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Tip: Two Back Muscles You're Missing

The Key to a Chiseled Upper Back

The lats get a lot of attention, but what's often missing in back training is hitting the mid-back musculature like the rhomboids and mid/lower traps.

Training these muscles will beef up your upper back, making you look impressive with or without a shirt. Having strong mid-back muscles is also crucial for maximizing performance since they're often a limiting factor when it comes to overhead presses, rows, and vertical pulling.

Here are two exercises that'll fire up your mid back:

▶️ Wide-Grip Double Pulley Row

Set two cables up high and about a foot outside of shoulder width. Ideally, it would line up with how wide your elbows are when flared.
Pull the cables from high to low as you bring your elbows down and back.
Keep your elbows flared out to engage the mid back.
Squeeze your shoulder blades together in the shortened position. Think about pulling the handles back and apart simultaneously.

▶️ Dumbbell Rhomboid Hold

To set up, hold two moderately heavy dumbbells at your side and hinge forward about 30 degrees.
Keep your shoulder blades depressed and retract them together.
Hold this position and squeeze for as long as you can.
Really focus on the mind-muscle connection with this one.

Programming

Do these at the end of an upper-body day as a superset for 3-4 sets each. You'll get both static and dynamic contractions to trigger hypertrophy and strength gains. Your rhomboids and traps will get thicker and fuller as a result.

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