The body row exercise will challenge the strength and endurance of
even the most advanced athletes. Like all row exercises, the
body row will challenge the upper quarter of the back focusing
primarily on the rhomboids, latisimuss dorsi, muscles of the rotator
cuff (supraspinitus, subscapularus, teres minor and infraspanitus).
While many people tend to want to develop their chests for
aesthetic reasons, development of the upper back muscles are often
overlooked. This exercise will not only create an
aesthetically pleasing upper back, it will also help to correct
postural distortion in the upper quarter by drawing the shoulder
girdle back to create a taller, more statuesque look.
 To
setup for the exercise place a long bar in a squat rack at about
belly button height. Place a Swiss ball under the heals of the
feet. Lengthen your body by aligning the ankles, knees, hips
and shoulder joints into a horizontal plane.
Prior to initiating the initial lift breath in diaphragmatically
and draw in the belly button to stabilize the lumbar spine.
Explosively lift the upper torso until the chin clears the bar.
After a brief pause at the top, slowly (at least a 3 count) lower
the body to the start position.
Beginners should attempt to perform 8-10 reps; athletes should be
able to perform 15 or more reps. If you are unable to do all
of the reps use the following approach to increase your rep count.
- Determine how many clean reps you are able to perform.
This will be your baseline max rep count.
- Perform half of your baseline max rep count.
- Rest 60 seconds.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you've achieved your target rep
count.
For example, if your targeted rep count is 12 repetitions but you
can only perform 6 reps before your form degrades, perform 4 sets of
3 reps each with a 60 second rest between sets. As you get
stronger you'll be able to increase the reps in each set until you
achieve your goal in a single set.
You know it's time to stop the exercise when you are no longer
able to raise your chin above the bar. Failure to stop
performing the exercise once you are exhausted will result in faulty
motor programming.
An eccentric version of this exercise can be achieved by
incorporating a spotter. Have the spotter kneel down facing
the exerciser's head. When the exerciser goes as high as he
can but is unable to get his chin over the bar the spotter can pitch
in by raising the exerciser the necessary 3-4 inches. Once at
the top the spotter can back off and allow the exerciser to slowing
lower himself to the down position.
To digress the exercise remove the ball and place your feet on
the floor. This will increase the base of support and
significantly reduce the demand on the core stabilizers.
To increase the difficulty of this challenging exercise, raise
one leg off of the ball and/or raise the torso with a single arm.
Have fun and be smart when you train.
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Sample Exercises
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