Dumbbell Row to the Chest. Bent-over barbell row

Broad muscular shoulders are not a natural gift, but the result of competent work on the development of the deltoid muscles. These muscles consist of three bundles and cover the shoulder joints like a shoulder pad. The front bundle of deltas is used in many bench exercises, the middle one is loaded when the arms are raised to the sides, but with the back it is not so simple. Backside shoulders in normal conditions receives a minimum load. To train the rear beams of deltas, an exercise such as lifting or pulling the barbell to the chest is intended. It is performed while standing in a bent over.

Working muscles

When pulling the bar to the chest in an inclined position, the back deltas provide the elbows upward. It is on these muscles that the main load falls when the exercise is performed correctly. Additionally, the work includes latissimus back and trapeze.

Lifting dumbbells to the chest, on the one hand, is somewhat more difficult than barbells, because you additionally have to stabilize the position of the shells. However, with the barbell, you can work with more significant weight.

This exercise is somewhat similar to the pull to the belt. However, in the latter case, it is the lats who solo, and the deltas work on an additional principle.

When combined with exercises for the front and middle deltas, pulling or lifting weights to the chest allows you to create a beautiful rounded contour of the shoulders. And this, in turn, makes the shoulder girdle more massive and more prominent.

The posterior bundles of the deltoid muscles.

Contraindications to the exercise are injuries to the shoulder joints, weakness of the back muscles, poor flexibility. hip joints... For correct execution Exercise you will need to keep your back straight while standing in an inclined position.

Execution technique

For example, consider a barbell exercise. Dumbbell rows are performed in a similar manner.

Wide grip pulling to the chest.

Stand up straight, feet shoulder-width apart, feet parallel. Bend your knees and grab the bar with a straight wide grip. Raise the barbell and lock yourself in a tilted position. Lean as much as your flexibility allows. The closer the body position is to the horizontal, the better, but technique is still primary. Natural deflection must be preserved in the lower back. Reduce the incline if you experience discomfort in lumbar.
As you inhale, pull the bar straight up, spreading your elbows to the sides. Raise the bar to chest level.
As you exhale, gently lower the projectile into starting position... Repeat the movement the specified number of times.

When doing the exercise, try to concentrate on the work of the deltoid muscles. It is important to turn off the biceps as much as possible and not to lift the weight at the expense of the arms. Imagine that the arms start from the elbows. It is the elbows that you lift up. Because you have a wide grip on the bar, this is not that hard to do.

The barbell pull to the chest in the slope is performed 8-12 times in 2-3 sets. This exercise can tire out small deltas well. Combine the wide grip lift to the chest with side dumbbell curls, press up, front lifts, and other exercises for complex shoulder development.

Errors

Despite the fact that at first glance the exercise looks quite simple, not all athletes perform it correctly. Below are the main mistakes that can not only make the exercise ineffective, but also provoke injury.

The first thing to remember and always control is the state of the back. The fact is that if, while standing in an incline, you round your back, your spine is under tremendous stress. It is affected not only by your body weight, but also by the weight of the barbell or dumbbells. But the muscles of the back in this position are stretched and they do not provide support.
Keep your eyes on the floor. Aim to look in front of you or diagonally to the floor. Otherwise, you will again be tempted to round your back.
Standing in a bent over, balance by bending your knees.
Do not bring your elbows to the body, hold the bar with a wide grip. The projectile is lifted vertically. It is important to pull the weight to the chest, not to the lower abdomen. Otherwise, the back will work mainly, and not the shoulders.

By following these recommendations and controlling the technique of performing the exercise, you can achieve excellent results without unpleasant consequences for the body. Deltoid muscle training makes the shoulders volume and contoured, and the figure athletic.

If you go to any average gym, then, for sure, you will see how many mistakes people make, even in such a technical easy exercise like bent over dumbbell rows. And there is no need to talk about the bench press or squats at all.

