Subject: Get a MUCH better back workout with these 2 easy tricks...
when they train back. The biceps may have a tendency to
take over the movement. Heck, some people just don't feel
anything in their back at all.
I've got two VERY simple tricks to fix that.
Tip #1 - Shoulder Drop
The first movement is simply a shoulder drop and even though
it may seem like a SMALL thing, it can have a HUGE impact on
your back workout.
Start by sitting in a pulldown machine with a moderate weight
on the stack. Take a close grip on the bar with your palms
facing you. Do a few reps using your normal technique so you
have a gauge to measure against.
Now we will add the shoulder drop. Let your arms go straight
and let your shoulder girdle rise up as though shrugging your
shoulders up to your ears.
Now, while keeping your arms straight, pull your shoulder
girdle down, as through trying to touch your shoulder blades
to your butt (you better not be flexible enough to actually do it!).
The range of motion is small, being only a matter of an inch
or so. Repeat this drop and raise several times to get the feel
for the movement. You should feel your entire shoulder girdle
moving up and down.
We will now do a rep with the shoulder drop movement. Start
in the stretched position with your shoulders up by your ears.
Drop your shoulders down, lean slightly back then do a
pulldown. You should feel your lats working harder than
usual.
Squeeze hard as though trying to touch your shoulder blades
together as you come to the bottom then let the weight back
up slowly. You can repeat the shoulder drop movement at the
start of every rep or you can simply keep your shoulders down
and locked in that position throughout the set.
Dropping your shoulders down like this serves to lock the lats
into the movement and helps to minimize the biceps involvement
in the pulldown. You should find that you get a much more
effective lat workout using this technique.
(You can also do this with rowing movements by beginning
the movement drawing your shoulder blades THEN starting
to row)
Tip #2 - Breathing Backwards
Every experienced weight trainer knows that the proper way
to breathe during a set is to inhale during the negative
(lowering) phase and exhale during the positive (lifting) phase.
But is this the best way to breathe in all exercises?
As a matter of fact, it isn't and I'm going to show you exactly
how and why you should breathe BACKWARDS during many
if not most back exercises. I'll use the lat pulldown to
demonstrate this.
Fact: the pulldown movement is more effective when done
with an arched lower back and puffed-up (expanded) chest.
This body position more fully activates the latissimus dorsi
muscles. In fact, if your lower back isn't arched, it is extremely
difficult for your lats to contract. The straight-back position
throws more tension on the biceps and upper back muscles.
Expanding your chest helps to accentuate this arched-back position.
Fact: exhalation (breathing out) makes your chest contract.
Inhalation (breathing in) makes your chest expand.
Fact: the typical breathing pattern of the pulldown consists
of breathing out as you are pulling the weight down and
breathing in as you are letting it back up.
What this means to you is that the typical breathing pattern is
caving the chest in when you should be puffing the chest out!
Take a deep breath in and notice what happens to your chest.
It puffs out and expands. This is the optimal position for your
torso during the pulldown exercise.
Now carry this logic over to the pulldown movement. As you
pull the weight down, take a deep breath in. Your chest will
puff up to meet the bar automatically and your lats will engage
strongly.
If you've ever had a hard time feeling your lats working when
you do back exercises, use this technique and you will feel an
immediate difference.
Putting the Two Tricks Together...
This two simple techniques can be applied to almost any back
exercise from pulldowns to chin-ups to seated cable rows. Try
these technique the next time you work your back and you'll
see just how powerful breathing backwards and dropping the
shoulders can be!
Nick Nilsson
The "Mad Scientist of Muscle"
P.S. If you know anybody else who might benefit from this
information, feel free to forward this email to them!