Building a strong back is crucial, not only for its impact on body aesthetics but also for its role in maintaining good posture, preventing injuries, and the overall functionality of the body. Indeed, a robust back provides stability to the core and is essential for carrying out both everyday tasks and complex athletic movements. So, if you’re looking to develop prominent dorsal musculature or, in layman’s terms, a “big back”, you’ll be interested in what this trainer has to tell you.
You probably know that there are multiple exercises aimed at strengthening the back muscles, including pull-ups, deadlifts, and barbell or dumbbell rows. However, trainer Borja Yus, aiming for visible results in a short time, recommends performing the cable row with a refined and effective technique. Thus, the expert states that correctly applying the tricks revealed below can lead to a complete transformation of the back musculature.
Keys to an effective cable row
Yus explains in a video on social media how to perform the cable row to maximise back activation and minimise involvement of other muscle groups.
- Preparation: the first step is to select a weight that allows you to execute the “greatest possible range of motion”.
- Posture: once seated, it is essential to focus on the intention: you must “chest out” and place all concentration on the back action.
- Elbows back: you should aim to “draw our elbows back, as if they were to meet behind us”. The objective of the stroke should be “to try and keep the grip as close to our navel as possible”.
- Grip: to ensure that the back is felt during the exercise and not the forearms, the trainer recommends an important technical adjustment in the grip. “We pass the thumb to the outside to feel the back more and not engage the thumb flexor,” he advises.
- Hold 1–2 seconds. If these cues still leave you struggling to feel the back activation, the expert suggests that “adding a pause at this point for one or two seconds will be key”.
- Movement control: The rowing execution does not end with the contraction, as the trainer explains that the eccentric phase is equally important. It should be performed “in a controlled manner over 2 seconds”.
- Isolate the movement: it is vital to isolate the movement to the back, avoiding compensations or torso inertia, as “this is about pulling with the back, not with the body”, and you should achieve it by “avoiding excessive body movement”.
- Use straps. Finally, if grip strength fails or becomes a limiting factor, Yus suggests using straps to ensure the back can work to muscular failure without being slowed by the forearm.
In summary, the trainer asserts that the key to developing a large back through the cable row does not lie solely in lifting heavy weights, but in following a meticulous technique and paying attention to the mind–muscle connection. By prioritising the range of motion, controlled intensity, pausing at the contraction, and ensuring that the force originates from the back, it is possible to build a large and aesthetically pleasing back.
