Barbell Rows are great – they are perhaps one of the most effective movements for piling the mass onto a bodybuilder’s physique. However, they do have the very distinct limitation of halting all effectiveness once the weight touches the lower abdomen. As you probably already know, the weight just can’t go up any further! To alleviate this limited range of motion, and to give your back a flexion point much higher in the movement, you should consider using bent over dumbbell rowing in your routine. Here are some tips for getting more out of your dumbbell rows!

Lower your weight

The first thing most bodybuilders are instructed to do by a trainer is to reduce the weight they are using for dumbbell rows by 20 to 40 percent. This is one of those movements where the feel being achieved far outweighs the amount of weight being moved. Cutting back the weight will allow you to train slower and hit more muscle fibers. Check your ego and the door and train for muscle – not to put on a show for others in the free weight area!

Pause at the top

Your reduction in weight will allow you the ability to pause for just a fraction of a second at the top of the repetition. This will remove the momentum from the exercise, and make it truly all about your muscle contraction. Momentum is your friend in sports and in powerlifting – but your mortal enemy when it comes to bodybuilding training for feel. Pause, and you will grow!

Experiment with angling the weight

Changing up your palm position on the dumbbells when pulling them up will allow you to target various areas of your upper back. Keeping them parallel to your body is the standard positioning. Moving them slightly outward will target more of the inner back. Use your soreness as a gauge as to which areas of the back are being successfully hit. If the soreness isn’t there, you should change up angles until you discover it.

Various repetition ranges

Are you going heavy enough on your repetitions? If the answer is yes, then you should ask yourself if you are completing enough repetitions. Perhaps try starting your bent-over dumbbell rows with a few sets of 20- or even 30-repetition sets. There’s a good chance your back has never seen anything like this. The result will, of course, be the activation of thousands of slow-twitch muscle fibers which traditionally stay dormant when you’re training with lower repetition ranges. Try it out – see if you can pump more blood into your back – resulting in greater growth – by dropping the weight and literally forcing yourself

Buddy up

Have a partner check out your form as you contract the weight from the floor to the upper position. Are you moving your back too much? Are your elbows flaring out? While you might not notice these things in your efforts to move the most possible weight, there’s a good chance your training partner’s watchful ye will. Have him evaluate your form and use the feedback to make adjustments to your training style!

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