In fact, most athletes would get a lot more out of their training if they just learned how to do the basic exercises. Considering the above, I would like to state my main views on bodybuilding and methodology strength training generally:

Exercises must be performed with flawless technique and target muscles clearly.
An exercise done correctly with a light weight is better than an exercise done incorrectly with a large one.
If you consistently follow the same training program, there will be no discernible progress in muscle building, performance or aesthetics.

But back to the bent-over row of dumbbells. I rarely see it done correctly. Unfortunately, what I usually see looks like a bizarre combination of triceps extension and biceps concentration curl, in addition to using inertia of movement.

Muscles working in a dumbbell row with one hand: 1 - the broadest muscle of the back; 2 - large round; 3 - trapezoidal; 4 - deltoid

When performing any exercise, you need to know which muscle groups are involved and how they work.

If you do the dumbbell deadlift correctly, then it will become one of the best tools to work on top body in your training "arsenal".

So which muscles are working in this exercise? Mainly, these are the latissimus and round muscles of the back, as well as the core.

The one-arm dumbbell row is great for those with back pain as it engages the latissimus muscle, which is associated with the vertebrae of the thoracic, lumbar, and sacral spine, and the sacroiliac joint. It also helps to strengthen the muscles of the upper and mid-back (which is difficult to achieve with just deadlifts or squats) and also improves the mobility of the shoulder blades.

Bent-over dumbbell rows also engage the rhomboid muscles, the lower traps, and the erector spine, and requires good rotator cuff stabilization. This means that if you do the exercise correctly, you should feel the work of the muscles located between and under the shoulder blades.

Technique for performing a row of dumbbells to the belt in an incline and common mistakes

If you ask a dozen people in gym where they feel tension while performing a bent-over row of dumbbells, they will point to the elbow, biceps, wrists, shoulders, neck, buttocks, and other parts of the body, but not the lats.

Perhaps it is because of the wrong body position that people subsequently begin to complain of back pain. They mistakenly round the thoracic or lumbar spine, tilt their head too low or, on the contrary, throw it back, spread their elbows to the sides, unfold their wrists, turn the torso, or jerk the dumbbell.

Here is a video showing how to properly perform a one-arm dumbbell row while standing in a bent over:

The position of the spine affects the movement in the shoulders. Since the latissimus dorsi drives the shoulder blades, the pulling motion will be correct only if the upper back is not rounded.

The rounding of the back limits the mobility of the shoulder blades and excludes the possibility of using the latissimus muscles.

Here is a video showing what a one-arm bent-over row with a rounded back looks like:

Many people also pull the dumbbell too high, which seems like a healthy idea to counter the force of gravity. But in this case, look at the position of the body: the broadest muscle is below the shoulder, and the upper part of the trapezius muscle and the muscle that lifts the scapula are above it.

This means that the one-handed dumbbell row will be more actively involved in the work. upper part the trapezius and levator scapula, not the latissimus and rhomboid muscles.

The shoulder blades should be tense and pressed against the back, and the dumbbell should be raised to the level of the upper thigh.

Many people, performing a dumbbell row with one hand while standing in an incline, also turn their torso to the side and extend their leg at the knee. The exercise is beginning to be somewhat like a leg press with a weight in one hand.

The body should be absolutely motionless, and the movement should come only from the arm and shoulder.

Here is a video showing what a bent-over dumbbell row looks like with an emphasis on a bench with torso twists:

The latissimus muscles act as the extensor muscles of the spine, and are also responsible for fixing the shoulder blades, so a straight back position will allow them to be more actively used.

Instead of straining the core muscles, many people tense the abdominal muscles, which causes them to involuntarily pull the pelvis back and, as a result, bend the spine. This is not worth doing.

And finally, the last mistake concerns the incomplete inclusion of the shoulder blades in the work, which leads to a decrease in the load on the rhomboid muscles and trapezium.

This is how it looks in practice:

The back position is correct here, but the shoulder blades are not tense enough to do their job. This is similar to lifting dumbbells for biceps with incomplete extension of the arms. Of course, the muscles are still working, but this is far from ideal.

