BACK

One Arm Rows

 

Two Arm Rows (Pronated Grip)

Two Arm Rows (Supinated Grip)

Two Arm Row (Neutral Grip)

 

Seated Machine Row

Plate loaded One Arm Row (Neutral Grip)

 

Wide Grip Pull-ups (Use Gravitron Machine if unable to do)

 

Narrow Grip Pull-up w/ V-Bar

 

Wide Grip Pull-down to Front

 

High Pulley V-Bar Pull-down

 

Close Reverse (underhand) Grip Pull-down

 

Barbell Bent Over Row (Pronated grip) or

 

T-Bar Rows

 

T-Bar Row on Machine if back problems

 

High Pulley V-Bar Row

 

Low Pulley Rows

 

Bent Knee Dead-lifts

 

 

 

 

One-Arm Dumbbell Rows

PRIMARY TARGET MUSCLES: Upper Back

SECONDARY TARGET MUSCLES: Biceps

NOTES: The one-arm dumbbell row allows you to concentrate on one side of the back at a time, which is good for preventing or correcting imbalances between the two sides. The one-arm row also lets you use a much heavier dumbbell without putting extra strain on your back. There are three ways to grip the dumbbell:

Pronated grip -- palm faces behind you, your thumb points toward your body. 

Supinated grip -- palm faces forward, your thumb points away from your body.

Neutral grip -- palm faces your body, your thumb points forward.

 

EXECUTION AND FORM

1. Pick up a dumbbell that is light enough to focus primarily on form. Practicing perfect form with a light weight is easier than practicing with no weight, because the resis­tance helps you to feel the desired mus­cle being exercised, making it easier to isolate and stimulate that muscle. This is another example of the "mind-to-muscle" connection.

 

2. Find a flat bench and set the dumbbell at the right side of it. Position your right foot on the floor while positioning your left knee on the bench. Your left hand should be posi­tioned slightly in front of your body on the bench. Lean slightly into your left hand to help support your bodyweight. Pick up the dumbbell with your right hand while remembering to support your bodyweight with your left hand.

 

3. With your arm hanging straight, lift the dumbbell off the floor until your back is flat and parallel to the floor. Look straight ahead to help main­tain balance and form. Do not look down or up during the exercise.

 

4. Think about the muscles you are about to exercise: the latissimus dorsi, or “lats.” Contract them isometrically before beginning the lift.

                                                                                                                                   

5. Slightly lift the shoulder blade, making sure that it maintains a level position. Begin rowing the elbow up toward the ceiling, allowing the back of the arm (triceps) to lead the motion. Row the elbow and back of the arm up toward the ceiling. Row as far as you can until the back of the arm and elbow reach the level of the torso. Make sure that you are fully contracting the back muscles. Try to reach over with your working shoulder blade and touch the non-working shoulder blade.

                                                                                                                  

6. Squeeze and hold that position for a two-second count, focusing on an intense contraction of the back muscles. Begin your descent with a slow and controlled movement.

 

7. As you reach the bottom, slowly and smoothly begin the movement upward again without resting. Make sure that no momentum is involved when chang­ing over from the bottom position back to the upward movement. When your form starts to get sloppy, STOP! Either reduce the weight, or take a rest in preparation for the next set.

 

One-Arm Dumbbell Rows sidebar

Mind Over Muscle Thoughts:

Take your mind off your biceps by driving up with your elbows instead of pulling with your arms. Just let your forearms be huge, dangling hooks.  .  As you drive the elbows up, make sure that resistance is kept on the upper back muscles—think about pulling your upper arms up towards the ceiling.

Mindfulness

When your muscles are searing with pain, make someone else hurt. To get your last few reps in, tell yourself that the burning you think you feel actually belongs to the person next to you and you don’t feel a thing.

 

 

Two-Arm Dumbbell Rows

PRIMARY TARGET MUSCLES: Upper Back

SECONDARY TARGET MUSCLES: Biceps

NOTES: The dumbbell row emphasizes the same set of muscles as the bent over barbell row version with an added benefit of less lower back involvement. There are three ways to grip the dumbbells:

Pronated grip -- palms face behind you, your thumbs point toward each other. 

Supinated grip -- palms face forward, your thumbs point outward.

