Sg db row?

[TurbulentFluid]

Hullo all... I've been lax on the forum lately, mostly because I gave myself 2 weeks of de-load to get out of the over-training I've been into (and had some cool results since), and also spent those two weeks catching up with a lot of work...

Here's the issue: today I was at the gym, working on my new routine (done by guidelines from Tony Gentilcore, 3xFBW/week), to which I added single dumbbell rows. It's not my favourite exercise, but TG's guidelines suggest having a row in every w/o, so I added them for diversity. One thing I DO like about it is that, being a single - arm exercise, it allows for better concentration on a single movement (eg, when I have to think about two arms moving in the right form, I don't think as much about EACH ONE of them). Another thing about this exercise, is that it mobilizes much LESS deltoid power than any other type of dumbbell row I did so far, allowing for bigger weight to be moved with, I guess, a lot more back involvement (bent over dumbbell rows usually "fail" at rear delts with me, although it's better with neutral grip).

As I'm working out, two trainers behind me start discussing, rather un-discreetly, how they see no point of that exercise as it's for "lopatica" - in my language, that means "scapula" - which is very small and it makes no sense to target it directly.

Firstly, none of this made sense to me because scapula happens to be a BONE, not a muscle, and you generally don't work out bones...? Or at least, I never heard of such a thing. The other confusing thing is that I read a lot of pros swear by this exercise, and read a lot of stuff such as
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/DBBentOverRow.html
http://www.coopersguns.com/videos/exercise-encyclopedia/lats/dumbell-single-arm-row/
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/schultz63.htm
that list a LOT of back muscles that are being worked by this exercise.

So,m I'm curious - what's your take on the situation? Do you do sg db rows? Or do you think they're a waste of time?

[Rowyn]

I am not a trainer ;), but when I am in the gym and see people lifting, this is one of the exercises that I notice many love to do but really go overboard with the weights using "cheat" form. I recently changed the way I do sg db rows, and I really like it. I perform them bent over, in the exact same position as usual, but without resting my opposing arm on a bench (and obviously, I am standing on two feet versus one leg on a bench). I put it behind my back to keep myself from using my torso at all in the movement. Because you are not braced, it seems to isolate the back muscles a bit better since you are unable to recruit the wrong helper muscles. I think it is also in the book New Rules For Lifting for Women, they call it a 3 point row or something to that effect. You can't use near the same weight though. I saw a kid yesterday doing single DB rows that were so heavy he had to use straps but he was nowhere near getting it up where it needs to be, and his entire torso was tilted with the effort.

[justass]

Single arm db is one of my favorite types of row. It is, however, very prone to bad form. The most common form errors that I've noticed are 1) the bounce - i.e. using momentum to start the motion (this is fine if you are doing forced reps at the end of the set, but not throughout), 2) the twist - i.e. rotating at the waist so that the shoulder on the side you are lifting ends up higher than the non-weighted side at the top of the motion and 3) pulling at the wrong angle - i.e. not pulling past your hip (if you don't angle the pull back then it will activate your rear delt a little more, and give you less work for your lats/traps/rhomboids).

The levator scapulae is a muscle, and it does activate when doing any sort of row, but sg db rows definitely work more than just that one little muscle.

[RebeccaG]

I hate rows! But I do like SG DB rows! lol

Like these other ladies said, so, so many people do these with bad form and improper weight. So I pay extra attention to my form - back straight, shoulders even, torso stationary, etc.

I can definitely feel a difference when I pay close attention to my form.

[TurbulentFluid]

Thanx gals! :)

I'll keep my rows then, and I'll definitely try the non-supported version! I actually do it for warm up, except I do it with an oly bar instead of a dumbbell - try it, it's very demanding as, aside of balancing everything else, you also have to balance the bar! :)