Packing shoulders

[Hbailey1997]

OK, so I know that generally it is important to "pull shoulders down and back" during chest excercices

SO, What about when doing back workouts ? ( rows, lat pulldowns, pull-ups, reverse fly )

Do you keep shoulders down and back for these exercises? Are there any rules of thumb for building a bigger/stronger back?

[maybepermabulkd]

I remember watching a video a few years ago (made by the potato head looking black guy, chris something) saying to "retract your scapula" its some bullsh*t I was never able to get a pump in my lats, anyways do whatever feels best to you, I don't retract my scapula when doing pulldowns and trying to do it when doing flies ficks my shoulders up.

[Buckyx]

OK, so I know that generally it is important to "pull shoulders down and back" during chest excercices

its not, scaps are supposed to move during certain exercises. try doing push ups with shoulders back and you will fuk yourself up

why are you trying to apply some weird logic to every exercise? every exercise can have different demands and should be focused on individual cues

[okayest]

Packing the shoulders is terrible advice. You want your shoulders to feel stable and strong but you also want them to be able to move naturally.

[DOMSPOWER]

You should generally retract the scaps and keep shoulders neutral or back depending on the exercise. On pulling movements it is good to pull shoulders back, so that you can get a better contraction of the lats, but you may not wanna "overdo" it the same way that you would on bench press.

[MyEgoProblem]

The scapula needs to move across your ribcage for back work.

You need to let them spread a little at the stretch then pinch tightly at peak contraction.

How much you let your shoulder blades (scapula) spread is preference, buy to stay healthy they should move. Just not for bench!

[supramax]

The scapula needs to move across your ribcage for back work.

You need to let them spread a little at the stretch then pinch tightly at peak contraction.

How much you let your shoulder blades (scapula) spread is preference, buy to stay healthy they should move. Just not for bench!

IMHO, a superior method is to start the movement by completely retracting the scapula from a fully stretched position and then seamlessly continuing the movement. Then, do the eccentric in the exact opposite order.