As
you might have gathered from reading
some of the stuff on this site, I'm
a big fan of repurposing exercises
for targeting bodyparts other than
the ones for which they're originally
intended.
THAT
is what this exercise is all about.
It's
the top 1/4 of the Stiff-Legged Deadlift
movement, done in the power rack but
with a very important focus...instead
of focusing on the hamstrings, you'll
instead be pulling your back into a
highly-contracted position THEN performing
the movement.
This
is going to put the majority of the
tension on those back muscles so that
they get worked with about double the
weight (or more) that they normally
would with a rowing exercise. And as
you can imagine, this works VERY well.
The
position at the shoulders resembles
the top of a row (shoulders back) even
though the arms stay straight.
I
have to say, I just LOVE this one for
building back thickness and for developing
strength in the deep, stabilizing muscles
of the back (upper to lower).
(I
apologize for the frame on the pictures
- the camera was a bit off kilter).
So
first, you should be comfortable with
the Stiff-Legged Deadlift exercise in
general before doing this.
Set
the pins in the power rack to just above
knee height and load the bar. I'm using
425 lbs in this one (which is about
my 3 RM for SLDL's). Use a weight you
could do for at least 3 to 5 full reps
on the full range stiff-legged deadlift
when you try this for the first time.
Now
here's the important part...once
you've gripped on the bar, pull your
chest towards the bar and pull your
shoulders back, contracting all your
back muscles HARD and lock them there.
You
want to strive to keep this shoulders-back
position through the entire movement
as that's that real valuable part of
this exercise.
Now
lift the bar off the rails - squeeze
it off, don't blast it off in one shot.
You want to basically pull some bend
into the bar then squeeze the bar off
the rails.
Keep your shoulders back and tight.
You'll feel the tension of the weight
trying to pull your shoulders forward...do
your absolute best to keep them back
using those muscles of the back.
This
exercise is also going to help your
regular deadlift in that it'll help
prevent your thoracic (upper) spine
from curving forward. By building upper
back strength, you can help minimize
that curving and make heavy deadlifting
safer. This is actually the reason I
originally came up with this exercise...I
was finding when I was doing deadlifts
and hitting 550 lbs or more, my thoracic
spine was rounding more than I'd liked.
Come
up to vertical then lower the weight
back down.
Set
the bar fully on the rails. This is
important because you want to reset
your back position on every single rep,
then go again.
The
first time you do this one, you'll feel
exactly how it's supposed to work. Pull
your chest towards the bar, lock your
shoulders back, then lift. Keep that
lower back arched the whole way, too
and keep your core tight. I also recommend
holding your breath during the first
part of the movement to keep your torso
solid and stabilized.
This
is a GREAT exercise for building thickness
in the upper back. I'm actually kind
of addicted to it, to be honest.
Heck,
it's even a great exercise for increasing
your bench press...after all, the thicker
your back is, the shorter the range
of motion the bar has to go in a bench
press... ;). That plus, the back serves
as the platform for the bench and a
strong back that can keep the shoulders
pinned tighter behind your back is going
to do wonders for increasing your bench
press numbers.
