Bent Over Rows For A Muscular back by Nick Andrade

The bent over row is one of the basic upper and middle back exercises. For some time now, bodybuilders, power lifters and athletes 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're looking to add bulk and shape to your upper body, then the bent row is an important exercise that you must fit into your upper back workouts.



Targeting the Latissimus Dorsi, the barbell row combines the powerful benefits of allowing you to train through a complete range of motion with a heavy weight and allowing you to target your lats with laser precision and move closer to the v-shaped upper body that you really want! While many of the best top bodybuilding exercises allow you to train multiple body part at the same time, the bent row doesn't allow any other muscle groups to steal the show and decrease the amount of work that your lats do. This is one of the big benefits to planning barbell rows into your upper back workouts. The heavy weights that you can perform this exercise with allow to to really hammer your lats.



Muscles Stimulated During The Bent Over Row



Aside from the Latissimus Dorsi, there are a few other body parts that carry a thier share of the load. To complete this movement the Brachialis, Posterior Deltoid,Teres Major,Brachioradialis and Biceps Brachii all contribute, but the vast majority of the load is carried by the lats\upper back. When performed with proper form, the barbell row uses very few of the muscles listed above, but when performed with sloppy form, it is one of those exercises that can start to transfer a lot of the load from the target muscle group to the secondary muscle groups. that's just one of the reasons that it's critical to learn how to perform barbell rows the right way.



How To Perform The Bent Row



1. Grasp the Barbell with an overhand grip with your hands spaced slightly wider than shoulder width. Spread your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees slightly. Lean forward at the waist at approximately a 45° angle. Make sure to keep your back straight during the full range of the movement. If you're body is aligned properly, then the bar should be positioned just above your knee prior to beginning the exercise.



2. Pull the bar up to the lower portion of your chest, 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.



While performing the bent over row, 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 picture 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 isn't 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.



keep in mind that varying the position of your grip will allow you to target different parts of your middle and upper back. If you perform barbell 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're looking to increase the size and strength of your upper and middle back, then bent rows should be a major part of your lat 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'll be able to train with a heavy enough weight to make a noticeable difference quickly.


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Article Source: Bent Over Rows For A Muscular back