T Nation

Middle Back Thickness

#1

Hello All,

What would be the best exercise to develop the muscles between the scapula. I have tried all rowing movements but nothing works well. It seems that T-bar rows hit that area well but they cause pain in my knee so I have to avoid them. I am doing chest supported rows but don’t get the same benefit. Is there a trick or one exercise which I need to prioritize.

I am 225 lbs at 6ft 2. I have been lifting for more than 5 years with the 5x5 model.

thanks,
Abhi

#2

Higher reps. Also, try face pulls.

#3

Dan John recommends “bat wings”:

#4

[quote]dagill2 wrote:
Dan John recommends “bat wings”:

https://www.T-Nation.com/training/reawaken-your-rhomboids[/quote]

Those are chest supported rows.

I have always called them seal rows or chinese rows. I would not pull as high as Dan does and I would keep my legs resting on the bench.

#5

Kelso shrugs would really help out here.

#6

Thanks. I am trying Kelsos shrugs. Any idea about the weights and reps ?

#7

Yes, this exercise indeed helps.

#8

Follow this and your rhomboids will be screaming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlXgQd8IlPc

#9

Heavy rack pulls with a 3 sec scapular retraction on top a la ‘‘Neanderthal No More’’

#10

[quote]xXSeraphimXx wrote:

[quote]dagill2 wrote:
Dan John recommends “bat wings”:

https://www.T-Nation.com/training/reawaken-your-rhomboids[/quote]

Those are chest supported rows.

I have always called them seal rows or chinese rows. I would not pull as high as Dan does and I would keep my legs resting on the bench.[/quote]

Those are technically chest supported rows, I guess, but with a very different focus from the standard version. They are noticeably different from what I would typically call a seal row or a chinese row, but nevermind, arguing semantics bores me to tears.

OP, forget the name and follow the instructions in the article.

#11

[quote]abhi152 wrote:
Thanks. I am trying Kelsos shrugs. Any idea about the weights and reps ?[/quote]

Sorry, took a while for me to dig out my copies of Kelso’s Shrug Book and Powerlifting Basics: Texas Style.

In Powerlifting Basics, page 50, Kelso suggests running them 3x8 on an incline bench as part of an off-season powerlifting cycle.

In the Shrug Book, page 13 (which was in turn an excerpt from pg 42 of the October/November 1968 issue of Iron Man, page 42) it reads

“Take a bar loaded to about 70-80% of your rowing motion poundage” with more to follow describing the movement itself.

On page 15 he recommends 2-3 sets of 8 reps.

If you can, get both of these books. They’re flat out amazing.

#12

i use the seated row machine but use the rope grip for a fuller ROM