Build A Huge Row To Get A Ho Fo Sho, Or All You Need To Know About BOR

What's good homos!

Let not your heart shrink with my subpar article frequency, for today I bring THE ARTICLE!

What's the Exercise King?! LET ME HEAR IT!

Okay if you answered Bench Press, it seems you're doing your homework, at least. But today we're addressing much bigger muskels yo, it's Latissimus Dorsi (oh, and Teres Major, and a shit ton of other wee muskels)!

Okay, the Latissimus Dorsi, or lats, may be a total stranger for all of you whose split is half chest half biceps. It's that puny and pathetic joke on your back (you know, behind your pecs) and which makes people who actually train look like a fucking flying squirrel.

Bruce Lee ready to take off.

A visual cue for you, it's the muscle you recruit when you grab yo boyfriend's ass and pound away.

So Latissimus Dorsi, yeah. Its main role is basically pulling anything you may think of. Vertical pulling, like a chin up, or horizontal pulling, like a row. Today, however, we're going to focus on the row.

The barbell row, nowadays usually referred to as Bent Over Rows or BOR, is pretty much the bread-and-butter of strongmans, powerlifters, bodybuilders, and almost everybody aiming to develop either size or strength in their backs. 

Now, just a quick note. I personally NEVER do rows unless I'm in a split routine, which is almost never. The reason I prefer pull ups are basically what follows:

• For one, I usually do ONLY A SINGLE EXERCISE per body part.

• If I have to choose between either pull ups/chin ups, or rows, I'll always do pull ups. That's my personal preference, though.

• The only reason why BOR could outperform pull ups is because it hits the traps and the lower back harder. Now, in my case, I try to avoid as much lower back stress as possible.

Now, that being said, I think BOR are an incredibly good choice for many people, since most usually either don't squat or deadlift as often as I prescribe in my routines, and therefore you can get away with that additional stress, or you simply do leg press and leave it at that, in which case the additional work as stabilizers for the hip extensors and spinal erectors WILL BE GOOD.

But let's get to it.

Kinesiology Of The Barbell Row

Movement Axes: Sagital (1.0)

Shoulder: Extension. Elbow: *Flexion (Origin to insertion)

Legs: Isometric hip extension, isometric knee extension, isometric plantarflexion. Pelvis: Isometric APT

Shoulderblade-Chest cavity joint: Medial rotation

Forearm: Isometric flexion

Neck (Trapezius): Isometric extension. Back: Isometric extension curve

Movement Skeletal Joints: Gliding (0.015), Angular (0.485), Circumduction (0.2), Rotation (0.3)

Agonists: Latissimus dorsi (0.95), erector spinae (0.05)* <- Referring to execution. Decimals change as form breaks.

*Origin/Insertion: 

Back O: Spinous processes (Thoracic 9-Thoracic 12)

Lat O: Spinous processes (Thoracic 7-Lumbar 5), thoracolumbar fascia, iliac crest, inferior 3-4 ribs, inferior angle of scapula

Back I: Spinous processes (Thoracic 1-Thoracic 2), Cervical vertebrae

Lat I: Floor of intertubercular groove of humerus

Synergists: Posterior deltoidis, *lower pectoralis (Sternal head), teres (M+Min), infraspinatus, long head of triceps, teres major, *biceps brachii, *brachialis (Pending palm grip position- Supinative/Pronative), brachioradialis, trapezius (Med+L), serratus anterior, rhomboids, levator scapulae, thoracolumbar fascia, rotator cuff, forearm flexors, splenius capitis, semispinalis capitis (66 extra subset muscles involved)

Antagonists: Anterior deltoidis, upper pectoralis, *short head of biceps, *trapezius (U) (See: Lombard's Paradox, section [1]), rectus abdominis, coracobrachialis, obliques (I+E)

Stabilizers: Long head of triceps, biceps brachii, erector spinae, adductor magnus, hamstrings, gluteus maximus, *obliques (I+E), *rectus abdominis

