What do upright rows work

Adding an upright row to an upper body day can be a great complement to other variations of rows, as well as lat pulldowns, chest presses, pushups, and more. Regardless of how and when you add an upright row to your routine, properly warming up before weightlifting is important. Make sure to complete 5 to 10 minutes of low- to medium-intensity cardio followed by some dynamic stretching to prime your body for movement. Lifting your arms higher than parallel to the ground is what can cause shoulder injury.

Ensure that you stop when your elbows reach shoulder level. If your weight is too heavy, the movement will require momentum, which will take the focus away from the shoulders or, even worse, put too much stress on them.

The movement should isolate the shoulders and upper back as much as possible. Using dumbbells allows your hands to move more freely than with a fixed bar, meaning that internal rotation that can cause injury is less pronounced. Choose dumbbells in a little less than half of the weight of the barbell you were using — so if you opted for a pound barbell, choose a pound dumbbell for each hand to start.

Similarly to dumbbells, kettlebells allow more movement in your wrists and arms and are less likely to force any internal rotation of your shoulder. Again, opt for a kettlebell in a bit less than half the weight of a barbell you were working with. Using a straight bar or a revolving curl bar on a cable machine, complete the same movement with your arms. Adding an additional movement to the upright row creates a compound movement, which will give you more bang for your buck in terms of muscle engagement.

Pull the weight up into an upright row, and then before releasing your arms back down, flip your wrists back and push the weight up into an overhead press. If an upright row aggravates your shoulders, there are several other exercises you can try to strengthen your shoulders in different ways. However, research indicates that the upright row can also be part of an effective strength training routine for others, such as a workout created for career firefighters.

This exercise can be adjusted to make it more accessible to the beginner and to increase the effort needed as you build strength. If you don't have a barbell, you can do the upright row with a set of dumbbells. When doing this variation, keep your hands in the same general position as you do during a barbell upright row. Palms should be facing in and hands in line with the thighs. Use dumbbells only if you know how to do this exercise correctly. Using a barbell is best until you develop your technique.

You can also use a kettlebell when doing upright rows. The benefit of using this type of weight is that you can control it with both hands like with the barbell versus having to control each weight individually as you do with dumbbells. Another upright row variation is to use a cable machine. The cable system allows for smooth movement and you can easily adjust the weight to match your strength level.

This exercise starts by holding the bar at thigh level and pulling it up toward the chest. You can make the upright row even more challenging by adding a plank to the end of the movement. After doing the upright row and returning the weight to the starting position, lower your body into a plank, hold for a few seconds, then stand back up again.

Avoid these errors so you get the most from this exercise and avoid strain or injury. While lifting, keep your elbows above the level of your forearms. Don't raise the arms above parallel to avoid impingement, which is a condition that reduces your shoulder range of motion. This exercise can strain the wrists, so use only a wide grip. Shoulder-width apart is recommended for wrist and shoulder safety.

Using a wide grip also increases the activation of the deltoid and trapezius muscles. Keep your wrists supple during the lift, allowing them to flex as needed. Try to keep them from moving down or to the side during the lift as well. Keep the torso stationary and the abs braced throughout the lift—no turning or twisting.

Keep your back straight with the chest up and your eyes focused ahead. There shouldn't be any movement in the legs unless you're adding a plank, for instance. When we coordinate the lift out of the upper body with the force generated from the legs, the bar will feel almost weightless as it reaches the top of the movement. This high pull is the exact movement you need for a well-executed clean and press.

When the bar reaches the lower ribs in the high pull — at the point it feels weightless — you simply bend the knees and drop under as you clean the bar to the collar bones. The combination of the high pull with a heel lift and squat is called triple extension , where there is extension at three joints; the hip, knee and ankle. At the bottom of a squat, all three joints are flexed.

As you initiate the rise, the hips extend, followed by the knees, and finally the ankles. This final extension at the ankles provides additional power, increasing overall activation and enhancing our vertical drive to power the bar upward. Jinger Gottschall advises that you can increase the benefit of triple extension by executing the heel lift in the high pull and squat combination without a pause — ensuring the hip, knee, and ankle extension is in a fluid sequence.

Bryce Hastings is a leading New Zealand physiotherapist and fitness expert. Hold your chest high with your eyes focused straight ahead. Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip, and think of your hands as hooks. As you raise the bar, your wrists will flex downward toward the floor. Raise the bar toward your chin by leading with your elbows. When your upper arms are parallel to the floor, stop the pull, and lower the bar along the same path it was raised. At the top of your range of motion, your elbows should be higher than your wrists.

Use a palms-facing out grip, resting a full two minutes between sets.