[quote]FlatsFarmer wrote:
Try some 1 arm pull downs, 1 arm rows, and 1 arm shrugs. Aim for symmetry in your movements.
If you are really crooked, you could link 2 or 3 of these boring single sided exercises with the goblet squat, into a circuit. Then run through it 2-3 times as a warm up before lifting.
I don’t have the balls to skip around the parking lot in front of the gym before workouts. But I feel like if you alternated skipping and 1 arms farmers walks it would be awesome.
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Haha, good advice. I really like doing circuits to finish all the light work stuff.
[quote]magick wrote:
What kind of grip/width did you use with your pull-downs? Did you mix them up throughout the sets or stick with the same?
I’ve been trying to be a lot more even with my chin-ups (another thing I noticed is that I tend to pull up earlier with my right side), and my left shoulders more or less gave out during weighted chin-ups today.
So I just did a bunch of sets with pull-downs afterwards. Light weight with a pronated grip, wider than shoulder width. Now the entire area around my right scapula aches.
I need to find the time to do more pull-downs and goblet squats. They really do get right at my problem areas.
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For pull-ups I use a wide grip. Either same grip as I use for low bar squat or a bit wider. I would recommend using the lat pull-down to get in a lot of work. Keep it light enough that you’re able to pull your shoulder blades down. This is very important for building your lower traps and serratus anterior. I like pulling as close to vertical as possible since that’s about the same angle I would pull the bar down when squatting, providing better carryover.
With chin-ups it’s the same thing. I would actually recommend to do the chin-ups on a lat pull-down machine so you can use a weight light enough to focus on pulling your shoulder blades down. I use a shoulder width grip. I feel like this movement carries over well to setting up for a deadlift since your elbows end up right by your side.
For both movements, remember to keep your chest up and shoulder blades down at the end of each movement. Don’t worry about going heavy. Just get in a lot of volume to build the muscles. You can go heavy in the future when you have corrected your technique in the main lifts. And focus on getting both sides to work equally.