Neutral grip -- palms face each other, your thumbs point forward.

 

EXECUTION AND FORM

1. Pick up two dumbbells that are light enough to focus on form. Practicing perfect form with a light weight is easier than practicing with no weight, because the resis­tance helps you to feel the desired mus­cle being exercised, making it easier to isolate and stimulate that muscle.

 

2. Place a dumbbell on the floor in front of your feet. With knees slightly bent, bend over at the hips and grasp a dumbbell in each hand with your chosen grip.

 

3. With your arms hanging straight, lift the dumbbells off the floor until your back is parallel to the floor. The back should be flat as you lean over from the hips and you should be looking straight ahead to help main­tain balance and form. Do not look down or up during the exercise.

 

4. Think about the muscles you are about to exercise: the latissimus dorsi, or “lats.”

                                                                                                                                   

5. Slightly lift the shoulder blades, making sure that it maintains a level position. Begin rowing the elbows up toward the ceiling, allowing the back of the arms (triceps) to lead the motion. Row as back far as you can until the back of the arm and elbow reach the level of the torso. Make sure that you are fully contracting the back muscles. Imagine that there is an egg in the middle of your mid-back. Your objective, when the weight is being rowed, is to squeeze the back muscles and crack the egg with your back muscles.

                                                                                                                  

6. Squeeze and hold that position for a two-second count, focusing on an intense contraction of the back muscles. Begin your descent with a slow and controlled movement.

 

7. As you reach the bottom, slowly and smoothly begin the movement upward again without resting. Make sure that no momentum is involved when chang­ing over from the bottom position back to the upward movement. When your form starts to get sloppy, STOP! Either reduce the weight, or take a rest in preparation for the next set.

 

Two-Arm Dumbbell Rows sidebar

Mind Over Muscle Thoughts:

Good form is especially important with dumbbell exercises because you only have one arm making sure that weight goes where it’s supposed to. If you end up compromising your form in order to get the reps done, you’ll minimize the effectiveness of the exercise. Instead, leave your ego outside the gym and use a lighter weight. Choose one that allows you to use perfect form for every repetition.

Mindfulness

Get your mind into your muscles and mentally picture the individual muscle fibers being recruited and activating even as you are contracting. Imagine that the harder the exercise becomes, the more your muscles are developing and the more they can handle.

Seated Machine Row

PRIMARY TARGET MUSCLES: Center back, lower lats

SECONDARY TARGET MUSCLES: lower back, biceps

NOTES: Rowing exercises simulate rowing a boat to target the upper and middle back muscles. Some rowing machines allow you to push your elbows back instead of pulling them, which takes the biceps out of the equation so you can focus more on the back muscles. Generally, seated rows can be done with one or two hands, and with a supinated, pronated or neutral grip depending on the kinds of handles available.

 

EXECUTION AND FORM

1. Sit in the machine’s chair. If you have a choice of handles, attach the appropriate handle for the grip you plan to use.

 

2. Brace your feet against the plate provided with your knees slightly bent. Grip the handles and with straight arms and bring your torso to an upright position.

 

3. Focus your attention on your lats. With the weight pulling your arms out in front of you, the muscles you feel being stretched under your arms are your lats. Begin to flex your lats and get into Zone-Tone.

 

4. You will find that tensing your legs and lower back while contracting your glutes keeps your body in the correct posture and position during this exercise. It’s important that you not sway forward and back during the pulling motion and risk injuring the lower back muscles.

 

5. When you can feel and flex your lats, squeeze the grip with your hands and begin pulling with your lats. Pull the handle toward your abdomen and as your elbows come past your body squeeze your shoulder blades together as if you’re squeezing a ball between them. If you’re using one arm, imagine rotating your shoulder blade across your back and try to touch it to the opposite shoulder blade.

 

6. Hold the contraction for two seconds and slowly return to the starting position. Remember to resist the weight as your arms extend.

 

Seated Machine Row sidebar

Mind Over Muscle Thoughts:

Think about where you are feeling the contractions. If it’s in the biceps, you need to redirect your focus to the back muscles. Thinking about driving your elbows back, instead of pulling the weight, will help you. Stay focused on the contraction, no matter how exhausted you are, or how heavy the weight seems.

