• All
  • Hormones & Physiology
  • Nutrition
  • Supplements
  • Training

Are You Getting Enough Sleep? Why You Should Care!

The hormonal and metabolic processes that occur during sleep The three primary factors to consider for those seeking muscle hypertrophy ...

Read More

Caffeine: Strategic Supplementation for Maximum Benefit

Bodybuilders and other fitness-minded folk are for the most part considered to be a healthy bunch. Well balanced nutrition, regular ...

Read More

Hormonally Fuelling Hunger: How Ghrelin Stimulates Appetite

Our eating habits are dictated in part by the intricately-balanced process of hunger stimulation and inhibition which takes place within ...

Read More

Fast Twitch vs. Slow Twitch: Fated For Gains?

Building the Perfect Beast - How Our Fast and Slow Twitch Muscle Fibers Determine Athletic Success...

Read More

Cinnamon: The Surprising Spicy Advantage Sitting on your Shelf

Cinnamon, one of the most undervalued, underestimated, and under-appreciated supplements around. When taken at effective doses, it packs a very ...

Read More

Shopping Guidelines: Meat & Dairy

Grocery shopping can be a daunting task. Organic, cage-free, grass-fed, non-GMO, certified, fortified, petrified…there are so many choices and so ...

Read More
  See More

Back Isolation Exercises

 

__________

(1) Prone Reverse-Flys (for back, not rear delts)BI1

  • head slightly over the edge of the bench (looking at the ground)
  • keep trunk tight to the bench throughout (more chest than abs)
  • reach for opposite walls on the way up keeping arms as far away as possible throughout
  • imagine a line running from one wrist to the other and try to contract everything across it
  • at the bottom, try not to come inside the shoulders, avoid resting / relaxing the working muscle; really fight the negative and aim for constant controlled movement

 

__________

(2) Reverse Pec Deck Flys (for back, not rear delts)

  • keep hips behind shoulders slightly / more chest against the pad and less stomach
  • keep arms rigid and shoulders retracted

__________

__________

(3) Band Pull-Aparts

band pull aparts

  • Abs tight
  • Pronated grip and elbows rigid
  • Rear delt emphasis: keep scapula slightly protracted
  • Mid-back emphasis: allow full protraction and retraction

__________

__________

(4) High Pulley Pull-Aparts

high pulley pull apart

(standing, supported)

  • Apply outward force on the handles as if you are trying to rip it apart
  • Brace against pad or support with hips
  • Set pulley above eye level

__________

__________

(5) Prone DB Retractions

prone db retraction

  • Elbows rigid and neck neutral
  • Pinch the scapula together (this NOT a shrugging movement)