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Block and Pull Seated Cable Rows for MONSTER contraction in your back

1,227 views · Published 22 March 2018 · 3:21 · Indexed 31 October 2026

Channel: Nick Nilsson - the Mad Scientist of Muscle · 2018 · Sports

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If you have a hard time feeling your back working, you're going to LOVE this one.

This technique is going to give you a MASSIVE contraction in your back muscles (lats and upper back)...and it's incredibly simple to do. It's not about building mass...it's about carving detail into your back and maximizing development of the smaller muscles that can get easily overwhelmed when you're using a lot of weight on other back exercises.

You're going to do a completely normal seated cable row...with one small adjustment...how far away from the cable stack you sit.

That's it.

Because what you're going to do is move yourself back far enough away from the stack so that as you pull close to the top position of the row, the cable stack hits the top of the track and is physically blocked by the structure of the machine. 

Why do we want that?

When the cable stack hits the top, you're going to stop and hold it there, continuously and isometrically pulling it against the "unmovingness" of the machine track stop. Then you're going to pull your TORSO forward, towards the handle, dramatically intensifying the contraction on the back muscles.

You see, one of the biggest problems with the seated cable row is the tendency for people to lean back as they come towards the top (I have this issue myself). By using this method, you completely erase that tendency because you're purposefully forcing your body back into the upright position.

You're going to use light but it is still absolutely brutal.

And when I say light weight, I mean a weight you'd normally have no trouble doing a TON of reps with (like 20-30+). The reason for this lies in the contraction...if, when you pull the stack against the stop of the machine, the weight is too heavy, it will come down as you move your torso forward.

We want a weight that is light enough so that there is NO dip in that stack as you bring your torso forward.

I'm using a simple low pulley with a V handle here, rather than an actual seated cable row machine. That'll give you more leeway in terms of where to sit. Do a few test reps to see how far away you need to sit.

Now row. You should be sitting in a spot that stops the weight just short of the handle coming into your midsection.

When this happens, stop and continue pulling hard. Now, using this block as a new pivot point, pull yourself torso forward, similar to how you'd do an Inverted Row (bodyweight exercise).

Keep contracting the back muscles as hard as you can, squeezing for all you're worth. This will give you a monster contraction that will really finish off your back muscles.

Biomechanically-speaking, this two-phase row turns the exercise from an open-chain exercise (where body stays stationary and your limbs move) into a closed-chain exercise (where your limbs stay stationary and your body moves) partway through. 

Closed-chain exercise (like chin-ups, for example), tend to increase muscle fiber activation and recruitment...and you're doing this in the very peak contracted position of the back muscles.

This is a fantastic exercise for finishing off your back. Get all your heavier exercises done first, then finish with 2-3 sets of this, aiming for 6-8 reps. Even with light weight, you won't need (or get) more than that as the goal is here not movement...it's muscle contraction. 

And it WORKS.

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