Mindfulness

Instead of thinking about heaving weights in a gym, imagine you are actually rescuing a loved one who’s accidentally stepped off the edge of a cliff. You’ve caught them by their hands and are pulling them back up to safety. It’s your wife, child, mother, father, girlfriend, sister, brother or whoever is dearest to you—but if you quit now they’ll fall.

Plate-loaded One-Arm Row

PRIMARY TARGET MUSCLES: Center back, lower lats

SECONDARY TARGET MUSCLES: lower back, biceps

NOTES: A seated one-arm row allows you to prevent or correct muscle imbalances in the upper back. Some rowing machines allow you to push your elbows back instead of pulling them, which takes the biceps out of the equation so you can focus more on the back muscles.

                                                                                                         

EXECUTION AND FORM

1. Sit in the machine’s chair. Brace your feet against the plate provided with your knees slightly bent. Grip the handle with a neutral, or vertical, grip and with straight arm bring your torso to an upright position. With your non-working hand, grab onto a stationary handle or other support to provide balance.

 

2. Focus your attention on your lats. With the weight pulling your arm out in front of you, the muscles you feel being stretched under your shoulders are your lats. Flex the lats on the side you’re working and get into Zone-Tone.

 

3. You will find that tensing your legs and lower back while contracting your glutes keeps your body in the correct posture and position during this exercise. It’s important that you not sway forward and back during the pulling motion and risk injuring the lower back muscles.

 

4. When you can feel and flex your lats, squeeze the grip with your hands and begin pulling with your lats. Pull the handle toward your abdomen and as your elbows come past your body squeeze your shoulder blades together, rotating your working shoulder blade across your back to try and touch the opposite shoulder blade.

 

5. Hold the contraction for two seconds and slowly return to the starting position. Remember to resist the weight as your arms extend.

 

 

Plate-loaded One-Arm Row sidebar

Mind Over Muscle Thoughts:

The muscles involved in this exercise can be difficult to isolate in your mind. You’ll tend to think of your arm first. But ignore the arm; it’s the muscles behind your shoulder blade that you are trying to work. Focus on your shoulder blade and mentally draw it back and across your back to the opposite side.

Mindfulness

Feeling fatigued toward the end of your workout? Thinking about cutting out early?  Motivate yourself with a reward only if you finish. Planning to eat dinner after the workout? Picture how amazing the smell and taste is and how you will soon indulge in it. Envision it as it’s served on your plate. Then tell yourself that you’re not getting out of the gym for dinner, or whatever the reward is, until you’ve finished every exercise, set and rep. Now make the best out of the time you have left!

Low Pulley Rows

PRIMARY TARGET MUSCLES: Center back, lower lats

SECONDARY TARGET MUSCLES: lower back, biceps

NOTES: Like the machine rows, seated row pulley rows allow you to work the upper back without straining the lower back by bending over. Using pulleys is a good alternative to the machine row if you don’t have a machine available.

 

EXECUTION AND FORM

1. Sit on the floor in front of the low pulley. If you have a choice of handles, attach the appropriate handle for the grip you plan to use.

 

2. Brace your feet against the plate provided, or against two 45-pound plates set flat on the floor against the pulley frame. You should have a foot on either side of the pulley cable and your knees should be slightly bent.

 

3. Grip the handlebar and with straight arms bring your torso to an upright position.

 

4. Focus your attention on your lats. With the weight pulling your arms out in front of you, the muscles you feel being stretched beneath your shoulder are your lats. Begin to flex your lats and get into Zone-Tone.

 

5. You will find that tensing your legs and lower back while contracting your glutes keeps your body in the correct posture and position during this exercise. It’s important that you not sway forward and back during the pulling motion and risk injuring the lower back muscles.

 

6. When you can feel and flex your lats, squeeze the grip with your hands and begin pulling with your lats. Pull the handlebar toward your abdomen and as your elbows come past your body squeeze your shoulder blades together as if you’re squeezing a ball between them.

 

7. Hold the contraction for two seconds and return to the starting position. Make sure you resist the weight on the way back while continuing to concentrate on the contraction of your lats.

