How To Perform Upright Rows
Learn the correct technique for performing upright rows. Also avoid three common mistakes which may help you avoid injury.
One exercise that you might consider adding to your upper body workout routine if you want to see great shoulder development and strength gains is upright rows. Upright rows work many of the same muscle groups that the shoulder press works only it’s a slightly more isolated exercise as you won’t get the triceps being called into play as well.
Upright rows can either be performed with a barbell or with a set of dumbbells, so there are a couple of options for you to choose from.
Let’s quickly run through how to perform upright rows correctly and what you need to make sure you’re avoiding as you go about this exercise.
How To Correctly Perform Upright Rows
1) Get Into The Correct Position
To start off the upright row exercise, you’ll want to get into a standing position so that the feet are comfortably spaced apart and the hips are pulled up. You’ll want to make sure that you do keep the hips in a neutral position the entire way through this exercise because if you start to arch your back, you will be placing yourself at risk for developing lower back pain.
Once you’re in that standing position, you’re then going to grasp the weight in the hands, resting them down by the sides of the body with the elbows fully extended.
2) Lift the Weight Slowly Under Full Control
The next step for performing upright rows is to slowly begin to lift the weight upwards, allowing the elbows to move out to the sides of the body. Continue lifting upwards until they are at about chin-height level and then pause for a brief second before lowering them back down to the starting position once again.
3) Never Jerk the Weight - It Must Be Under Full Control
As you do this movement it’s important that you don’t jerk through the action as this can place a very high amount of strain on the shoulder girdle and could lead to a serious injury.
Remember to breathe out when you’re lifting the weight upwards and take a deep breath and breathe in as you lower it down to the ground to complete the rep.
Common Errors To Avoid When Performing Upright Rows
So now that you know how to perform upright rows, what can you do to ensure that you don’t suffer from an injury?
One of the biggest errors that people make when performing upright rows is not coming up to the right level as they raise the weight.
Some make the mistake of not coming high enough thus they don’t receive the full benefits that they could from the exercise while others make the mistake of going too high and placing a very high stress load on the front head of the deltoid.
You want to come up to a height where the weight is just in line with the shoulders – no higher and no lower. Pause when you reach that position and lower down slowly and in a controlled movement pattern.
Never let the weight just drop back down as that is another error that’s made that could cause you to actually throw out your shoulder altogether.
So there you have the main things to note about how to perform upright rows. Make sure you follow these tips to perform them properly.
How to Perform Upright Rows Correctly
The upright row will work the trapezius and shoulder muscles the most. Follow the simple tips in this video to make sure you are using the correct technique.
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The most influential muscle caught up in this movement is the trapezius muscle. It contracts powerfully to aid the momentum of the other muscle groups in raising the bar. The gain to the traps is minimal for the reason that the resistance probable for this movement is a small fraction of the potential for the powerful trap muscles.
The bicep muscles perform the longest range of movement during this exercise. The alignment of the biceps, twisted 90 degrees from the optimal alignment for this muscle, makes it an lesser biceps exercise. Furthermore, the resistance possible during an upright row is, in most cases, too light to properly overload the biceps.
As for the deltoid muscles, they are the weakest link in this exercise.
This inherent flaw is partially remedied by the fact that the lever arm created by bending the arm back toward the shoulder joint almost negates the leverage burden forced on the deltoids. Extending the arm out away from the shoulder joint to create an adequate leverage will change the movement into a lateral raise. A lateral raise is superior to this exercise because it needs exclusion of the trapezius as well as biceps when performing it effectively, making it a better isolation exercise for the shoulder.
So forget the upright rows and do lateral raises instead. Upright Rows may look impressive to perform because of the pumped appearance it produces throughout a set, and they will tire you out. But, the remaining benefit is almost nothing for all muscle groups used. The upright row simply doesn't work any of the muscle groups involved very effectively, there are much better exercises which will give all of the muscles involved a better workout!