Upper back help, mid traps

[bigbulldogg21]

Hey bros, I nedd some serious upper back help, I have got a space between my shoulder blades that is empty. My lats are proportionate to the rest of my body but, traps and rhomboids are non existant. Right now in my workout I do chins, bent over rows, and cornor row. I have no access to a low pulley, or tbar row so thee are out. I would like to do deads, but I am afraid my low back wouldn't recover enough to due squats. Heard powercleans are good, but don't know how to perform them. I am just coming off a nasty shoulder injury that I think was a result of this muscle imbalance in my back. Please give some advice.

[Allen]

Try upright rows

[The Canadian Oak]

i use lat pull downs ,bent over rows and shrugs behind my body aswell as infront so everything balances out it seems to be working

[Chris Rodgers]

Work the deads into your routine. I do deads once evry nine or so days. I do squats about 4-5 days after deads. Good balance for me and they hit my whole back hard!

[Anthony]

If you have access to a barbell and a corner, you have a Tbar row ...

[Behemouth]

http://www.testosterone.net/html/body_85back.html
this is a good article. this is the second time i posted it in the last couple of days

[Joe Black]

For traps IMO the deadlift is the number one exercise..

I didnlt have particulary good traps before I started these and from them they grew loads..

Not sure if my traps were going to be a good point and traps just brought them out but heavy deadlifts did the job for sure..

[The_Chicken_Daddy]

So what do behind the body shrugs do that normal shrugs don't?...

[The Canadian Oak]

i feel that they build the traps from a different angle ,i may be wrong but i use front and back anyways and i feel my traps are growing evenly

[Maki Riddington]

I would be careful with deads if you are looking to bring up the rhomboids and middle.

They are responsible for retracting your shoulder blades back during the deadlift,if they are lagging then most likely you will develope a improper firing pattern in those muscles.

Try doing bent rows with a pronated grip with the elbows flared.
Seated cable rows just retracting the shoulder blades bvack with the arms straight.

[bigbulldogg21]

Mac, just curious, why would the deads help devlop an improper firing pattern in the rhomboids? I wish I still had access to a low cable, or seated row, but I do not any more. The reason I am so worried about this area is that the muscles are so weak/streched, that my shoulder round forward allowing for nasty shoulder impingement. Also this is making my chest lag because my pecs are not involve in my bench as much in my delts. Plus, who doesn't want a nice thick mid/upper back. I was thinking of hang cleans or power cleans, but I have nobody in my gym to show my proper form, or critique mine. I do Love to deadlift, but won't put it back in my routine if it is gonna make things worse.

[bigbulldogg21]

bump, anyone?

[Maki Riddington]

Sorry for the delay,You probally are suffering from either Sway Back Posture or Kyphosis Lordosis Posture.

Sway back includes:Forward head due to weak neck flexors
Neck slightly extended:tight neck extensors
Thoracic spine: Long or weak Thoracic spine extensors
Lumbar Spine flexed:Tight upper ectus abdominus
Pelvis:posterior tilt
etc.... theres more

Same with the Kyphosis Lordosis.The point is,is that simply doing deads,tbar rows or cable rows won't do the job because they are only addressing part of the problem.If your posture is out in one area,chances are it's out in another area.

First thing you want to do is go to a Physiotherapist who can do a postural analysis and then prescribe the corrective exercises.They will usally start with whats called static posture,it's basically the position your body takes during rest,then they will work on your dynamic posture, that is how your body is positioned during movment whatever it may be.

Stretching will help.They usally give certain ones to do.

As far as a improper firing pattern,when a muscles is in a weakened ( in your case it is long and weak) position it will not respond properly,usally the body compensates by using different muscles to initiate the movement or stabilize during the movement ,it has more to do with working on making sure you have a proper scapular humeral rythm.(I hope I said that right)

I would suggest working on the shoulder and your imbalances which one is obviously the rhomboids and probally other muscle as well,some may need to be simply strengthened other will need to be strecthed.

I like the saying of Paul Chek...."isolate then integrate"

[bigbulldogg21]

Mac, I don't quite know which posture problem I have, but I know I have very tight hams, which make my lower back "slouched more". Also, I do alot of computer work, so that is one of the main reasons for the forward shoulders. I just bought a book called "Posture:Get it straight". Supposedly a very good book for my condition. I was just wondering if there were any exercise that would help my acheive a nice upper/mid back. I mean, not much is more powerfull looking than a thick upperback. I will say this though, since squeezeing my shoulders down and back during flat bench I had to drop my bench weight a bit, but my pecs have grown an astonishing amount. back to my question though, what would you recommend to hit the rhomboids, or the area I am concerned with.

[Maki Riddington]

First I would start stretching your tight areas at least twice a day once in the morning and once before bed,in a month you'll see a notice able difference.Do gentle static stretches,if you had someone who was knowledagble you could do some PNF streching but that needs to be done by someone who knows his or her stuff.

For the rhomboids I would suggest floor flattners and ,bent rows with a light weight,making sure to keep the elbows out in a 90 degree angle with a pronated grip,this is a tough exercise if done properly,usally the lower back will tire first.Also doing what is called a handcuff strecth which actually is a isometric exercise will help also,you can do it at work sitting in your chair lean back slightly and place your hands interlocked behind your head and try to imagine touching your elbows together which is impossible.Keep the neck retracted and this will be a toughy as well.Make sure to take periodic breaks throughout the day to stretch.As for reps and sets I would start with doing these exercises 2-3 x's a week for 2-3 sets each doing 8-15 reps.Oh ya another exercise one that you can do as much as you like is called neck retraction,it looks funny but it works,place your finger on your chin and retract your neck back while looking straight ahead the n protract the neck back to it's original starting place,be carful not to exaggerate the movement.

[Papbowski]

POWER CLEANS can't beat em