Low Pulley Rows sidebar

Mind Over Muscle Thoughts:

Although seated rowing exercises simulate rowing a boat, be careful not to involve your lower back. Doing so promotes injury. Instead of thinking that you are pulling on the bar, think that you are squeezing your shoulder blades together. This will keep your focus on the upper back muscles where it should be.

Mindfulness

On tough reps of this exercise, imagine there is something you desperately want on the other end of the cable. To get it you have to pull it to you. It could be a food you’re craving or a million dollars. Make it something worth fighting for and reel it in, keeping your perfect form and technique.

High Pulley V-bar Rows       

PRIMARY TARGET MUSCLES: Center back, lower lats

SECONDARY TARGET MUSCLES: lower back, biceps

NOTES: This exercise hits your back muscles from a different angle than bent over rows or seated low-pulley rows, giving your back muscles an appearance of completeness.

 

EXECUTION AND FORM

1. Seated at a pull-down machine, connect the V-bar close-grip attachment to the cable. Grip the two handles with palms facing each other and lean back so that your arms are in front of your chest more than they are over your head.

                                                                                  

2. Brace your knees under the pad provided. With straight arms bring your torso to an upright position.

 

3. Focus your attention on your lats. With the weight pulling your arms out in front of you, the muscles you feel being stretched beneath your shoulders are your lats. Begin to flex your lats and get into the Zone-Tone.

 

4. You will find that tensing your legs and lower back while contracting your glutes keeps your body in the correct posture and position during this exercise. It’s important that you not sway forward and back during the pulling motion and risk injuring the lower back muscles.

 

5. When you can feel and flex your lats, squeeze the grip with your hands and begin pulling with your lats. Pull the handle toward your chest and as your elbows come past your body squeeze your shoulder blades together as if you’re squeezing a ball between them.

 

6. Hold the contraction for two seconds and return to the starting position. Make sure you resist the weight on the way back while continuing to concentrate on the contraction of your lats.

 

High Pulley V-bar Rows sidebar    

Mind Over Muscle Thoughts:

Don’t forget to visualize every rep. In addition to feeling the muscles work, you have to envision the effects of that movement. In your mind, see the particular muscle pull at the same time you feel it and your body will do what it’s supposed to in way of producing the intended result.

Mindfulness

Try using music to get you in the rhythm of your workout. The music on the Rockin’-Reps CD was selected because its motivational beat helps you maintain the pace of the “Two-Step-Rep” cadence.

Wide Grip Pull-ups

PRIMARY TARGET MUSCLES: Latissimus dorsi

SECONDARY TARGET MUSCLES: Biceps, serratus muscles

NOTES: The wide-grip pull-up is the champion of upper back exercises and will pack a lot of size onto your lats. If you cannot pull your own body weight up, there are two things you can do. If your gym has Gravitron machines, which assist you in pulling your body weight, feel free to use those. If Gravitrons are not available to you, then try one of these:

§         Have someone provide assistance by holding your legs

§         Put your feet on a chair in front of or behind you and assist the pull with your legs.

§         Use the pull-down machines until you’re strong enough for pull-ups

 

EXECUTION AND FORM

1. Grab onto an overhead bar or pull-down bar with an over­hand grip, placing your hands about 1 1/2 times your shoulder width apart. Different hand spacing will focus on different muscles. The grip we suggest reduces biceps use to focus more on stimulating the back muscles.

 

2. Let your body hang while bend­ing your knees to get your feet off the floor and crossing your ankles. Contract your abdominal section, which helps to sustain your postural alignment throughout the movement.

 

3. Stick your chest out while press­ing your shoulders downward, which will help isolate the intended muscula­ture of the back. Focus on your lats and begin to contract them as you go into Zone-Tone.

 

4. Keeping your elbows as wide as you can, begin pulling your chest toward the bar. Throughout the movement keep your head and eyes looking up. Knowing that you must reach your target position at the top adds that extra push. Squeezing the bar with your hands will help you keep the tension you need on your lats to get you to the top.

 

5. When you reach the top, which is when you can no longer move upward while maintaining the proper alignment, consciously focus on squeezing and contracting the back muscles as hard as you can. Try to hold that contraction for two seconds, which will help to isolate the back muscles.

