?

Lat/scapular depression without biceps as a limiting factor. So let shoulders raise/shoudlers blades elevate an then squeeze down. Can also be done as a chin shrugging your body (+ plates) up.

Lyle