Execution
- Assume a seated position with the trunk upright on the bench or seat facing the weight stack.
- Your feet should be flat against the foot platform and your knees should be slightly bent.
- Bend your knees and lean forward from the hips while maintaining a normal, slightly arched spinal curvature to grasp the single or double grip handles. Use a neutral grip, ie, so that the palms face one another.
- When you have a secure grip, pull back with the torso until it is erect and your arms are fully extended. In this starting position you should have some tension on the muscles.
- Inhale and hold your breath as you pull the handles toward your midsection.
- Concentrate on pulling backward with the elbows until they are slightly beyond the plane of your back. Your hands should be close to your body and directly below your breasts.
- Hold the end position for one-two seconds and then exhale and return to the starting position under control.
- Be sure to maintain a basic erect trunk position. Slight forward and backward movement during execution is normal.
Workout Tips
- Be sure to bring your elbows and shoulders all the way to the rear so that you not only get a full range of motion for the muscles involved but also bring in the upper lats. By doing this, you will also strongly involve the rhomboids and middle trapezius to give you additional development of the mid-back muscles which hold the shoulders back.
- To place maximum stress on the lower latissimus dorsi and teres major, it is important that you keep the torso erect during the pulling action. The trunk can move forward approximately 10 degrees and backward about 10 degrees. Using the trunk through a greater range of motion may lead to lower back injury.
- Holding your breath and contracting the erector spinae muscles of the lower back will help you maintain with an erect trunk normal spinal curvature during execution.
- Rounding your back as you lean forward and hyperextending it as you lean backward creates exceptionally high forces acting on the spinal discs which can cause pain or injury.
- It is important that you keep the knees slightly bent especially if you have tight hamstrings. If you straighten the legs, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain normal spinal curvature, and as a result, you may end up with a rounded spine more susceptible to injury.
- If at all possible, do not use double handles that are very narrow, ie, close together. When your hands are very close in front of your body, it becomes more difficult to get the elbows past the plane of your back. This can detract from full development of the muscles. The ideal grip should be slightly narrower than shoulder width.
- Be sure to pull the shoulders back as you near the end of the pull. This not only helps ensure greater involvement of the mid-back muscles and the upper latissimus, but it will also improve your upper body posture.
- For even greater involvement of the upper latissimus dorsi, mid-back and rear shoulder muscles, do the exercise using a horizontal bar grip so that you can assume a pronated grip. In this variant, you keep the elbows up and out to the sides as you pull them to the rear. This movement does not involve the lower lats.
- Do not pull with the arms as in a biceps curl, ie, with elbow flexion. Contraction of the biceps occurs mainly to stabilize the elbow joint, not to pull the handle in close to the body. If you emphasize the biceps and other elbow flexors, you will get limited action out of the back muscles, and as a result, decrease exercise effectiveness.
Major Muscles Involved
In the shoulder joint, the lower latissimus dorsi, teres major, the lower portion of the pectoralis major, rear deltoid and the long head of the triceps are involved. The latissimus dorsi is a very large muscle located over a wide area of the lower half and upper sides of the back. The teres major is a relatively small round muscle located on the upper sides of the back that works together with the latissimus dorsi in a multitude of actions. The pectoralis major is a large muscle that comprises the chest. However, in this exercise, only the lower (sternal) portion is involved. The rear deltoid is found on the back of the shoulder while the long head of the triceps is on the back of the upper arm. The major shoulder girdle muscles involved include the middle trapezius, rhomboid and pectoralis major. The trapezius is a large muscle covering almost the entire upper middle back. The rhomboid, named after its shape, is a relatively large muscle located underneath the trapezius. The pectoralis minor is a small muscle lying directly underneath the pectoralis major on the front of the chest. These shoulder girdle muscles attach to the scapula from their base on the spine except for the pectoralis minor which originates on the ribs.
Muscle / Joint Actions
In the shoulder joint there is extension in which the upper arm moves from a position in front of the body to down and alongside and then behind the body. The upper arm remains in a vertical plane as it moves backward. The latissimus dorsi and teres major are most important in this action since the pectoralis major is involved in only the first half of the movement. The long head of the triceps is especially strong as the arm goes behind the body. In the shoulder girdle there is adduction and downward rotation of the scapula to make possible the movements of the arm. In adduction, the scapula moves in toward the spine while in downward rotation, both scapula rotate on an axis in the center of the bones. When viewed from the rear the left scapula rotates counterclockwise, and the right scapula rotates clockwise. The more your elbows move to the rear the greater the adduction of the scapula and the greater the involvement of the middle trapezius, rhomboid and upper latissimus dorsi. These are the muscles that hold your shoulders back to give you good posture.
Sports Uses
Bodybuilders and fitness contenders use the seated cable row to develop the major muscles involved (especially the latissimus dorsi and teres major). When the elbows are pulled all the way to the rear this exercise is especially valuable for developing the mid back muscles, especially the trapezius and rhomboids. Development of these muscles and actions involved are especially important in rowing and paddling. In gymnastics, pulling the arm in is used when executing various moves on the unevens, free exercise and in vaulting. They are also important in the martial arts and in swimming, especially in the crawl and butterfly strokes. In addition this exercise is very important for skiers when planting the pole for a sharp turn. Although not a major action against resistance, the muscle involvement and movement of the arm can also be seen in speed skating and in running.