 

6. As you begin your descent, slowly lower your body while mentally focus­ing on the back muscles being acti­vated. When you feel yourself fatiguing or losing control on the way down, try to pull back up. You'll notice that as you get tired, even your best attempt to pull yourself back up will not stop your descent. This technique will add some additional intensity and overall stimu­lation of the back muscles.

 

7. For a full range of motion, let your arms straighten completely at the bottom of the movement. Most people only come down two-thirds of the way and leave out perhaps the most impor­tant portion of the exercise-the fully stretched position. Next, slowly and smoothly begin the transition upward once again without using any momentum.

 

Wide Grip Pull-ups sidebar

Mind Over Muscle Thoughts:

To focus your mind on the back muscles, think about your shoulder blades and that they are leveraging your arms to push yourself up—do not think pull! If you think pull, you will engage more of your biceps and your lats may not get the full benefit of the exercise.

 

As with chest dips, if pull-ups are too difficult to do the required number of reps, you can put a chair behind you and put your toes on it so you can get a little help from your legs. You can also use the assisted pull-up machine, AKA “Gravitron”. This should only be done if you cannot pull yourself up or after you’ve done as many strict pull-ups as you could do…Just don’t help yourself more than you really need to.

Mindfulness

Instead of a loved one, it’s now you hanging off the edge of that cliff. Pull yourself up now or you’ll fall.

Narrow Grip Pull-ups with V-bar

PRIMARY TARGET MUSCLES: Latissimus dorsi

SECONDARY TARGET MUSCLES: Biceps, serratus muscles

NOTES: Using a V-bar or close-grip bar for pull-ups hits the lats in a slightly different way, and brings the serratus muscles into play more. Again, if you can’t do enough pull-ups with your bodyweight use one of the alternative listed under Wide Grip Pull-Ups on page X.

 

EXECUTION AND FORM

1. With the V-bar placed over a chinning bar, grab the handles with your palms facing each other.

 

2. Let your body hang while bend­ing your knees and crossing your feet. Contract your abdominal section, which helps to sustain your postural alignment throughout the movement.

 

3. Keep your elbows as wide as you can begin pulling your chest toward the bar. Lean your head backward slightly so that your chest can touch the V-bar or almost touch it. You may also have to duck your head to one side to avoid hitting it on the chinning bar. If you do, alternate sides with every rep to avoid muscle imbalances.

 

4. When you reach the top, which will be when you can no longer move upward while maintaining the proper alignment, consciously focus on squeezing and contracting the back muscles as hard as you can. Try to hold that contraction for two seconds, which will help to isolate the back muscles.

 

5. As you begin your descent, slowly lower your body while mentally focus­ing on the back muscles being acti­vated. When you feel yourself fatiguing or losing control on the way down, try to pull back up. You'll notice that as you get tired, even your best attempt to pull yourself back up will not stop your descent. This technique will add some additional intensity and overall stimu­lation of the back muscles.

 

6. For a full range of motion, let your arms straighten completely at the bottom of the movement. Most people only come down two-thirds of the way and leave out perhaps the most impor­tant portion of the exercise-the fully stretched position. Next, slowly and smoothly, begin the transition upward once again without using any momentum.

 

Narrow Grip Pull-ups with V-bar sidebar

Mind Over Muscle Thoughts:

To increase the mind-to-muscle connection and increase the “pump” a muscle gets from an exercise, practice the flushing technique from time to time. When you’ve done the last rep you can do for a particular set, start another rep but stop several inches into the exercise. Hold the contraction at this point and let the muscle flush with blood. You’ll feel an intense burn in the muscle…Just get to know the “good” pain from “bad” pain…There is a vital difference…Refer to page ?

Mindfulness

Having trouble with the last rep in your set? Imagine there’s an invisible person spotting you and they’re there to help you pull those last grueling inches. They can pull as hard as you need them to.

Wide Grip Pull-downs to Front

PRIMARY TARGET MUSCLES: Latissimus dorsi

SECONDARY TARGET MUSCLES: Biceps, serratus muscles

NOTES: This exercise is very similar to the wide-grip pull-up in how it impacts the lats. However, where pull-up repetitions are limited by your body weight, you can continue to do more pull-down repetitions by lowering the weight. Pull-downs are great if you can’t pull-up your bodyweight yet or after you’ve done as many pull-ups as you can.