The reason may be the immobility of the front of the shoulder, in particular in the clavicular head of the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor, as well as the weakness of the rhomboid muscles. Often, a slight stretch can improve position and range of motion.

Here's an example of how you can do myofascial release yourself:

Bent-over Dumbbell Row Variations

When you have mastered the technique of the classic alternating dumbbell bent over on the bench, you can move on to its various variations. By stopping at just one exercise, you increase your risk of repetitive injury (think of runners on long distances and their thigh injuries), or at least reaching a plateau.

By making small changes in body position or grip, you can continue to stimulate the growth of new muscle fibers and give them a new incentive to adapt.

Here are some variations of the one-handed dumbbell row:

Holding the dumbbells at different points on the handle causes the muscles in the forearm to work differently, which affects the ability to stabilize the weight.

Changing the position of the legs and hips provides different bases of support, as well as changes the position of the pelvis and spine, which affects the ability of the muscles to perform traction. These small adjustments to the exercise can lead to great results.

Conclusion

I once thought that if I lift 60-kilogram dumbbells, even with a completely wrong technique, I can become stronger, I will quickly increase muscle mass and my back will be wide and V-shaped.

Take dumbbells in your hands, fists look forward. As you exhale, raise your shoulders and bend your elbows until the dumbbells reach chest level and your elbows are above your forearm. Pause and return to starting position.

Exercise rules

Take the dumbbells in your hands with a pronated grip. Keep them level with your upper thigh. The arms are slightly bent at the elbows, the back is straight. This is your starting position.
As you exhale, raise your shoulders and bend your elbows until the dumbbells reach chest level. Raise your arms along your body until your elbows are above your forearm. Keep the body stationary. Pause at the top of the exercise.
As you inhale, slowly lower the dumbbells to the starting position.
Repeat the recommended number of times.
Caution: Be careful with your working weight. Too much weight will negatively affect the position of the body, which can lead to shoulder injury. Do the exercise without jerking or swinging the dumbbells. If you have problems with shoulder girdle, give up the vertical row and replace it with side raises of dumbbells.

Article taken from the site

Powerful, muscular shoulders are not a gift from nature, but the result of hard work on developing deltas. This muscle consists of three bundles, like a shoulder pad, they cover the shoulder joints. The front beam works the most, it is involved in most pressing exercises, the middle one works when raising or extending the arms to the sides. With the posterior beam, everything is a little more complicated, in ordinary training we get a minimum of load, so targeted training is needed. And this can only be done in the forward tilt position, if it comes on the use of free weights.

Consider one of the ways to train the back of the delta - the barbell pull to the chest in the slope. At first glance, it may seem that the back will do the main work, but this is not the case. Taking into account the correctness of the exercise and a wide grip, the main load falls on the rear deltas, and the trapezium and latissimus dorsi are additionally included.

The wide grip barbell pull is very similar to the belt pull, but their purpose is completely different. In the first case, the deltas are trained, in the second, the back muscles. In a voluminous set of exercises for the middle and front deltas, pulling to the chest will allow you to build beautiful, massive, rounded shoulders.

Bent-over barbell row: technique

Consider the principle of working with a barbell, with other shells everything will be the same:

Take a level position with legs set parallel to the width of the shoulders. Bend your legs and grab the bar with a wide grip, take stable position... Make the angle of inclination whatever flexibility allows you. The more horizontal, i.e. closer to the parallel in relation to the floor, the body will be located, the better the performance will be;
Maintain natural deflection in the lumbar spine. If you start to experience discomfort, immediately reduce the incline;
Inhale and pull the bar in a vertical plane to chest level. Raise your elbows to the sides, try to work only with the back beams. If you look at this case upside down, it will resemble a bench press;
At the top point, hold for 1 second so that the muscles receive a static load, then slowly lower the projectile while exhaling.

Try to concentrate as much as possible when doing the exercise on the work of the rear deltas. It is necessary to exclude the biceps and not to do the deadlift due to their tension. Imagine that you have ropes from your elbows with hooks attached to a barbell, and you just spread your elbows out to the sides and up. Use wide grip, it will be easier for you.

