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[igorek]

דבריו של לייל מקדונלד:

1. The back is arguably one of the more complex of all muscle groups in the body as it has several distinct 'sections'. It probably requires the most exercises to hit everything. They are

a. low back (usually hit sufficiently during lower body training)
b. lats (hit with pulldowns and some forms of rowing)
c. midback which includes traps II/III/IV which have varying lines of pull (Traps II pulls the scapula together, Traps III/IV pull the scapula together and down), rhomboids, and the teres group (all of which are involved in scapular retraction, and hit by varying types of rows)
d. traps I which elevates the shoulders (hit mainly with shrugs but some types of rows target this) and has some retraction action

You might consider the muscles of the rotator cuff to be involved here as well. Probably make a separate thread for them.

2. A lot of people have trouble targetting/training/hitting the back. Part of it is that they can't see it, part of it is poor technique. A lot of trainees feel a ton of arm involvement and almost no back involvement with back exercises. This is very often the case if they have tight shoudlers from too much bench pressing. A key cue is to think of the arms as hooks or ropes and focus on what's going on with the elbows.

During rowing, you should think about pushing the elbows behind you and getting the shoulders blades together. This has the conseuence of making you stick your chest out. During the eccentric, the shoulders should move forwards a bit and they must come back during the concentric. Someone with tight pecs and front delts (again, too much benching) will tend to have problems with this and should stretch their pecs/front delts prior to every set of back.

During pulldowns, the elbows should be pushed down, the focus should be on letting the shoulders come up (and scapula elevate/rotate outwards) during the eccentric and push them down during the concentric.

The following comments apply to any kind of row whether it's DB, barbell, cable or machine

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You can pull with an overgrip, elbows high and pull to chest. This tends to hit more midback but weights can be limited because the biceps have a poor line of pull.

You can pull with undergrip, elbows by side to stomach or sternum. this puts the biceps in a better line of pull and tends to involve more lats (which act as a shoulder extensor).

You can pull with a neutral grip (v-handle or some machines) to varying parts of the stomach or chest, elbows will generally be by the sides. Biceps have a moderate line of pull (like hammer curls) and both midback and lats will be hit.

You can also affect the involvement of both the upper and lower back depending on what you do in the movement.

You can start round backed and arch up to involve spinal erectors dynamically
You can start and keep back arched and involve spinal erectors statically
In either case, you have to end up with a slight arch in your upper back and your chest lifted. If you are hunching over as you pull, the weight is too heavy and you're cheating the weight up.

To work more Traps I/II do something like a Yates row (or the Hammer Iso row) with the torso at 45 degrees and pulling more back and upwards.

To work more Traps II/III/IV, do something like the hammer Hi-row where the pull is from high to low and make sure to scoop/depress the shoulders as you pull.

Just as with rowing, there are a number of grip, elbow position variations on pulldowns (or chins).

Shoulder width undergrip, elbows by side. This puts the biceps in the best line of pull and works the lats as a shoulder extensor.

Medium width overgrip (forearms shoudl be perpendicular to the floor at the bottom), elbows flared out. This puts the biceps in a worse line of pull and works the lats as a humeral adductor.

Note: I am no fan of very wide grip chins of any sort. They tend to limit range of motion and poundages and I think a medium grip overhand is sufficient.

You can also use a neutral, elbows come by the side. biceps get a poorer line of pull but the shoudler extensor function is primarily worked.

There is still major controversy about pulling in front or behind the neck, as many lack sufficien shoudler girdle flexibility to do behind the neck pulldown. I generally consider pulling in front to be somewhat safer for most people.

Note: The Hammer Behind the neck pulldown is actually a great machine as the handles come down by the side of the head so you get a direct line of pull on the lats without any issues in terms of the shoulder.

In all variations of pulldowns or chins, the chest must come up as the concentric is performed (and the shoudlers/elbows/scapula come down). Again, if you are hunched over at the end of the movement, the weight is too heavy and not getting an optimal involvement of the lats.