Do you want to build wide and voluminous back muscles? Get the most out of your bent-over dumbbell rows with one simple move.
Most of the people reading this do bent-over dumbbell rows, and you know how effective this exercise can be in developing a wide and powerful back.
But with what body position do you perform the exercise? Are you using a flat bench and trying to keep your torso parallel to the floor to work your lower lats? Or are you leaning on something and keeping your torso slightly tilted to work harder on your upper lats and other back muscles?
Both options work; I am not encouraging you to use one method. Instead, I want to show you how to get the best out of both bent-over dumbbell rows.
The answer is an adjustable bench.
Yes, that’s it. Elementary, isn’t it? The adjustable bench gives you the ability to do supersets and drop sets at the same time while doing bent over rows. The result will be the fullest possible workout of the back muscles.
Advanced Bent-over Dumbbell Row
First place the adjustable bench at an angle of 30-45 degrees, depending on your preference. Work out the lagging side first, try to pull the projectile strictly vertically. Here you focus not only on the lats, but also on the rest of the upper back muscles, including the rhomboid, hind deltas, and traps. Do 8-10 reps in this position.
Now it’s time to slightly change the nature of the load. Lower the bench to a horizontal position. This is the second part of your one-arm dumbbell row superset. Return to starting position and keep punching reps, but this time pull the ball at an angle towards the hip. Changing the vector of movement shifts the focus to the middle and lower bundles of the latissimus muscle. Repeat for the same number of reps as on the incline bench.
Next, we do this trick for the opposite side. Raise the bench at an angle of 30-45 degrees and change hands. We perform the same number of repetitions as with the first hand. When you finish the second part of the set, you can finally stop and catch your breath.
In the next set, start with a horizontal bench, and do the row with a high fulcrum on the bench a second. This will give your lower latissimus muscle your attention at the start of the set. Still start with the lagging half of the body.
And one more trick
There is another way to do this exercise and get great results. First, you can do a left and right hand deadlift with a high fulcrum, then lower the bench and perform repetitions with both hands, resting on a horizontal surface. You will likely find that you can do more reps with each hand, as the muscles get a short break while the other side is working. For the next set, start with a horizontal support, do the exercise with your right and left arms, and then lift the bench before continuing!
