FIRM YOUR BACK AND IMPROVE YOUR POSTURE With Low-seated Cable Rowing

Your back is hard to see and evaluate unless you line up a few mirrors and get the right angles for this appraisal. In contrast, your back is very visible to everyone around you, so even though a soft and shapeless back can be most easily handled by selecting wardrobe pieces that drape the shoulders and middle back (out of sight, out of mind), this is not the best approach. Furthermore, the middle back is not something that should be ignored even if you cannot see it well, because you cannot truly have a strong core without a strong back, and no one looks good, even from the front, with rounded shoulders or when slouching.

The general problem with most back exercises is that they are hard to do and require a large amount of energy, so it is tempting to skip them when you are in the gym. Yet having a firm, straight and shapely back is certainly worth the investment in effort and time. Although demanding, there are not many exercises better than rowing.

Exercise: Low Cable Row

1. Sit down in front of the cable station and place your feet on the footplates. Your torso should be at a 90-degree angle from your thighs. Bend the knees just slightly to dissipate the forces away from the hip and sacroiliac joints when you are sitting.

2. Bend forward slightly and grab the cable handle or a “V” bar handle that is attached to the low pulley. Raise the weight stack just slightly and sit up straight. At this point you should be able to feel a stretch across your middle back.

3. Take a breath, and then exhale as you pull the handles toward your torso. Aim to have the hands come to the middle or upper part of the abdomen. Keep the torso stationary. It is important to pull the arms backwards (arm extension) as far as possible to fully activate the teres major and latissimus muscles. Squeeze the shoulder blades (scapula) together when the hands are close to the ribs and the upper abdomen.

4. Control the hands as they return toward the starting position (three to four seconds).

5. At the bottom position, pause to allow the weight to stretch your teres major and latissimus dorsi muscles. Hold the stretched position for three seconds before beginning the next repetition.

Not only are the larger back muscles strongly activated, but other smaller muscles around the scapula are also strongly activated in part by their contributions to arm extension, and in part by scapular adduction functions.

As a caution, the purpose of the additional stretch between contractions is to more fully activate the latissimus and teres muscles and not to dislocate your shoulder and damage your rotator cuff. Furthermore, be careful not to turn this into a seated deadlift where you have extensive flexion and extension of the spine, as this could invite injury.

The teres major can be more strongly activated when the hands are pulled to the lower chest or upper abdomen area, whereas the lower latissimus fibers are activated more strongly when the pull comes to the lower on the abdomen, so you can mix up the exercise angles a bit for better overall back action.

With the low cable row, you (or your friends around you) should quickly see changes in your lower and middle back firmness and shape. With that kind of change you will want to go wardrobe shopping for some new open-backed outfits that no longer hide but proudly display your new firm, tight and shapely back.

References:
1. Moore, K.L. and A.F. Dalley II. Clinically oriented Anatomy. Fourth Edition. Baltimore, Lippincott Williams & Williams, 1999; pp. 690-697.

2. Andersen CH, Zebis MK, Saervoll C et al: Scapular muscle activity from selected strengthening exercises performed at low and high intensities. J Strength Cond Res 2012;26:2408-2416.

3. Noguchi M, Chopp JN, Borgs SP et al: Scapular orientation following repetitive prone rowing: implications for potential subacromial impingement mechanisms. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2013;23:1356-1361.

4. Schachter AK, McHugh MP, Tyler TF et al: Electromyographic activity of selected scapular stabilizers during glenohumeral internal and external rotation contractions. J Shoulder Elbow Surg 2010;19:884-890.