Anda di halaman 1dari 6

1 Gosto Gosto

Tweet
Without blinking an eye, Ill be the first to admit that my
favorite body-part to train is the upper back. For me at
least, when I see someone with a thick or defined upper
back, I know (s)he has put her work in at the gym.
Comparatively speaking, there are a lot more people
walking around with six packs than there are those with an
impressive upper back.
I mean, what looks more impressive, this (AKA: the walking
bag of douche who will inevitably make this his Facebook
profile picture)
Or this (Oleksandr Kutchers upper back)

Not even close if you ask me.
To no fault of their own, though, most trainees like to train what they can see, and the back often gets the shaft in
favor of things like the pecs, abs, and biceps; or, the mirror muscles.
That said, while things like deadlifts, barbell rows, and chin-up variations are undoubtedly the go tomovements for
sculpting a powerful upper back, one of the more underrated, or less utilized exercises out there is the dumbbell row.
As a matter of fact, Id argue that the dumbbell row is one of the more underrated upper back exercise, since not only
More About Tony
Tony Gentil core is a Certified
Strength and Conditioning
Specialist (CSCS) and Certified
Personal Trainer (CPT) through the
National Strength and Conditioning.
Tony Gentilcore spends roughly
98% of his time looking at
LOLCats, and the other 2%
watching re-runs of J ason Bourne
movies. He occasionally writes
about lifting heavy things too. If
you'd like to receive updates, sign
up for Tony's newsletter and he'll
keep you in the loop.
NAME
EMAIL
You can also get notified of new
blog entries with RSS.
May 2014 (9)
April 2014 (18)
March 2014 (18)
February 2014 (17)
J anuary 2014 (19)
December 2013 (17)
November 2013 (16)
Exercises You Should Be Doing: Deadstop DB Row http://www.tonygentilcore.com/blog/exercises-you-should-be-doing-d...
1 de 6 19-05-2014 01:31
does it help build a thick upper back, but its also a great movement for the lats as well.
Unlike the aforementioned exercises listed above, dumbbell rows are a single limb movement, which carries its own
advantages in the sense that its easier to ascertain whether or not theres a strength imbalance or weakness
between the left and right side. Too, due to the lack of equipment needed (all you need is a single DB), anyone can
do them at any time.
First things first, however, as simple as the dumbbell row might appear, its surprising how much this movement is
actually butchered. Simply put, what most trainees feel is a dumbbell row is anything but, and is often nothing more
than a test to see how long before my eyes starting hurting.
Before we get to the actual exercise, here are some common technique flaws that I tend to come across.
Here, theres really no emphasis what-so-ever on the upper back itself. Instead, the movement resembles some sort
of explosive arm curl with momentum taking over. Worse still are those guys who do this and grunt as if theyre giving
birth to a bowling ball on every rep. LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME!!!
This one is quite common, where youll see someone performing a row,only to completely rotate their upper torso
because theyre using too much weight to do it correctly. Ideally, the torso should stay completely stationary, with the
chest/nipple line pointing towards the bench the entire time.
Exercises You Should Be Doing: Deadstop DB Row http://www.tonygentilcore.com/blog/exercises-you-should-be-doing-d...
2 de 6 19-05-2014 01:31
This one should look familiar to anyone who trains at a commercial gym rounded back, head protruding forward,
absolutely no scapular retraction (adduction) taking place. I cringe everytime I see this.
Which takes us to todays exercise of the day
Who Di d I Steal It From: strength coach, and fellow t-nation.com contributor Tim Henriques
What Does It Do: As noted above, this is a fantastic exercise to build a thick upper back (big biceps, too, since
theyre in the direct line of pull), but also targets the lats as well in addition to providing a nice stretch in that area to
boot.
Key Coaching Cues: While maintaining a neutral spine position throughout (the body should make a straight line
from the head to lumbar spine), start with the dumbbell resting on the floor. Grab the handle and crush it gripping it
as hard as you can. Doing so will single the rotator cuff to fire and to pack the shoulder back through a process called
irradiation.
From there, I like to tell people to pretend theyre starting a lawn mower rowing the dumbbell by bring their elbow
towards the hip (not just going straight up and down). Effectively, youll be pulling through the elbow,finishing at the
top by retracting (technicaly, adducting) your shoulder blade towards the midline of the body. In other words, squeeze
your shoulder blade like a mofo at the top.
To finish, youll return the dumbbell back to the floor, coming to a complete STOP. Pause for a second or two, and
repeat for desired number or repetitions.
Of Note: for those with shorter arms, you may want to grab a stepper or a few mats to place on the floor to decrease
the range of motion.
And there you have it. Try it out today and let me know what you think! Also, just a friendly reminder, if you found this
post useful, be sure to click the Like button located at the bottom. Ill be your best friend forever if you do.
DATE 04/19/2011 COMMENTS 25 COMMENTS CATEGORY UNCATEGORIZED
1 Gosto Gosto

