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Adding Beef to Your Shoulders and Upper Back with Upright Rowing |
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Written by Stephen E. Alway, PhD, FACSM
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Monday, 23 April 2007 |
The images of a great back often leave vivid impressions on our brains of deep, thick and wide latissimus dorsi muscles (lats), or perhaps cable-like erector spinae. However, as appealing as having a wide latissimus or thick erectors has become to every serious bodybuilder, the back will appear flat and lifeless unless the middle back, upper back and deltoid muscles are expanded to their full potential. For example, multi-Mr. Olympia winners Ronnie Coleman, Dorian Yates and Lee Haney all have extremely wide backs to be sure. However, if it were not for the depth of the trapezius, the middle back and the thickness of the shoulders, their backs would appear wide, but flat. Such is definitely not the case for these great athletes. Medium-grip upright rowing is an excellent exercise that activates all the fibers in the upper back and middle shoulders, while also providing a very complete tie-in for developing thickness in this whole region.
Muscles Activated
The superior portions of the trapezius muscle are strongly activated by upright rowing. The muscle has three general areas of attachment. The superior (upper) fibers of the trapezius attach to the base of the skull and along the midline of the cervical (neck) vertebrae. These fibers cover the deeper muscles of the neck and then course laterally (away from the midline of the body) to attach to the lateral part of the clavicle (collarbone) and along the spine of the scapula (the ridge of bone you can feel just below the skin over the shoulder blade). The fibers pull the clavicle and entire shoulder girdle upward toward the head. The middle fibers of this muscle begin on the upper thoracic vertebrae, then run almost directly laterally to attach to the spine of the scapula. They will pull the scapula toward the vertebrae (like squeezing your shoulder blades together). The inferior (lower) fibers of the trapezius course upward (superiorly) from their attachments on the lower thoracic vertebrae and laterally to attach to the underside of the spine of the scapula. They pull the scapula and shoulders inferiorly and toward the lower thoracic vertebrae.
The levator scapula muscle lies deep to the trapezius. It's a rope-like muscle that originates from the first through fourth cervical vertebrae and attaches to the superior angle (the sharp upper surface) of the scapula. This muscle pulls the scapula and shoulder girdle upward and assists the superior trapezius muscles in shrugging the shoulders.
The rhomboids major and minor are deep to the trapezius and just inferior to the levator scapula muscle. The rhomboid muscles can add both thickness and detail to the back because they push the middle trapezius muscles out and away from the ribs. The rhomboid muscles begin at the thoracic vertebrae and run slightly inferior to attach on the medial border of the scapula. The larger rhomboid major lies lower (toward the feet) relative to the smaller rhomboid minor muscle, but both elevate the shoulders and squeeze the scapula together.
The deltoid is a thick, powerful muscle that caps the other muscles of the shoulder joint. The three parts of the deltoid converge on the humerus bone. The anterior fibers begin on the lateral part of the clavicle and act to flex the arm (pull the arm upward toward the head). They also help adduct the arm (move the arm at the shoulder closer to the midline of the body). The posterior fibers attach along the spine of the scapula and also assist in shoulder adduction. This region also extends the arm (pulls the arm backward) and assists in adducting the shoulder. The medial fibers attach along the acromion of the scapula, which is the point of the shoulder. They abduct the arm (pull the arm up and to the side, and away from the body's midline).
Upright Rowing with a Medium Grip
1. Take a medium grip on a barbell with your palms facing the floor (pronated hands). Your hands should be about three to four inches narrower than shoulder width.
2. Stand upright so the bar is resting across the front of your thighs when your arms are straight. It's helpful to face a mirror when doing this exercise, because it provides immediate feedback on your exercise form.
3. Your elbows should be pointed out to the side and not toward your chest. Keep the bar close to your body and pull it up to the level of your chin. As you are pulling upward, concentrate on keeping your elbows pointed as high as possible during the movement.
4. As you move the bar toward your chin, pull your elbows backward a few inches to keep the bar close to your chest. Pull the bar up to your chin but no higher. Pulling higher will activate the upper trapezius muscles more completely (but not the anterior deltoid). This places too much stretch on the supraspinatus muscle of the rotator cuff to make any additional upward movement worthwhile. Try to squeeze your scapulae together as you lift the weight.
5. Slowly lower the bar and allow it to stretch the superior trapezius, rhomboids and levator scapulae. It's important to control the descent of the weight and not let it drop, because the uncontrolled effects of gravity will stretch the delicate tendons of the rotator cuff and not the fibers of the upper and middle back muscles. Roll your shoulders forward as you lower the weight.
6. Let the bar stretch your shoulder girdle downward in the bottom position for two seconds before beginning the next repetition upward.
