Normally when you're rowing, you maintain the same hand/grip position and you focus on just one area or the other. In this case, dumbbells allow you to change that grip.
Having your chest/abdomen supported in this fashion allows you to take stress of the lower back during the row.
This Exercise Gets You Complete Back Development With Two Different Forms Of Rows In One:
First, set up an adjustable incline bench to about 30 degrees. You'll need to play around with proper height for your body size before you go full speed on this exercise. Set your dumbbells beside the bench. I'm using a pair of 65's.
Next, you're going to brace your hips against the end of the bench and reach down and grab your dumbbells. Your stomach (not your chest) will be the main support on the bench during this exercise.
You're going to start with an overhand grip at the bottom. Get a good stretch on the upper back.
Here's a front view.
Now row the dumbbells up and wide to the sides.
Only come up about halfway, until you get to the natural sticking point of the exercise. Now, holding that position and keeping tension on the back muscles, bring your elbows in and tuck them beside your body so you're now in a neutral grip for the second phase of the exercise.
Continue the row to the top. This is a stronger grip/position and it also changes the workload more to the lats instead of the upper back.
Hold the contraction at the top for a second or two, then lower the dumbbells back down to the start position (overhand grip) in one smooth motion. We're only doing two-phases on the way up, not the way down.
Then just repeat.
This is a very simple exercise for hitting the entire back in one shot. I like to use it as a finisher after my heavier exercises (like deadlifts, barbell rows or chin-ups) are done.
You can also use it as a back "activation" exercise for learning how to feel your back muscles engaging during a row. Having yourself supported on a bench like this allows you to focus on muscle contraction rather than how much your lower back hurts.
I recommend 2-3 sets of 6-12 reps (middle to higher ranges, not low ranges, basically).
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