1. Lifting the shoulder girdle (shrugs)
The exercise predominantly develops your upper fascicles of trapezoid muscles.
Stand erect and take a barbell (dumbbells) with an upper grip at the width of your shoulders. Lower the shoulder girdle, extend your trapezoid muscles. Lift your shoulders smoothly up, avoiding rotation, until full traction of your muscles. Avoid jerky movements, head rotation, keep your torso and hips immobile. Do not bend or hyperextend your lumbar spine, try to hold your back straight.
2. Pull-ups with narrow grip
The exercise predominantly develops your lats.
Hold the pull-up bar or the machine handle with a straight (parallel) or reverse grip (not wider than shoulder-width). Hang, fully straightening your arms and extending your lats as much as possible. Smoothly lift your body up until your chin is above the bar or the machine handle. Avoid jerking, sharp lowering, head rotation.
3. Pull-ups with wide grip
The exercise predominantly develops your lats.
Hold the pull-up bar or the machine handle with straight or neutral (parallel) grip (at shoulder-width). Hang, fully straightening your arms and extending your lats as much as possible. Smoothly lift your body up until your chin is above the bar or the machine handle. Avoid jerking, sharp lowering, head rotation, pulling up with hands behind the head.
4. Pulldown (vertical pull down) with a narrow grip
The exercise predominantly develops your lats. This is an equivalent of the pull-up with narrow grip exercise
Choose a suitable weight. Adjust the height of the footrest. Take the handles of the machine with straight, neutral (parallel) or reverse grip (not wider than the shoulder-width). Fully stretch your arms and lift your shoulder girdle extending your lats as much as you can. Slightly receding, smoothly pull the handles down until they touch your chest. Try to draw your blades together. Avoid jerking, excessive receding, head rotation.
5. Pulldown (vertical pull down) with a wide grip
The exercise predominantly develops your lats. This is an equivalent of the pull-up with a wide grip exercise.
Choose a suitable weight. Adjust the height of the footrest. Take the handles of the machine with straight or neutral (parallel) grip (wider than the shoulder-width). Fully stretch your arms and lift your shoulder girdle extending your lats as much as you can. Slightly receding, smoothly pull the handles down until they touch your chest. Try to draw your blades together. Avoid jerking, excessive receding, head rotation. Do not pull your head, as it may be dangerous for your shoulder joints.
6. Pullover
The exercise predominantly develops your lats. This is an equivalent of the pulldown and pull up exercise with narrow grip.
Choose a suitable weight. Adjust the height of the seat. Put your hands on the horns as narrow as possible. Raise your arms and the upper back extending your lats as much as possible. Smoothly lower your hands until full traction of your muscles. Avoid jerking, lifting your hips or rotating your head.
7. Standing row
The exercise predominantly develops your rhomboid muscles and medial fascicles of trapezoid muscles. This exercise is equivalent to the lever row, barbell (dumbbell) bent-over row.
Choose a suitable weight. Sit on the bench. Take the handles of the machine with straight, neutral (parallel) or reverse grip. Step on foot support. Move back with your back straight and take the weight off. Do not fully straighten your legs, keep your legs slightly bent. Stretch your arms forward and bring your blades apart as much as possible straining your rhomboid and trapezoid muscles. Slightly receding, smoothly pull the handles to your abdomen until full traction of your muscles. Try to draw your blades together. Avoid jerking, excessive receding, rotating your head. Avoid flexing your lumbar spine.
8. Lever row
The exercise predominantly develops your rhomboid muscles and medial fascicles of trapezoid muscles. This exercise is equivalent to the standing (frontal) row, bent-over barbell (dumbbell) row.
Choose a suitable weight. Sit down. Take the handles of the machine with straight, neutral (parallel) or reverse grip. Step on foot support. Take off the weight with your back straight. Do not fully straighten your legs, keep your legs slightly bent. Stretch your arms forward and bring your blades apart as much as possible straining your rhomboid and trapezoid muscles. Slightly receding, smoothly pull the handles to your abdomen until full traction of your muscles. Try to draw your blades together. Avoid jerking, excessive receding, rotating your head. Avoid flexing your lumbar spine.
