Exercises You Should Be Doing_ Deadstop DB Row

8/12/2019 Exercises You Should Be Doing_ Deadstop DB Row

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Without blinking an eye, Ill be the first to admit that my

favorite body-part to train is the upper back. For me at

least, when I see someone with a thick or defined upper

back, I know (s)he has put her work in at the gym.

Comparatively speaking, there are a lot more people

walking around with six packs than there are those with an

impressive upper back.

I mean, what looks more impressive, this (AKA: the walking

bag of douche who will inevitably make this his Facebook

profile picture)

Or this (Oleksandr Kutchers upper back)

Not even close if you ask me.

To no fault of their own, though, most trainees like to train what they can see, and the back often gets the shaft in

favor of things like the pecs, abs, and biceps; or, the mirror muscles.

That said, while things like deadlifts, barbell rows, and chin-up variations are undoubtedly the go to movements for

sculpting a powerful upper back, one of the more underrated, or less utilized exercises out there is the dumbbell row.

As a matter of fact, Id argue that the dumbbell row is one of the more underrated upper back exercise, since not only

More About Tony

Tony Gentilcoreis a Certified

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rcises You Should Be Doing: Deadstop DB Row http://www.tonygentilcore.com/blog/exercises-you-should-be-doing-d...

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does it help build a thick upper back, but its also a great movement for the lats as wel l.

Unlike the aforementioned exercises listed above, dumbbell rows are a single limb movement, which carries its own

advantages in the sense that its easier to ascertain whether or not theres a streng th imbalance or weakness

between the left and right side. Too, due to the lack of equipment needed (all you need is a single DB), anyone can

do them at any time.

First things first, however, as simple as the dumbbell row might appear, its surprising how much this movement is

actually butchered. Simply put, what most trainees feel is a dumbbell row is anything but, and is often nothing more

than a test to see how long before my eyes starting hurting.

Before we get to the actual exercise, here are some common technique flaws that I tend to come across.

Here, theres really no emphasis what-so-ever on the upper back itself. Instead, the movement resembles some sort

of explosive arm curl with momentum taking over. Worse still are those guys who do this and grunt as if theyre giving

birth to a bowling ball on every rep. LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME!!!

This one is quite common, where youll see someone performing a row, only to completely rotate their up per torso

because theyre using too much weight to do it correctly. Ideally, the torso should stay completely stationary, with the

chest/nipple line pointing towards the bench the entire time.


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This one should look familiar to anyone who trains at a commercial gym rounded back , head protruding forward,

absolutely no scapular retraction (adduction) taking place. I cringe everytime I see this.

Which takes us to todays exercise of the day

Who Did I Steal It From: strength coach, and fellow t-nation.com contributor Tim Henriques

What Does It Do: As noted above, this is a fantastic exercise to build a thick upper back (big biceps, too, since

theyre in the direct line of pull), but also ta rgets the lats as well in addition to p roviding a nice stretch in that area to

boot.

Key Coaching Cues: While maintaining a neutral spine position throughout (the body should make a straight line

from the head to lumbar spine), start with the dumbbell resting on the floor. Grab the handle and crush it gripping it

as hard as you can. Doing so will single the rotator cuff to fire and to pack the shoulder back through a process called

irradiation.

From there, I like to tell people to pretend theyre starting a lawn mower rowing t he dumbbell by bring their elbow

towards the hip (not just going straight up and down). Effectively, youll be pulling through the elbow, finishing at the

top by retracting (technicaly, adducting) your shoulder blade towards the midline of the body. In other words, squeeze

your shoulder blade like a mofo at the top.

To finish, youll return the dumbbell back to the floor, coming to a complete STOP. Pause for a second or two, and

repeat for desired number or repetitions.

Of Note: for those with shorter arms, you may want to grab a stepper or a few mats to place on the floor to decrease

the range of motion.

And there you have it. Try it out today and let me know what you think! Also, just a friendly reminder, if you found this

post useful, be sure to click the Like button located at the bottom. Ill be your best friend forever if you do.

DATE 04/19/2011 COMMENTS 25 COMMENTS CATEGORY UNCATEGORIZED

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25 Comments

Jonathan Goodman

Thanks for the article Tony. I've been using 1s pauses to encourage proper firing for the

last couple months now with my training in addition to most of my clients and it's working

wonders.

I think you need a new question below though. Some people who read this blog might find

rocks to be light.

Peter Poletti

I really like how you've demonstrated a few common errors before demonstrating correct

form. I'd love to see that applied more often.

The deadstop here sounds interesting, definitely going to give these a try.

Bret Contreras

God those "bad form" one's made me laugh! It's always fun filming them.

Benjamin Pickard

Hey Tony,

I also like pointing out common exercise errors and giving a solution... would like to see

more of this type of article down the road!

What are your thoughts on 'Kroc' Rows? They look awfully similar to 'explosive arm curl

guy' but they seem to be popular and I know personally they work great for my upper back.

Do you avoid them with your athletes/clients in favor of deadstop or strict rows?

Thanks,

Ben

jos h

Well crap. I think I might be "explosive arm curl" guy. And I thought I had good form on

dumbbell rows...doh! Thanks for the article, and thanks for the great videos. I'll have to give

the deadstop variation a try on Thursday.

Domenic

LOL @ worst form ever guy that is almost every guy haha.

@ Benjamin Pickard - I think someone doing Kroc Rows would be considered:

"Using a weight too heavy and too large to complete a full range of motion rep so I justhope there is some benefit to using a bunch of body english to hoist a 150lb dumbell 20

times guy"

Michael Gray

I'm glad you included the "pull to the hip" cue. I think this is one of the most commonly

missed components to DB Rows. Nice job TG!

Tony Gentilcore

@ Bret: I know, right? Although I have to say that trying to purposely perform stuff "wrong"

is kinda hard. We had to take several takes because we were laughing so hard!

@ Benjamin: I'm pretty familiar with Kroc rows and have nothing against them at all. My

only issue is when guys who can barely do 50 lbs with good technique, start throwing

around heavier loads with know real purpose other than to make my eyes bleed.

Personally? I've never really gone out of my way to include them in any programming

because I feel most trainees would be better served to learn to row correctly. But that's just

me.


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Exercises You Should Be Doing_ Deadstop DB Row

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