The rowing exercise with T bar gives us an effective alternative to incorporate a new variant to back training. Let’s see how it’s done.
If you go to a relatively large gym, you may be able to have a T-bar machine, where you can rest on a platform to lean forward and grab the crossbar, or simply, it may have a bar with one end bolted to the floor.
Whatever the situation is no excuse not to try this exercise, which is worth clarifying, it is not suitable for beginners.
If you have been training for a while, the T bars provide you with an effective alternative to incorporate a new variant to back training.
For this we will analyze the two main variants, the rowing with simple T bar and the rowing with equipment. Start!
HOW TO PERFORM T-BAR ROWING WITHOUT EQUIPMENT?
- Stand on a platform, feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
- Lean forward and take the handles of the bar with a supine grip, that is, with your palms down. Start with your arms outstretched and your torso about 45 degrees off the ground. Keeping the back arched throughout the movement.
- Start pulling the bar toward your chest (or to your upper abdomen) by pressing your shoulder blades together as you reach the top.
- Then slowly lower the bar making the greatest range of motion possible.
MUSCLES INVOLVED IN T-BAR ROWING
The T-bar paddle mainly uses the latissimus dorsi, the greater round, the infraspinatus, the rhomboid, the trapezius (mainly the middle portion) and the flexors of the forearm.
TRAINING TIPS FOR CLASSIC T-BAR ROWING
Always keep your chest toward the front and your lower back properly arched. In other words, hold your upper body still and lift the bar with only your back muscles.
Keep your back steady throughout the movement. If the weight moves to the front of your feet, the focus changes and you end up cheating. If you have trouble standing while lifting the load, then simply lower the weight, do not appear anything, neither in the rowing with bar T nor in any other exercise.
Due to the position of this exercise, it is necessary to inhale just before lowering the T-bar, then hold your breath and exhale during the last third of the upward movement without releasing all the air.
If your gym does not have a specially designed T-bar, or a machine, you can do the same exercise by placing an Olympic bar right in a corner and using the special handles, if it does not have these you can use some discs to lock a horizontal bar.
THE ROWING WITH T-BAR IN MACHINE
Using specific equipment to perform T-bar rowing and that allows us to support our body, reduces a large number of the supporting muscles that are involved in the movement, especially in the lower back, abdominals and thighs.
But they can be very useful if you have not been training for a long time and are still on the road to development.
Even this variant can be a good rest if you’ve recently done thigh exercises and don’t have the power to support your weight plus the heavy load associated with T-bar paddling.
HOW TO DO THE ROWING WITH T-BAR ON MACHINE?
- Place your feet on the platform, and your chest and abdomen on the pad.
- Hold the bar with a supine grip to a shoulder width, and with your arms outstretched in front of you.
- Keeping your torso flush with the cushion, pull the bar toward you (pull the bar toward your upper abdomen), bending your elbows and contracting your back muscles.
- At the top of the movement, bring the shoulder blades together to achieve full contraction, then slowly lower the bar to the starting position.
MUSCLES INVOLVED IN ROWING WITH T-BAR IN MACHINE
This back exercise mainly requests the latissimus dorsi, the greater round, the infraspinatus, the rhomboid, the trapezius (mainly the middle portion) and the flexors of the forearm.
TIPS FOR ROWING WITH T-BAR ON MACHINE
Do not use very high loads. This exercise can be difficult to perform with a heavy weight load. Keep in mind that the chest is compressed a lot due to the pressure of the pad against it, which makes it difficult to breathe.
Pull the bar as high as the device allows and pause at the top, before going down, and as in the previous variant perform a full stretch at the bottom. Do not think about bouncing or lifting the bar with any kind of impulse.