Advantages Of Rowing Exercises

Rowing exercises like Standing Cable Rows and Bent Over Rows challenge and strengthen the athletes back in a parallel motion, meaning the bar, resistance band, or other piece of resistance equipment is going toward and away from the chest. This parallel movement is great for intense lat workouts, increasing grip strength, and turning any rowing exercise into a full body workout.

Vertical pulling movements are harder for athletes to turn into full body movements as the point of resistance is working over the athletes head and then back down into the body. Vertical movements like lat pull downs, and straight-arm pull downs use this vertical motion to build great strength in the lats, upper to mid back, and biceps.

Full Body Rowing Exercise

The Ballistic Bands Single Arm Standing Row is a great full body strength movement athletes can work into a number of different lat workouts. To achieve the full body effect of the Ballistic Bands rowing exercise athletes will need to identify a proper amount of resistance to use during the Ballistic Bands Single Arm Standing Row.

Since athletes are using a resistance band the resistance will vary throughout the rowing movement. When the athletes’ hand is away from the body and closer to the anchor point they will feel less resistance from the Ballistic Bands. As athletes pull away from the anchor point they will feel more control over the Ballistic Band as more resistance is applied to the movement. Athletes and coaches should take a few minutes at the beginning of the rowing exercise to identify a single Ballistic Band which will be suitable for the athlete, or a combination of two Ballistic Bands which will challenge the athlete through the rowing exercise. Athletes can go to the Shop Section to explore the different levels of Ballistic Bands.

Once athletes have found the correct amount of resistance they will anchor the Ballistic Bands around a solid, stationery object and secure the opposite end of the Ballistic Bands in one hand. Athletes will move away from the anchor and move into a good upright rowing position. This positioning will allow the body to use the abs, arms, and legs, to stabilize the body and force the muscles of the back to perform all of the work as the arm moves back and forth.

To move into this ideal standing row position athletes will come to the position they will be standing in during the rowing exercise. From this place athletes will keep their knees over their heels, keep a large chest, and begin to bend at the knees and hips. Think about moving into a great squat as the abs stabilize the torso and the thighs stabilize the hips and lower body.

From this standing row position athletes will maintain their hips, shoulders, and eyes forward as the athlete rows and drives the elbow back. Complete 12-15 repetitions of this rowing exercise on each side of the body allowing 40-90 seconds of recovery between sets, completing 4 total sets of the Ballistic Bands Single Arm Standing Row.

Arm And Ab Workout

When performing the Ballistic Bands Single Arm Standing Row body positioning is key to seeing gains in strength, core stability, and balance. Athletes who allow their hips, shoulders, and head to excessively rotate will be taking away from the positive back and full body adaptations in strength and stability they will be seeing, and will instead be placing greater amounts of unnecessary pressure on the spine, knees, and neck.

Athletes will always see excessive rotation if the rowing exercise is performed too fast. Athletes can use other Rotational Exercises with the Ballistic Bands, Victory Ropes, and KB Powerbands. The goal of the Ballistic Bands Standing Row is to build overall strength and stability. This means athletes and coaches should not be afraid to take the tempo of the standing row down. This slower tempo will increase the intensity and effectiveness of the Ballistic Bands Single Arm Standing Row, while limiting strain and overuse of joints and smaller muscles.

This slow tempo and single armed nature of the Ballistic Bands Single Arm Standing Row, along with the changing resistance incorporated into the Ballistic Bands will force athletes to squeeze their abs hard as the resistance tries to force the athletes torso and shoulders to rotate. This is a great opportunity for athletes to get a great ab burn while performing a stabilizing and functional movement.

Advanced Back And Full Body Workout

There are many tools athletes can use to make the Ballistic Bands Single Arm Standing Row more intense and challenging. As was talked about before athletes can always slow down the tempo of the rowing exercise and work to maintain control of the tension all the way through the back and forth movement. This constant tension on the back can be maintained by keeping a small bend in the elbow at the bottom of the rowing movement, and slightly shortening how deep the row is at the top of the movement.

Athletes can also raise the intensity of the lat rowing exercise by shortening their rest periods. The parameters for the drill call for 40-90 seconds of rest between sets of the Ballistic Bands Single Arm Standing Rows. Athletes can use less resistance and shorter rest periods to keep their heart rate higher, improve muscular endurance, and optimize their training time. Athletes can keep the rest periods longer and use more resistance to see significant gains in strength.

Athletes can also perform what is known as a drop set at the end of their lat workout. To perform a drop set athletes will complete the first two sets of the Ballistic Bands Single Arm Standing Row as usual, perform their third set of the rowing exercise, then immediately move into the final set with 60% of the resistance used for the third set of the lat exercise. This challenging finish to a back workout requires the athlete to have an additional set of Ballistic Bands ready to go immediately after the third set has been finished.