Common mistakes in chest pulls

The barbell row is a fairly simple exercise, but even in it, athletes manage to make mistakes, especially beginners. Let's list the problematic issues that can reduce the effectiveness of the barbell pull to the chest and provoke injury:

First of all, you need to strictly control the position of the back. If it turns out that in the tilt position you round your back, the load on the spine increases significantly. Except weight own body it is also influenced by the weight of the bar, which also increases the load on the spine, but with a geometric progression. Therefore, to avoid injury, you need to keep your back straight, and the muscles of the press and back in constant tension for the entire duration of the exercise;
Always look ahead, you do not need to look down. This will eliminate the desire to round your back;
Keep your elbows to the sides, do not press them against the body. Otherwise, from an exercise on the back deltas, it will turn into a pumping of the back muscles. Use a wide grip, pull your elbows out to the sides and the barbell toward your chest.

Execution variations

There are several similar options to notice the pull of the bar to the chest in the slope:

Dumbbell Rows;
Row of the T-bar to the chest;
A pull from the lower block with a wide handle;

On the one hand, lifting dumbbells is a little more difficult, because stabilizers have to be included in the work. On the other hand, significantly less weight will be involved than with a barbell, which will reduce the load on the joints and make the exercise safer.

In addition to the options considered, the back delta can be trained using.

To whom, when and how much

To: The exercise is not difficult, so anyone who has no problems with the lumbar spine can do it;

When: Do a bent-over barbell row to the chest at the end of the delt workout;

How many: 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions each.

Mass and relief to you!

I am sure that experienced athletes who are versed in the issue of periodization of training, biomechanics of movements and the theory of building specialized micro- and mesocycles on their faces had a smile when they read the title of the article. Because there are no the most powerful or the most best exercise... There are more effective and less effective movements, but it is not the exercise itself that is much more important, but how to combine it with others within a weekly cycle.

People who are less sophisticated in sports continue to look for magic exercises, magic powders and magic pills that will quickly achieve results. Unfortunately, there are none. On the other hand, if you approach the issue reasonably, you can actually improve the shape of the deltas and achieve a significant increase in their volume over a very modest period. It took me eight months. After a year and a half, deltas from lagging turned into dominant muscle group.

Below are the principles that will help you build intelligently training program with an emphasis on shoulder development. And, of course, I will show the heels of the most effective exercises for this.

Two major mistakes that hinder the development of mighty deltas

The first mistake

Incorrect exercise technique. So pay Special attention on their description below and on the video - picked up the highest quality videos.

Because of the crooked technique, people load anything but their shoulders. Traps, back, arms, overload the shoulder joints. In the first three cases, the load is ineffective - too little weight for these muscles or the wrong vector of movement. And the result of the last case will be an injury that will throw you off for a month and a half in training.

Looks at the barbell, "bear grip" - it will all end badly

In addition, here it is worth mentioning the frankly dangerous exercises that can severely damage the shoulder joints. A separate article has been written about this - be sure to read:

Second mistake

Too much load on the deltas, because of which they do not have time to recover. After all, these are small muscle groups that work in almost all pulling and pushing movements during chest and back training.

Let's remember one of the variants of the classic split:

Chest + back
Arms + deltas

During the workout of the pectorals, you have so well loaded the front bundles of deltas. And working on the back, they additionally swayed the back beams of deltas. After a day, load the same muscles again thoroughly, but 48 hours is too short for them to recover. The muscles are not yet ready for serious work, which is why strength results and, as a result, muscle volume do not grow either.

Moreover, the arms are also loaded well during the workout of the chest and back. It turns out a double blow to all small muscle groups.

Let's add the wrong exercise technique to this whole batch and we will get problems with the development of deltas (and arms too) in those whose muscle groups are not naturally dominant.

