Muscles Worked:
Upper Back and Lower Lats (Latisimus Dorsi)
Instructions:
- Straddle a T-bar rowing machine or bar with your feet firmly on the ground.
- Using a narrow grip, hold the bar slightly off the ground so your back is straight and not hunched.
- Lift the bar up toward your body with your back by squeezing your shoulder blades together.
- Bring the weight up as high as you can, or until it touches your lower chest.
- Your elbows should be pointing up and slightly out as you lift.
- Return to the starting position in a slow, controlled manner.
Don'ts
- Don't swing or rock to gain momentum.
- Don't stand up with legs or move the positioning of your back in effort to lift the weight.
- Don't let the weight fall down, lower it slowly resisting the weight.
- Don't use barbell plates larger than 25 lbs. The 35 and 45 lb. plates will restrict your range of motion.
BACK: Your back is characterized by
three smaller muscles: latisimus dorsi, rhomboids (upper/middle back), and erector spinae
(lower back). These three muscles, along with smaller supporting muscles deep beneath the
skin's surface, play a huge role in almost everything you do, from swinging a golf club to
sitting at the dinner table.
Rhomboids (Major and Minor): Compact muscles located a few inches down from the neck,
between the spine and shoulder blades, referred to as the upper/middle back. The
rhomboids' primary function is to retract, elevate and rotate the shoulder blades, which
also helps you accomplish pulling activities such as starting a lawn mower or serving a
tennis ball.
Click on a muscle group and view a video demonstration and written instructions for each exercise for that muscle or muscle group.
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