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Build Thick and Wide
What Is The Bent Over Barbell Row
The bent over row is one of the most basic but yet
a very effective exercise for upper and middle back muscle development. For
decades now, sports athletes, bodybuilders and power weight lifters have been
using the bent over row as a way to increase the strength and size of the
muscles in the middle to upper back.
If you are looking to pack on some muscle
mass bulk and shape to your upper body, then the bent over row is an important
exercise that you must include into your back workout routine.
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Targeting the lats, the bent over row combines the
powerful bodybuilding benefits of allowing you to train with a heavy weight
through a complete range of motion and allowing you to target your lats with
targeted accuracy and moving closer to the V-shaped upper body that most men
desire!
While many of the better weight lifting
exercises allow you to train multiple muscles (compound exercises) at the same
time, the bent row does not allow any other muscle groups to steal the load
and decrease the amount of stimulation that your lats and back receive. This
is one of the major benefits for including the bent over rows into your upper
back workouts. The heavy weights that you can perform with this exercise will
allow you to really hammer your lats.
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Muscles Targeted During Bent Over Barbell Row
Aside from the upper back, there are a few other
muscles that carry a their fair share of the load. To complete this movement
the Brachialis, Posterior Deltoid, Teres Major, Brachioradialis and Biceps
Brachii all contribute to the lift, but the vast majority of the load is
carried by the lats and upper back.
When performed with the correct form,
the bent over row uses very few of the muscles listed above, but when
performed with crappy form, it is one of those exercises that can start to
push a lot of the load from the target muscle group to the accompanying muscle
groups.
That is one of the reasons why it is so
important to learn how to perform bent over rows the right way. Therefore if
you want to build a muscular body, then the bent over barbell row is one of
those exercises you must include in your bodybuilding
program.
How To Perform The Bent Over Barbell Row
1)
Grab the barbell with an overhand grip with your hands spaced slightly wider
than your shoulder width. Spread your feet shoulder width apart and bend your
knees slightly. Lean forward at the waist at approximately 45 degree angle.
Make sure to keep your back straight during
the full range of the movement. If your body is aligned properly, then the bar
should be positioned just above your knee prior to beginning the exercise.
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2)
Pull the bar up to the lower portion of your chest at the same time making
sure to keep your core muscles contracted (in order to stabilize your spine).
When properly performed, you will basically be lifting your elbows up towards
the sky while holding your upper body in a stationary position.
When performing this exercise, you should
feel the muscles in your latissimus dorsi (lats) contracting. The lats are
located along both sides of the spine along your back.
In
order to ensure that you are focusing on the lats properly, it helps to
visualize the muscles that you are using (or supposed to be using) and to
attempt to pull your shoulder blades up and back at the top of the exercise,
this will force your latissimus dorsi to contract if it is not already
engaged.
Once you feel the muscles that are supposed
to be performing the bulk of the work during bent over rows, then it becomes
easier to make small adjustments to your form to ensure that the right muscles
are being targeted.
3)
Allow the bar to move back down to the starting position in a slow and
controlled manner, but still focus on using your lats to complete the
eccentric portion of the lift. As with all free weights exercises varying the
position of your grip will allow you to place an emphasis on different parts
of your upper and middle back.
If
you perform bent over rows with an overhand grip, you will place an emphasis
on the lower part of the trapezius and your rhomboids. While performing bent
rows with an underhand grip will place most of the emphasis on the upper
portion of the trapezius and the biceps brachii.
If
you are wanting to increase the strength and size of your upper and middle
back, then bent rows should be a major part of your back workouts. Not only
will you be able to target your upper back with laser precision and take a
step towards acquiring the v-taper upper body, but you will also be able to
train with a heavy enough weight to make a noticeable difference quickly.
Wishing
all the best in aquiring the V
shaped back muscles soon.
Nick Andrade
Nick Andrade is a professionally
certified personal trainer who specializes in teaching people how
to gain muscle mass quickly, healthily and naturally. If you found these
exercise tips helpful, check out gainmusclemasshelp.com for more exercise
demonstrations and free muscle building workouts. While you're there make sure
to sign up for 6 weeks of free workouts and 2 free chapter from Nick's book
The Muscle Mass Advantage!
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