3 Easy Tips For A Bigger Back & Wider Lats!
Seated Cable Low-Row Tricks For MORE GAINS!
Most people wouldn’t think of a seated cable row as a complicated exercise. But believe it or not, there are probably a few things that you aren’t doing properly with this movement which could be holding you back from more growth. Let’s discuss three easy tips for the seated cable row to help you build a bigger back and really isolate your lats for some serious muscle growth.
Seated Cable Row Variations
There are many variations of the seated cable row that can have you targeting different parts of your back. For example, most people go right to a close-grip row, which simulates a t-bar row, because this is the easiest version to lift the most amount of weight. But what most people don’t know is that this exercise primarily targets mid traps and rhomboids and is for more overall back thickness, not width. If you guys are interested in back width and really isolating your lats, then you want to be using a straight bar and performing an underhand grip low row and there are three easy tips which will help you get the most benefits out of this movement.
1. Prevent Lumbar Spinal Flexion
The first tip is going to apply to everything else in this article so really pay attention. When performing a seated cable row you’ve got to sit upright in order to prevent spinal flexion in your lumbar spine throughout the movement. If you start to lean back, you’re reducing the range of motion of the exercise which means your muscle contractions won’t be complete and you’ll lose out on the eccentric portion of the movement. Also, if you begin to lean forward it is possible you’ll go into spinal flexion and place excessive tension in your lower back which can cause an injury. But believe it or not, both mistakes occur for the same reason – you’re lifting weight that is too heavy. Leaning back makes the exercise EASIER due to the reduced range of motion and if you’re falling into spinal flexion it is because you don’t have the core strength needed to handle the load you are trying to lift.
So to get the most out of this movement for back growth, the proper way to sit is with your chest upright and with a slight arch in your back.
2. Use A Supinated (Underhand) Grip, NOT A Pronated (Overhand) Grip
The second tip has to do with hand placement. If your goal is to focus on building bigger lats than you want to make sure that you have an underhand grip on the bar. This is because an overhand grip will bring more rear delts and upper back into the movement where an underhand grip with bring not only more of your lats into the movement, but also more of your biceps. Also, because you’ll have more bicep activation you’re going to be able to overload your lats with more weight per set. This is because now that your biceps are actively engaging more throughout the movement, you’ll be much stronger than when in an overhand position.
3. Lean Forward For A Bigger Stretch On The Lats
The third tip has to do with getting MORE out of each repetition. But there’s a big difference between using your body to create MORE tension and muscle fiber breakdown for regrowth, and using your body to create momentum to perform shitty repetitions. Now, if your goal is to really isolate and grow your lats, then you would benefit from slightly bending over forward as you follow the eccentric portion of the movement. However, don’t turn this into one smooth motion. I still want you to pull the bar to your torso and then return to the starting position before you begin to lean forward.
Keep in mind that you still need to maintain a slight bend in your back to keep from going into spinal flexion as you lean forward. The purpose of leaning forward is to feel a nice deep stretch in your lats and then, once you’ve gone forward as far as you can, begin to lean back to the starting position and only pull the weight back AFTER you have returned to the upright position. Don’t use the momentum of leaning back to thrust the weight. HOWEVER, let’s say you’re performing 10 reps and you begin to fatigue around the 7th rep, if at that point you want to combine some momentum with a slow and controlled eccentric portion of the movement, that’s OK.
Conclusion
If you guys have any questions for me about this exercise be sure to leave them in the comment section below and if this video help you better understand how to utilize this awesome exercise to build a bigger back, be sure to share the article and video!
