If your back width or thickness is letting you down, the first step is learning to train your back correctly! (If you already have a PT, and youre watching this thinking what is that funny thing shes doing with her shoulders? then you need a new trainer...) You simply cannot maximally contract your back if your shoulder blades are not retracted. By pulling your scapula back and down prior to each rep, you reduce forearm and bicep strain and you stop your shoulders from pronating. You must also learn to focus on driving through the elbows and having no forearm or wrist flexion, or an overly tensed grip through your hands (another reason why your grip or forearms may give way long before your back does!). To practice retracting your scapula, place your hands on a wall. Try to remove your hands from the wall WITHOUT bending your arms. Once youve mastered this, try again with your arms raised towards the ceiling similar as you would when doing a pull down or pull up. The first few weeks after learning this and getting the retraction downpat, keep your weights light and focus on mind-muscle connection. Retract your shoulder blades and then focus on unlocking your back by driving the resistance through your ELBOWS, not from your hands. Keep your grip soft enough to stop the weight from coming out of your hands but not so hard that youre flexed throughout the forearm during the entire set. After youve mastered that and you can switch your back on at any point (even when youre not lifting!) then try increasing the weights slowly. Youll find that once you have this downpat, a good back day is just as painful and intense as a leg session. If you cannot isolate and contract your back, you cannot improve it.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 02:51:38 +0000
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