Keeping Fit is A Daily Battle

Seated Cable Rows are great for the lats muscles, and it also exercises the trapezius, rhomboids and rear deltoids. It will give you wider lats if done correctly, but may result to lower back pain if not done correctly.

Below are the steps on proper way of doing seated cable rows:

1. Sit at the pulley row machine. Anchor your feet against the foot platforms, with your knees slightly bent.
2. Keep your back straight, lean forward slightly and grasp the handles with a narrow grip.
3. Pull the handles high toward your chest, keeping your spine straight. Your elbows should point behind you. Don’t lock your knees.
4. Hold for a second, then return to the starting position.

To target more on the trapezius, pull the handles or bar through a high trajectory towards the middle chest; a low trajectory toward the abdomen works more on the latissimus dorsi.

Remember to keep your back straight and torso upright, to prevent injury to your lower back and you are contracting the right muscles (lats and traps). Squeeze the shoulder blades together to maximize muscle contraction.

Below is a video demonstrating the proper execution of seated cable row:

Lat is short term for “Latissimus dorsi”, the primary upper back muscle which gives a V shape look for our trunk, and makes our waist look smaller. Our back muscles enable us to pull with power, or grab something heavy from the ground, like a heavy baggage for example.

Lat pulldown is a great upper back exercise, but I advise against pulling down behind your head. I see sometimes guys in the gym pulling behind the head; it could lead to shoulder injuries and should be avoided.

This exercise also works your rhomboids, which lie between your spine and your shoulder blades. Don’t overdo the amount of weight.

As always, a workout video showing the exercise, provides a better grasp of the workout instructions. Below is a video of bodybuilder Frank Sepe demonstrating the correct form of doing lat pulldown.

Muscles Involved:
Primary: Latissimus dorsi (outer section).
Secondary: Rear deltoid, lower trapezius, rhomboids.

Proper Lat Pulldown Execution:

1. Sit at a lat pulldown station. Grasp the bar overhead, placing your hands shoulder-width or farther apart. Your palms should face away from your body. Keep your upper body straight and your eyes forward.

2. Slowly pull the bar down in front of your head until it reaches the top of your shoulders and touching your upper chest, keeping your upper body fairly upright throughout the movement. Hold for a second, then slowly return your arms in the starting position.

Dumbbell Shrugs or Barbell Shrugs are specifically targeting the trapezius muscles. This muscles raises your shoulder, rotates our shoulder blades, and helps you turn your head. The trapezius extends out and down from the neck and down between the shoulder blades.

Shoulders are particularly prone to injuries during workouts. The most common reason is Poor technique. Many men have poor form when doing shoulder exercises, stretching muscle tissue too much in the process.

So we have here a demonstration of properly doing a Dumbbell Shoulder Shrugs from bodybuilder Frank Sepe.

This exercise also strengthens your rhomboids, which lie between your spine and your shoulder blades.

1. Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Hold a dumbbell on each hand, letting your arms hang along-side your body. Your palms should face your body. Make sure your shoulders are back and relaxed.

2. Slowly shrug your shoulders as high as they’ll go, keeping your head still and your chin slightly tucked. Hold for a second, squeeze at the top of the movement, then slowly return to the starting position. Don’t try to raise the weight by your arms, by bending your elbows during the shrugs; you should lift it using your trapezius muscles.