Upper-body booster (August 2008)
Upper-body booster
Injury-proof your upper back with the bat-wing exercise
This exercise has a built-in cheating deterrent: your chest is pinned against a bench , making it nearly impossible to use momentum to swing the weights up. As a result, the greatest effort comes from the intended muscles – your rhomboids – says Dan John, strength and conditioning coach.
THE BENEFIT
A typical workout ignores the rhomboids. How many body pushing movements do you do (plenty) compared with pulling exercises (hardly any)? Developing this muscle in the middle of your upper back will balance your workout and help you to stand taller.
HOW TO DO IT
Grab a heavy pair of dumbbells and lie face down on a bench, resting the weights on the fl oor. Pull the weights up towards your ribcage, squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top for a second; from a bird’s-eye view, your torso should resemble bat wings.
OUR EXPERT’S TIPS
This movement is slight – the weights should move up and down only about 15cm. The higher you pull, the harder you should squeeze your shoulder blades together. Perform four or five repetitions with good form. If you find your technique isn’t perfect, get lighter dumbbells.
MH BEST NEW EXERCISE
Nail the bat-wing exercise to sculpt your rhomboids. What are rhomboids? Muscles that pull your shoulder blades inward. They attach to the vertebrae at the base of the neck and go diagonally to the inside edges of the shoulder blades.
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