                                                                                                                         

EXECUTION AND FORM

1. Seated at a pull-down machine, grab the pull-down bar with an over­hand grip with your hands about 1 1/2 times your shoulder width apart. If the bar has angled hand grips, use those. Different hand spacing will focus on different muscles. The grip we suggest reduces biceps use to focus more on stimulating the back muscles.

 

2. Put your knees under the support pad provided. This will keep you from pulling yourself off the seat when the weight gets heavy.

 

3. Stick your chest out and focus on your lats. Contract them isometrically as you go into Zone-Tone.

                                                               

4. Keep your elbows as wide as you begin pulling the bar toward your chest. Throughout the movement keep your head and eyes looking up.

 

5. When you reach the full contraction, consciously focus on squeezing and contracting the back muscles as hard as you can. Try to hold that contraction for two seconds, which will help to isolate the back muscles.

 

6. Slowly return your arms to the starting position while resisting the weight. At the starting position start your next rep without stopping, without jerking and without using momentum. Make the transition slow and fluid.

 

Wide Grip Pull-downs to Front sidebar

Mind Over Muscle Thoughts:

Back muscles can be difficult to visualize because we never see them. Watch the backs of other lifters to see how their muscles contract. Then look at yours in a mirror and get them to contract in the same way. Pay attention to what the movement feels like so you can duplicate it during your workout.

 

Mindfulness

Imagine there are steel cables and one end is attached to your elbows. The other end is connected to an electric winch on the floor behind you. That winch just keeps pulling and pulling and your elbows are drawn down and down until that bar touches your chest. Keep these images strong and active in your mind, during the execution of the exercise. You’ll be very surprised at how well they work!

High Pulley V-Bar Pull-downs

PRIMARY TARGET MUSCLES: Latissimus dorsi

SECONDARY TARGET MUSCLES: Biceps, serratus muscles

NOTES: This exercise is very similar to the V-bar pull-up in how it impacts the lats. However, where pull-up repetitions are limited by your body weight, you can continue to do more pull-down repetitions by lowering the weight. Pull-downs are great if you can’t pull-up your bodyweight yet or after you’ve done as many pull-ups as you can.

 

EXECUTION AND FORM

1. Seated at a pull-down machine with a V-bar attached, grab the handles of the V-bar with your palms facing each other.

 

2. Put your knees under the support pad provided. This will keep you from pulling yourself off the seat when the weight gets heavy.

 

3. Contract the lats isometrically as you go into Zone-Tone. Concentrate on the contraction throughout the exercise.

                                                               

4. Keep your elbows as wide as you begin pulling the V-bar toward your chest. Lean your head backward slightly so that you can touch the V-bar to your chest or almost touch it.

 

5. When you reach the full contraction, consciously focus on squeezing and contracting the back muscles as hard as you can. Try to hold that contraction for two seconds, which will help to isolate the back muscles.

 

6. Slowly return your arms to the starting position while resisting the weight. At the starting position start your next rep without stopping, without jerking and without using momentum. Make the transition slow and fluid.

 

High Pulley V-Bar Pull-downs sidebar

Mind Over Muscle Thoughts:

Don’t forget to always get into the “Zone-Tone”, and envision your lats working hard. Picture the muscle fibers being stimulated, while your back muscles are pulling your arms up and back. (Refer to Mind Over Muscle techniques in Chapter ?)

Mindfulness

Before you begin ANY exercise, take a moment or two, to picture yourself performing the upcoming exercise successfully and correctly. Once you’ve got that perfect picture in your head, rewind the tape and play it again several times. Once you’re ready to actually begin that exercise, your body will do it’s best to imitate what you’ve imagined and make the exercise much more effective. (Refer to Visualization techniques in Chapter ?)

Close Reverse Grip Pull-down

PRIMARY TARGET MUSCLES: Latissimus dorsi

SECONDARY TARGET MUSCLES: Biceps, serratus muscles

NOTES: The close-reverse-grip pull-down attacks the lats from yet another angle, again bringing the serratus into play. The biceps have more of a role in this pull-down, but it gives the lats a full stretch that they don’t get in other pull-down exercises. Reduce the role of the biceps by pulling your elbows back instead of your hands.

 

EXECUTION AND FORM

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