Upper Back Tightness

hey guys, my weak spot in the squat is that my upper back gives out first…im not sure if it is muscular or technical…i just recently was told i do this and started focusing on arching my upper back as much as possible…i read that Safety squat bars are a great tool for this but apart that i have to get it from abroad and the shipping/courier will be a killer the bar is still pretty expensive from europe…are there any other tools that might help?? regular cambered bar mostly work on lower back right? all tips are wlcome

There are a couple other options for strengthening the upper back that don’t require a SSB. Look up pendlay rows and try them. Really focus on squeezing and arching the upper back. Another option is using a GHR and adjusting it so the edge of the pad hits you in the abdomen. Now just curl down and arch up using the mid and upper back. It’s a small movement but can hit the upper part of the back hard. Also work on arching the upper back hard with any rowing movement you do. Of course the other aspect is to really concentrate on arching hard with the upper back when you are squatting.

x2 on the safety bar. Front squat to pins might also help if you don’t have a SSB… pause on the pins and arch your upper back super hard to drive off the pins and finish the rep. I’m also working on this BTW.

[quote]grettiron wrote:
x2 on the safety bar. Front squat to pins might also help if you don’t have a SSB… pause on the pins and arch your upper back super hard to drive off the pins and finish the rep. I’m also working on this BTW.[/quote]

This does work. Ive tried them. But dont go crazy heavy, form, form, form.

shrugs, goodmornings, band pull-aparts, pullups, pulldowns. make sure to flex your traps together while doing these just like you would while benching or squatting.

Would setting up bands to where they meet the floor in front of your center of gravity (as opposed to in-line with the center of gravity) help with this?

[quote]Fletch1986 wrote:
Would setting up bands to where they meet the floor in front of your center of gravity (as opposed to in-line with the center of gravity) help with this?[/quote]
i thought about this but, mostly the arch is lost out of the hole.and with the bands the hole is the least hit…still might b a good idea