PURPOSE OF EXERCISE: To develop the thickness of the back and the lower lats. This movement also works the lower sections of the lats. EXECUTION: (1) Take hold of the handles and sit with your feet braced against the crossbar or a wooden block, knees slightly bent. Extend your arms and bend forward slightly, feeling […]
Monthly Archives: December 2013
PURPOSE OF EXERCISE: To develop the lower lats. This is an especially good movement for tying in the lower lats to the waist. EXECUTION: (1) Using a floor-level pulley, take hold of a handle with one hand. If done standing, assume a balanced stance, the leg opposite the arm you will be using in the […]
PURPOSE OF EXERCISE: To independently work each side of the back. Rowing one side at a time with a dumbbell has two unique advantages over Barbell Rows: It isolates the latissimus muscles on each side, and it allows you to lift the weight higher and therefore get a more complete contraction. Using heavy weight in […]
PURPOSE OF EXERCISE: To thicken the middle and outer back. EXECUTION: (1) Standing on a block with your feet close together, knees slightly bent, bend down and grasp the handles of the T-Bar machine with an overhand grip. Straighten your legs slightly and lift up until your body is at about a 45- degree angle. […]
PURPOSE OF EXERCISE: To work each side of the upper back independently. You can still work heavy and give your back a good workout using dumbbells, but by using them you force each side of the body to work up to its own capacity, rather than running the risk of having the […]
PURPOSE OF EXERCISE: To thicken the upper back. This exercise also helps widen the upper back and, to a lesser degree, adds density to the lower back. EXECUTION: (1) Standing with feet a few inches apart, grasp the bar with a wide, overhand grip. With your knees slightly bent, bend forward until your upper body […]
PURPOSE OF EXERCISE: To work the lats, especially the lower lat area. Again, working with an overhead cable and weight stack allows you to do the chinning movement with less than body weight. EXECUTION: (1) Grasp the handles or a bar using a narrow- or medium-close grip and pull down to your upper chest. Don’t […]
PURPOSE OF EXERCISE: To widen the upper lats. This exercise allows you to do Chins with less than your total body weight, so you can do a lot of extra reps for the upper back if you feel you need more work in that area (but it should not replace Chins as the standard exercise […]
PURPOSE OF EXERCISE: To work the back muscles, widen the lower lats, and develop the serratus. This exercise is great for widening and lengthening the appearance of the lats. It also develops the serratus anterior, those little fingers of muscle that lie under the outside of the pecs, which add so much to front poses […]
PURPOSE OF EXERCISE: To widen the upper back and create a full sweep in the lats. Chinning yourself so that you touch your chest to the bar rather than the back of the neck gives you a slightly longer range of motion and is less strict, allowing you to cheat slightly so you can continue […]