This is a royal stupid question, but I’m going to ask it anyway. Are close grip rows (ie. t-bar or seated) primarily a rhomboid/upper back movement, or do they recruit the lats? The reason I’m asking is that the last time I did t-bar rows (the old fashioned way) I felt a pump in my lats, and hadn’t done any chinning work yet. And along similar lines, does anyone have a good chest/back workout they’d care to share? Mine is getting a little stale. thanks
Close grip rows cause your elbows to drop down towards the torso (ie. shoulder adduction) and thus increases lat involvement to the point of them becoming the prime movers. As you abduct the shoulder more rhomboid involvement is possible assuming you are retracting your shouder blades (most people dont’t. I would say about 30* abduction is optimal for training the interscapular muscles. When the elbows go too high I find the shoulder muscles get overly involved.
any back exercise will involve the lats to some degree. and yes, rowing exercises do work them too, not just chinning…
It all depends on how you perform the movement if you pull into the top of your stomach you should get a pump in the lats. However if you are pulling into the chest it will make the upper back do more of the work. As far as a chest and back workout goes this one has been pretty effective for me. Superset Bench and Chins followed by another SS of Inclines and Rows (Bent or One armed depending on how it feels to you.) Do each SS 4 times. Try it and get back to me. I hope I have helped.