Important Tips
Keeping your elbows high throughout the exercise will abduct your shoulders, which strongly activates the deltoid muscles. As you are lifting the bar upward to your chin, your scapulae and shoulders will be raised upward and this produces strong contractions in the superior fibers of the trapezius muscles, the levator scapula muscle and both rhomboid major and minor muscles. Thus, the upper and middle parts of your back and shoulders have been strongly stimulated by pulling the weight upward.
In the upright row, the arms are abducted at the shoulder throughout the exercise (elbows are pointed away from the body and upward), so the rotator cuff muscles are very active. Thus, it's not a good exercise for someone who has had a rotator cuff injury. Even if you do not have a rotator cuff problem, you should still make sure you conduct the exercise in a slow and controlled manner. In particular, do not lower the weight rapidly because uncontrolled descents can stretch the rotator cuff muscles in the bottom position- unless, of course, you are looking for a reason to take a long layoff from training.
Another potential problem is that upright rowing can aggravate wrist injuries and in some people, it can cause discomfort in the wrist (particularly the little finger side). This occurs because the wrist has a tendency to bend laterally as the bar is lifted upward. If your elbows are not kept high (i.e., allowed to drop only to shoulder level), the stresses and lateral bending at the wrist will be magnified. Second, if you use wrist straps (which is highly recommended, especially if you begin to use moderate to heavy weights), you may lessen your grip strength on the bar and therefore, the stresses at your wrist, all without compromising the effectiveness of the exercise for upper and middle back and shoulder muscles.
Narrow grips will exaggerate the wrist strain. Thus, if you widen the span between your hands, so they're placed at shoulder width or greater, wrist strain will be reduced and you will increase activation of the medial fibers of the deltoid. However, a very large distance between your hands will tend to reduce the range of motion and this will reduce the effectiveness of the exercise, especially for the rhomboid muscles and middle area of the trapezius muscle. For this reason, medium-grip upright rowing provides the best muscle activation and the lowest risk of injury.
The middle areas of the back and posterior fibers of the deltoid muscle can be activated more strongly if you bend slightly from the waist (about 10 to 15 degrees of hip flexion) as you pull the bar toward your chin. This angle permits your shoulders to be pulled further posteriorly at an angle that's more directly in line with the pull of the middle trapezius and rhomboid muscles. However, do not bend over too far, or it will become a bent-over row and the work on the upper trapezius will be minimized. In addition, if you do bend forward, make sure your lower back is tightened and your knees are slightly bent to absorb the additional torque that will be created in the lumbar vertebrae and discs in this position. If you've had a lower back injury, do not bend over; keep completely vertical throughout the exercise.
Keep with the exercise for at least three months. Within this time you should find that you have added new slabs of muscle along your deltoids and superior trapezius fibers and transformed your upper and middle back into regions of thick hills and deep valleys, where once it was flat. Perhaps upright rowing will not guarantee Mr. Olympia thickness, but it definitely bring your closer to your genetic potential.
References
Bull ML, Freitas V, Vitti M and Rosa GJ. Electromyographic validation of the trapezius and serratus anterior muscles in rowing exercises with middle grip. Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol, 42: 403-411, 2002.
Bull ML, Freitas V, Vitti M and Rosa GJ. Electromyographic validation of the trapezius and serratus anterior muscles in rowing exercises with middle and closed grip. Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol, 43: 4-8, 2003.
Ekstrom RA, Donatelli RA and Soderberg GL. Surface electromyographic analysis of exercises for the trapezius and serratus anterior muscles. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, 33: 247-258, 2003.
Ferreira MI, Bull ML and Vitti M. Electromyographic validation of basic exercises for physical conditioning programs. III. Influence of the grip in the capacity of the rowing exercises in determining action potential levels for the deltoid and the pectoralis major muscle. Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol, 36: 86-90, 1996.
Ferreira MI, Bull ML and Vitti M. Electromyographic validation of basic exercises for physical conditioning programs. V. The comparison of the response in the deltoid muscle (anterior portion) and the pectoralis major muscle (clavicular portion) determined by the frontal-lateral cross, dumbbells and the rowing exercises. Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol, 43: 75-79, 2003.
Halder AM, Halder CG, Zhao KD, O'Driscoll SW, Morrey BF and An KN. Dynamic inferior stabilizers of the shoulder joint. Clin Biomech, (Bristol, Avon ) 16: 138-143, 2001.
Hermans V and Spaepen AJ. Muscular activity of the shoulder and neck region during sustained and intermittent exercise. Clin Physiol, 17: 95-104, 1997.
Hermans V, Spaepen AJ and Wouters M. Relation between differences in electromyographic adaptations during static contractions and the muscle function. J Electromyogr Kinesiol, 9: 253-261, 1999.
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