Explanation: Beginning from bottom to top, feet placement at shoulder width, straight forward. APT+60 degree erector spinae curve. Shoulderblades adducted and slightly elevated. Movement begins below knee cap, as knees are bent to 1/4 squat position. Palm grip at user's discretion, be it supinated or pronated, difference lies in elbow muscles assistance (Greater focus on biceps brachii upon supinative. Pronative targets brachioradialis more often). Palm grip stance at 5-10 cm broader than shoulder width (Pending user's height). Maintenance of back at 60 degree angle is crucial for the enforcement of latissimus dorsi throughout the RoM, end of concentric phase at contact of barbell with lower abdominis region. End of eccentric phase at fully dislocated element of elbow (Locked). At high percentile loads, it is common and permitted to tug the weight at the beginning of the concentric phase (Generally speaking, only at the end of set repetition, last or before last repetition), using one's hamstrings rather than extending the erector spinae. Elbow travel path should be aligned with body's sagita and not divert to the coronal plane cross section. To maintain adducted shoulderblades, isometrically extend the upper trapezius via neck extension.

If you follow these steps and technique to a T, you'll have such a back King Kong won't have shit on you!

I'd love to think otherwise, but by now, 

I already know you didn't recognise the quote. Sigh

What To Pick Up

Pun intended. Got it? You? You in the last row? Okay. It sounded funny in my mind.

Whaaaatever. What variations do we have?

• Bent-over Row: As I said, this is pretty much the bread-and-butter. Normal width, pronated grip, 45°... In theory the best angle to target the lats, and the one most often recommended by strength coaches or bodybuilders. Word to the wise, though. If there's a definite huge reason I prefer chins over rows, besides lower back stress, that's form. Cheating yourself in a barbell row in incredibly easy. I know a lot of people with a 300lb BOR who can barely attach additional weight for pull ups. Don't be that guy.

• Yates Row: Probably my favourite, if I'm going for a barbell row (once in a blue moon). Here, there's a little less hip flexion (around 60°), and you use a supinated grip. You hit harder traps and biceps. As the name suggests, 6 times Olympian Dorian Yates swore by them. Gotta say your lats won't be as heavily engaged dye to a shorter RoM and the pulling angle.

• Pendlay Row: In a Pendlay row, named after the famous weightlifting coach, you are parallel to the ground, and the elbows are not as tucked in. This converts the adduction more in a transverse extension, and thus it will challenge more your shoulders, in lieu of the Latissimus. This coupled with the fact that every rep starts from the floor and there's no eccentric, makes it a poor choice for strict bodybuilding purposes. However, Pendlay rows were created as an assistance for the pulling movements in snatch and clean. It may be useful if strength is your concern.

• Dumbbell Row: This is actually the only one I'd use besides pull ups. You eliminate the lower back tension, you allow for a greater RoM, it's isolateral, so you can focus more on each side, AND, of all rows, it's the one which scores highest in EMG studies (supinated grip, elbow tucked, Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies, 2000).

• Krok Row: This is basically a dumbbell row where technique and form goes fuck all and you try to aim for the highest weight for a 15-25 rep range. Those who swear by it claim it makes your grip harder than your dick while fucking Christy Mack. I'm personally reluctant to dismiss form over weight.

I googled "barbell row form". I swear.

• Rear Delt Row: I added this because it's also a back movement, and a row, but it really targets the Deltoidis posterior, AND it should be a staple. Either this or face pulls. Whatever works for them.

Now those are pretty much all the variations you need. But what about other particulars?

• Grip: I know this is a pretty resilient myth, but no, a different grip doesn't change the way the muscle in the torso works. Given the same arm angle with respect to torso, a different grip will only change the way the arm works. Pronated will work brachioradialis more, supinated will work biceps more, and hammer grip will fall in between. Which one should you choose? Either the one that lets you pull without wrist discomfort, the one which allows the greatest RoM, or the one emphasising the arm muscle you want to load the hardest.

• Grip width: This is but a spin-off of the previous question. Probably anything between acromial 1 and 1.5. I'd personally go wider only on rear delt rows, and maintain a slightly wider-than-shoulder grip in the rest.

• Barbell or dumbbell: As I said, I'll always prefer dumbbell over barbell due to the decreased lumbar stress and higher mV/s on EMG. Probably you could stick to barbell for strength, and dumbbell for mass building. Doing both wouldn't hurt, though.

• What dumbbell colour? Fuck off.

So that's pretty much it. Now go row some heavy shit.

Stay around.

Peace,

J.

Sources:

-Gozlan, L. Kinesiological View Of The Compounds. 2012

-Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies. Strength Training. 2000

-Contreras, B. Inside The Muscles, Best Back And Biceps  Exercises. T Nation. 2010.