Tweet
Exercises You Should Be Doing: Deadstop DB Row http://www.tonygentilcore.com/blog/exercises-you-should-be-doing-d...
3 de 6 19-05-2014 01:31
25 Comments


Jonathan Goodman
Thanks for the article Tony. I've been using 1s pauses to encourage proper firing for the
last couple months now with my training in addition to most of my clients and it's working
wonders.
I think you need a new question below though. Some people who read this blog might find
rocks to be light.



Peter Poletti
I really like how you've demonstrated a few common errors before demonstrating correct
form. I'd love to see that applied more often.
The deadstop here sounds interesting, definitely going to give these a try.



Bret Contreras
God those "bad form" one's made me laugh! It's always fun filming them.


Benjamin Pickard
Hey Tony,
I also like pointing out common exercise errors and giving a solution... would like to see
more of this type of article down the road!
What are your thoughts on 'Kroc' Rows? They look awfully similar to 'explosive arm curl
guy' but they seem to be popular and I know personally they work great for my upper back.
Do you avoid them with your athletes/clients in favor of deadstop or strict rows?
Thanks,
Ben



josh
Well crap. I think I might be "explosive arm curl" guy. And I thought I had good form on
dumbbell rows...doh! Thanks for the article, and thanks for the great videos. I'll have to give
the deadstop variation a try on Thursday.



Domenic
LOL @ worst form ever guy that is almost every guy haha.
@ Benjamin Pickard - I think someone doing Kroc Rows would be considered:
"Using a weight too heavy and too large to complete a full range of motion rep so I just
hope there is some benefit to using a bunch of body english to hoist a 150lb dumbell 20
times guy"



Michael Gray
I'm glad you included the "pull to the hip" cue. I think this is one of the most commonly
missed components to DB Rows. Nice job TG!


Tony Gentilcore
@ Bret: I know, right? Although I have to say that trying to purposely perform stuff "wrong"
is kinda hard. We had to take several takes because we were laughing so hard!
@ Benjamin: I'm pretty familiar with Kroc rows and have nothing against them at all. My
only issue is when guys who can barely do 50 lbs with good technique, start throwing
around heavier loads with know real purpose other than to make my eyes bleed.
Personally? I've never really gone out of my way to include them in any programming
because I feel most trainees would be better served to learn to row correctly. But that's just
me.


Exercises You Should Be Doing: Deadstop DB Row http://www.tonygentilcore.com/blog/exercises-you-should-be-doing-d...
4 de 6 19-05-2014 01:31
See Tony's photos on Flickr
Exercises You Should Be Doing: Deadstop DB Row http://www.tonygentilcore.com/blog/exercises-you-should-be-doing-d...
5 de 6 19-05-2014 01:31
Loading content from Twitter...
All content 2010-2011 Tony Gentilcore | Contact | Website by Copter Labs
Exercises You Should Be Doing: Deadstop DB Row http://www.tonygentilcore.com/blog/exercises-you-should-be-doing-d...
6 de 6 19-05-2014 01:31

Anda mungkin juga menyukai