Not only with this finisher light up your back, it'll help "wake up" your rhomboids, making it an excellent tool for improving posture.
How To Do It
- Set up in a good stiff-legged deadlift position. Make sure you're "aware" of your hamstrings and you're not putting strain on your lower back.
- Use two moderately heavy dumbbells that you can hold at the top position of a dumbbell row at maximum range of motion. This is your isometric hold position.
- Maintaining the full height of one arm/dumbbell, reach the other slightly forward and down to get a nice lat stretch, then row up and back to the retracted position. Repeat on the other side.
- Keep alternating and perform 5 reps with each arm (10 total) while maintaining the full retraction of the "resting" arm.
- Once you've completed 5 reps per arm, do 10 reps with both arms moving together, making sure you fully pull your elbows and shoulders back at the top and add a slight pause between reps.
If you find yourself using any momentum or losing range of motion, drop the weight. There's really no point in cheating by doing "bro-rep" dumbbell rows. Focus on retraction and recruiting the right muscles – the burn will come quickly.
The full set will be:
- 5 rounds:
- 10 Alternating Single-Arm Rows (holding iso retraction)
- 10 Double-Arm Rows (pause between reps in retraction)
Write down the weight you use your first time and try to increase the weight over time.