9. Bent-over barbell row to the abdomen
The exercise predominantly develops your rhomboid muscles and medial fascicles of trapezoid muscles. This exercise is equivalent to the standing or lever row, bent-over dumbbell row.
Choose a suitable weight. Step close to the barbell till it touches your hips. Take the handles of the machine with straight, neutral (parallel) (special barrel bar) or reverse grip. Optimal grip is at the shoulder-width. Take off the weight with your back straight and bend forward to the angle of 30 – 45° from the horizontal line. Do not fully straighten your legs, keep your legs slightly bent. Stretch your arms down and bring your blades apart as much as possible straining your rhomboid and trapezoid muscles. Smoothly row the barbell to the abdomen until full traction of your muscles. Try to draw your blades together. Avoid jerking, rotating your head. Avoid flexing your lumbar spine. Keep the slope angle of the torso stable.
10. Bent-over dumbbell row to the abdomen
The exercise predominantly develops your rhomboid muscles and medial fascicles of trapezoid muscles. This exercise is equivalent to the standing or lever row, bent-over barbell row.
Choose a suitable weight. Put the dumbbell to the right of the bench in parallel to it. Bend your left leg and rest your knee on the proximal edge of the bench. Bend forward and lean your left hand on the bench. Put your right foot a bit back and right. Take the dumbbell with your right hand palm towards yourself. Smoothly row the dumbbell to your hips making effort to begin moving your back (adducting your blade) until full traction of your muscles. Minimize your arm muscle involvement – at the end phase, the angle of flexion in the elbow should be at least 90°. Smoothly lower the dumbbell fully stretching your arm and pulling your blade as far from the spine as possible, then repeat. Do not change the position of your chest. Avoid jerking, rotating your head. Avoid flexing your lumbar spine.
11. Deadlift
It is a complex exercise actively involving your spinal erector muscle, dorsal gluteal muscles, quadriceps and many other. This exercise is equivalent to back extension, straightening of spine on a machine.
Choose a suitable weight. Step close to the barbell standing on the floor touching it with your legs. Take the barbell with straight grip. Optimal grip is at the shoulder-width. Assume a stance slightly narrower than your shoulders, so that your bent legs almost touch your hands from the inside. With your back straight carefully take off the weight and smoothly pull the barbell up almost to the vertical position of the torso (to avoid relaxing the strain of your back muscles). Do not fully straighten your legs, keep your legs slightly bent. Avoid jerking, rotating your torso and head, lateral movements of hips and knees, tilting your head. Avoid flexing your lumbar spine.
12. Back Extension
The exercise predominantly develops your spine erector muscle. This exercise is equivalent to straightening of spine on a machine.
Adjust the height of hip supports so that their upper edges are at the level of hip joints. Stand to the machine with your face towards the handles. Lean your hands against the handles, making sure the supports are securely fixed. Put your feet on the platform and secure your shanks in a stable position. Cross your hands over your chest and bend forward to a degree of 45 – 60° between your torso and the floor. Lumbar lordosis loss is acceptable but take care to avoid over flexion. Retaining the same position smoothly lift your back muscles, flexing in the lumbar spine. At the end phase the torso should not cross the line along the legs. Avoid jerking, rotating your torso and head. Avoid excessive unbending of the lumbar spine.
13. Straightening of spine in a machine
The exercise predominantly develops your spine erector muscle. This exercise is an equivalent of back extension.
Adjust the height of the foot support so that your legs are slightly bent. Set the seat so that the axis of lever rotation is next to the mid-lumbar spine. Sit and bowing front as much as possible, latch the lever of the back support, avoiding excessive bending of the spine. Holding your hips at a stable position, smoothly straighten your back until full traction of your muscles. Hold the handles to prevent lifting your hips. Avoid jerking, rotating your torso and head. Avoid excessive unbending of the lumbar spine.