EXECUTION
- Assume an erect standing position holding a relatively light dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip (bar of the dumbbell in line with the body and the knuckles facing to the outsides).
- Bend over from the hips, keeping the back slightly arched at all times. In the final position, your back should be horizontal to the floor with your knees bent for better balance. If you have tight hamstrings bend the knees more to achieve the horizontal trunk position while maintaining normal spinal curvature.
- If you have difficulty holding the bent over horizontal position of the trunk, lie face down on a high bench, so that the arms can be fully extended and hang vertically.
- When you are in a stable position, with the arms hanging straight down perpendicular to the trunk, inhale and hold your breath and then raise straight arms out to the side and upward as high as possible.
- In the ending position, your elbows should be as high above the level of the back as possible.
- Exhale as you return the arms to the initial position. Pause momentarily and then repeat.
- Be sure to keep the arms in line with the shoulders (or very slightly below shoulder level) as you execute the exercise to target the muscles involved and to prevent injury.
- Bending the elbows slightly is permissable but only if the upper arm still remains basically in line with the shoulders.
TRAINING TIPS
- It is very important that you keep the lumbar spine in its normal slightly arched position at all times. Do not round the back. Doing so may cause injury especially if the dumbbells are lifted vigorously.
- It is important that you inhale and hold your breath as you raise the arms out to the sides and up. The breath holding not only helps to stabilize the spine (and trunk) but allows you to increase force.
- Tight hamstrings can force you to round the lower back. To counteract this tendency bend the knees more to maintain the trunk in the horizontal position and to keep the lumbar spine arched at all times.
- To emphasize a stronger contraction of the middle trapezius and rhomboid muscles relax the shoulders in the initial position. Doing this will round the shoulders so that the muscles involved will be placed on stretch and go through a greater range of contraction as you raise the shoulders and arms.
- To maximize development of the posterior deltoid, mid trapezius and rhomboid be sure that the elbows travel as high as possible above the level of the back. This is the main value of doing this exercise; when you do the bent over row with a barbell it limits your range of motion. This in turn decreases involvement of the muscles involved.
- To insure that the arms are raised sufficiently high do not use excessively heavy weight. The greater the weight and the straighter the arms the more difficult the exercise becomes. Thus a lighter weight moved with straighter arms will result in greater benefits and will help to prevent injury by not forcing you to jerk the weights upward.
- Be sure that you do not bend the elbows greatly. This is often done when handling too heavy a weight to make the exercise easier. The more you bend the elbows and the more the elbows point toward the feet, the less is the involvement of the posterior deltoid and shorter will be your range of motion.
- If you do the exercise with rounded shoulders in the initial position be sure that you bring the shoulders back prior to strongly raising the arms upward. Doing so puts greater emphasis on the posterior deltoid and as well as the rhomboid and middle trapezius.
- Bent over laterals can also be done with pulley cables. In this case assume the same position, and instead of holding dumbbells in the hand, cross the arms to hold a cable pulley in each hand. Execute in the same manner as with dumbbells. You will notice that the cable will hit the body as you approach trunk level. Thus, using the cable is good for the initial range muscle development, but for full range development be sure that you use dumbbells and go above the level of the back.
- Another effective variant is the kneeling one-arm cable pull. It is executed in basically the same manner except you are in an all fours position and pull the cable across the body while supporting the upper body on the other arm. This variant requires slightly more shoulder rotation in order to clear the arm from the floor. But, as with the double cable lateral, its range of motion is somewhat limited.
MAJOR MUSCLES INVOLVED
The major shoulder joint muscles involved are the posterior deltoid, and the posterior section of the middle deltoid. The infraspinatus and teres minor are also involved but mainly in the first half of the movement and then act as stabilizers. The deltoid covers the top and sides of the shoulder joint but only the back half of the deltoid is involved in the bent over laterals. The infraspinatus and teres minor are relatively small rotator cuff muscles located on the back of the scapula and have identical actions. In the shoulder girdle the rhomboid and middle portion of the trapezius are strongly involved. The trapezius is a large muscle that covers the entire middle of the upper back from the neck to the beginning of the lumbar vertebrae. However, in this exercise only the middle portion is involved. Directly below the trapezius is the rhomboid muscle which also contracts strongly to pull the scapulae together.
MUSCLE ACTIONS
In the shoulder joint there is horizontal extension (horizontal abduction) in which the upper arm remains perpendicular to your trunk (in line with the shoulders) as it moves from in front of the chest out to the sides and upward. The posterior deltoid and the infraspinatus and teres minor are responsible for pulling the arms out and up. As the arms go into motion, the scapulae move in toward the spine to turn the shoulder joints to the outside and thus allow for full range of motion of the arm. The rhomboid and middle trapezius are most involved in this pulling in action. When the scapulae move inward before the arm movement, it places greater stretch on the posterior deltoid making it contract stronger when it begins to pull the arms up and out.
SPORTS USES
This exercise plays a major role in bodybuilding and other sports both as an injury prevention exercise as well as one which enhances movement of the arm to the rear. In bodybuilding this exercise is especially important for development of the posterior shoulder and middle of the upper back. When these muscles become stronger and when the exercise is executed through the full range of motion there is also improvement in posture as the shoulders will be pulled up and to the rear rather than being down and forward as typically occurs because of tight chest muscles. The bent over lateral is especially important in sports such as rowing, archery, golf, and backhand shots in the racquet sports. When the elbows are kept out to the sides in a rowing motion this exercise is very specific to rowing and to archery for the pullback and hold. In golf, there is improvement in the action of the left arm in the downswing. It plays a role in the follow through in golf and tennis by preventing rotator cuff injuries which occur when the infraspinatus and teres minor are overstretched. This exercise is also of benefit to frisbee players as it duplicates the skill of throwing backhands for long distances and for gymnasts, the exercise is needed for work on the rings and in some free exercise movements.