I have recently started taking videos of my deadlifts at the gym. I notice that my upper back rounds a little but noticeable amount, when I start going heavy. I have seen a video with Kroc stating that Kroc rows really fixed his upper back weakness. Do you guys know any other upper back exercises that have a good carry over to deadlifts?
rack pulls.
Thanks, yeah I should add that I cycle between conventional, sumo and rack pulls for 6 weeks each and I deadlift with straps for all working sets.
heavy shrugs
Hammer Strength high row
upper back rounding is not necessarily bad, unless you cant lock it out at the top. It will shorten the ROM of the pull.
^^This
One of my recent favorites for this is somewhat of a BB row/shrug hybrid, I call them pin rows. They are just what they sound like, a BB Row where each rep is started from a dead stop, around knee level. Focus on pulling HARD into the belly, use heavy weights, and pull your shoulder blades together during each rep. For a video, go to the brotherhood of iron 3.0, I think my vid is on the 2nd to last page.
See H4M!!! I’m not the only one.
OP, I just asked this same question in the BOI thread the other day. I got a couple of responses that may help.
[quote]ev1bl wrote:
upper back rounding is not necessarily bad, unless you cant lock it out at the top. It will shorten the ROM of the pull.[/quote]
Good post.
[quote]coolnatedawg wrote:
See H4M!!! I’m not the only one.
OP, I just asked this same question in the BOI thread the other day. I got a couple of responses that may help.[/quote]
hehe nice to know I have people with the same problem. I just read your post, heaps of good info from hungry… I will try those exercises out and see how I go. Thanks guys
[quote]ev1bl wrote:
upper back rounding is not necessarily bad, unless you cant lock it out at the top. It will shorten the ROM of the pull.[/quote]
unless the rounding is due to having a weak upper back, and not merely form. my guess is the former. answer: strengthen your back.
I started doing alot of olympic motions again, hang cleans and snatches and they fixed my upper back problems.
[quote]thrasher_09 wrote:
[quote]coolnatedawg wrote:
See H4M!!! I’m not the only one.
OP, I just asked this same question in the BOI thread the other day. I got a couple of responses that may help.[/quote]
hehe nice to know I have people with the same problem. I just read your post, heaps of good info from hungry… I will try those exercises out and see how I go. Thanks guys[/quote]
After working out with a couple of PTs that I know AND respect, it came to my attention that it is not so much an upper back weakness as a thorasic immobility AND lack of lat activation that I need to work. Just thought I would update…
This is a reason I think front squats are good deadlift assistance, as you need a strong upper back to do them without getting bent over. It may develop the pull off the floor more than the upper back, but they will definitely expose the weakness.
[quote]hungry4more wrote:
One of my recent favorites for this is somewhat of a BB row/shrug hybrid, I call them pin rows. They are just what they sound like, a BB Row where each rep is started from a dead stop, around knee level. Focus on pulling HARD into the belly, use heavy weights, and pull your shoulder blades together during each rep. For a video, go to the brotherhood of iron 3.0, I think my vid is on the 2nd to last page. [/quote]
I tried these last week. I didn’t feel much in my upper back when I did them but the day after I had some nasty DOMS in my mid-lower traps, so they surely did something. In fact, I was quite sore from my neck all the way down to my erectio… erm, erectors. 
It was also a deload week so I didn’t go that heavy (I see deloads as a perfect time to try new shit), will be interesting to try them some more this week. How much leg drive are you using btw?
Frequent heavy shrugs, very strict chest supported rows focusing on pulling the shoulder blades together, clean pulls and high pulls.
BTW where do you fail deadlifts?