Bent Dumbbell Rows

Tighten up your back with this!

Having good posture and shielding ourselves from back pain sounds like a good idea, am I right? 

Or how about this? In order to be lean in the front, you need to be lean in the back. The body is all connected, however; we tend to think in terms of the front and what we see in the mirror.

The back is the largest muscle group in the upper body. Neglecting it is a mistake, no matter what your fitness goals are.

The bent row with dumbbells is a great beginner’s exercise particularly because it forces you to become better at lifting a weight and engaging your core while bending from the hips. This is very important simply because the better your mechanics are in this position the much less likely you are to hurt your lower back later in life.

A big key to understanding how to target your back effectively is really concentrating on truly feeling the muscle work because you are unable to see the rear of your body.

Much of targeting your back is a matter of drawing you shoulder blades back and bringing them together while feeling the surrounding muscles stabilize and hold your body in place.

When performing this exercise, it is helpful to remember to again focus on the motion of your shoulder blades while driving your elbows back to execute the movement.

1. Grab a dumbbell in each hand with an overhand grip, engage your core and bend forward so that your torso is parallel to the floor. This is your starting position

2. Inhale through your nose before you begin. Exhale out the mouth and squeeze your shoulder blades together as you row the weight to your ribcage. Pause at the top and squeeze your upper back muscles.

3. Slowly lower the weight to the starting position