The Most Effective Shoulder Exercises

All kinds of exercises for the development of deltas (the shoulder, in fact, is a part of the arm from the delta to the elbow, and deltoid- this is the very ball of three beams that you want to develop) a great many. You can work with blocks, with dumbbells, with a barbell, not to mention dozens of specialized simulators.

Below I will give the most effective movements in my personal opinion, which is not the ultimate truth. It was these movements that I used to work out the deltas to their current state (photo at the end of the article).

First, a little theory. The delta consists of three beams. Front, middle and back. The front one is responsible for pushing movements, the rear one for pulling. The middle delta is partially involved in both cases, plus when the arms are moved to the sides.

In fact, for the effective development of deltas, two basic exercises- pressing and traction.

There are enough press movements in strength training for any person - all guys love to bench press, decently loading the front delta. But with traction movements they hose. And if they do pull the bar to the chin, then in most cases it is wrong, loading the trapezoid and injuring shoulder joint.

As a result, we see a situation when the front delta is more or less developed, and the back delta is absent altogether. Let's fix the situation.

Army press (bench press standing)

An excellent basic exercise for developing the front delta, which partly involves the middle beam as well. The grip width is average, that is, you take the bar slightly wider than your shoulders. Take it too wide - the chest will steal part of the load, too narrow - overload the triceps, which will fail before the delta works well.

My personal advice- I do not recommend lowering the barbell below the level of the chin, so as not to give a breaking load on the joint. Even if the flexibility allows you to lower the bar to your chest, you shouldn't tempt fate. The risk of injury does not justify the additional stretching of the muscle for its supposedly better growth.

note that army press also trains the core muscles well.

A variant of the exercise from Yaroslav Brin:

Not a bad alternative from Denis Borisov (just do not bend your hands back, the bar should lie on the base of the palm, not on the pads, so as not to injure the hand):

And another interesting option from Adam Kozyra:

Sitting or standing dumbbell press

An alternative to the army press is to do a standing dumbbell press. In the case when there are difficulties with the lower back and a large compression load is undesirable, you can do a dumbbell press while sitting with a slight inclination of the bench (80 °).

Of the features, I will only note the moment where it is necessary to lower the dumbbells - to the level of the ears or so that the angle between the shoulder and forearm is 90 °. Lower it below - create a breaking load on the shoulder joint. Also, do not forget that the dumbbells are on the base of the palms, and not on their pads (calluses).

A variant of the exercise from Denis Borisov:

And from Yaroslav Brin:

Barbell pull to the chin (to the chest)

The second basic movement is for the development of deltas, in particular the middle and back beams. The main mistake- do this movement by grabbing the bar narrow grip, then pull it higher, lifting your elbows almost over your head. In this case, you injure the shoulder joint and force the trapezium to work, but not the delta.

The most effective way to perform the exercise is shown in the video below (wide grip, slight forward bend, pull to the chest, elbows do not rise above the level of the deltas):

Machi (breeding) with dumbbells standing

An excellent option for additional study of the middle beam of deltas, but subject to the correct execution of the exercise. To avoid mistakes, watch the video carefully:

Leads back in the "Butterfly" simulator (plus swings in the slope)

Pair additional exercises it will not hurt to work out the posterior bundles of deltas, since this group most often lags behind in development.

In the backward bending in the Butterfly simulator, it is important to move the shoulders forward and work within the amplitude (it is very short) so as not to use the back muscles:

As for the swings of the dumbbells in the slope - similarly: we bring the shoulders forward, the trapezoid is "smeared" on the back, we work within the amplitude (the elbows do not rise above the deltas level):

How to intelligently build a microcycle for the development of deltas

If you are a beginner, then with an emphasis on deltas you can not bother at all. Work in Full Body mode and your shoulders will develop great on the presses and deadlifts. It is enough to include an army press, a barbell pull to the chin in the program and alternate these exercises in two basic blocks. I gave an example of such blocks in the first episodes of the BeardyBuilding podcast and in.

If you already have a couple of years of training experience, but deltas are still lagging behind in development, here is a basic diagram of how to cheer them up. Personally, she helped me a lot.

Four-day split:

Monday: legs (3-4 exercises).
Tuesday: chest (2-3 exercises) + front delta (1-2 exercises - army press or dumbbell press, lifting dumbbells in front of you with a hammer grip).
Wednesday: rest.
Thursday: back (3-4 basic exercises) + back delta 1 exercise (any of the above).
Friday: triceps (two exercises) + biceps (1-2 exercises, after all, when working on the back, he has already loaded himself) + middle delta (2 exercises - barbell pull to the chin, dumbbell swings to the sides).

The meaning, I think, is clear - together with the pectorals, the front delta is well loaded and it is enough to finish it off with 1-2 exercises. Together with the back, the back delta is loaded and one exercise at the end is enough to finish it off. Plus a couple of exercises for middle delta on hand day.

Three-day split

If you don't have the time or desire to do four strength training sessions per week, then add one basic triceps exercise on chest day. For example, a press with a narrow grip or French press... On the day of the back, add one or two biceps exercises (PSB and / or lifting dumbbells for biceps while sitting on an incline bench). On the day of the legs, after training the lower body, do exercises for the middle delta (barbell pull to the chin and standing dumbbell swings).

A specialized version of the microcycle with an emphasis on the upper body

I practiced this option for four months from October last year to January this year inclusive. The point is to visually enlarge the upper body without the need for extra muscle gain. To do this, we make the back more bumpy (emphasis on training its inner part), protruding trapeziums, more powerful deltas, plus chest ones.

Great specialization is obtained if the target muscle group is trained a couple of times a week. In my case, I did four strength training a week, within which he separately worked out the thickness (tuberosity) and the width of the back, hammered the deltas a couple of times and the chest a couple of times. The exercises below are just an example, you can use any of your choice. Two or three warm-up sets, two workers.

Monday (chest + traps + deltas):

Two chest presses for 10-12 reps (for example, a bench press, a 30 ° dumbbell press, or a Hummer press).
Shrugs with dumbbells or a barbell (15-20 reps) + T-row with an emphasis on the chest or linkage (10-12 reps).
Army press or standing dumbbell press.
Pull in the rope handle to the chest.

Tuesday (Legs + abs):

3-4 leg exercises for pumping all muscles (squats with a barbell, leg extension, deadlift, platform press, lunges - 8-12 reps) + (20-25 reps).
Crunches and reverse crunches on the press (20-25 reps 3-4 sets).
Neck (so as not to be skinny against the background of wide shoulders) - lifting the head with a pancake on the forehead and / or on the back of the head.

Thursday (Back Width + Deltas):

Three to four favorite back-width exercises (pull-ups, hummer or bar / dumbbell rows, deadlifts vertical block to the chest, pullover, etc. - 10-12 reps).
Row of the bar to the chin and swings with dumbbells to the sides (10-12 repetitions, swings can be 12-15 repetitions).

Friday (arms + chest for tone):

One harsh basic chest exercise for three working sets of 12-15 reps. In my case, they were chest push-ups from the bars with a weight on the belt.
A couple of basic exercises for biceps (for example, PSB, lifting dumbbells for biceps while sitting) + a couple of basic movements for triceps (press with a narrow grip, French press, extension in the block, etc.) for 10-12 repetitions.

Briefly about the main

The leitmotif of the article is not just to give some basic scheme for work, but to teach the principles of effective development of certain muscle groups.

In particular, success depends on both correct technique performing exercises, and from a reasonable construction of a microcycle, so as not to overload one or another muscle group. Use training for muscle assistants (synergists) if you want to save time and not overload the body. Or reasonably cycle training on muscles that are not related to each other in any way, if you want to work them out as efficiently as possible within the framework of one workout. Moreover, in this case, it is advisable to take one large muscle group and one small one. Let's say chest and biceps, back and triceps, etc.

Developing a beautiful, athletic body is not as easy as it sounds. Here you have to think. At least, if you want to progress, and not stagnate for years.