Split Stance Band Row
How to Do the Split Stance Standing Bent Over Band Lat Row | In-Depth Guide [VISUAL LEARNERS] Advanced
Proper Form, Common Mistakes, & Variations | Home Resistance Training
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE?
QUICK DEMO
QUICK DEMO
MUSCLES THIS WORKS
MUSCLES
MAIN MUSCLES WORKED IN Split Stance Band Rows
LATS
The "lats" as they are affectionately called...lol just kidding - anyway, "lats" is short for Latissimus Dorsi which is the widest muscle of the upper body and the largest muscle of the back .
OTHER MUSCLES WORKED:
- Middle and Lower Traps
- Rhomboids
- Serratus anterior
- Triceps
- Teres major
- Rear deltoid
STARTING POINTERS
Starting Pointers
WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY
ALL WE'RE DOING:
Not gonna lie, this is a challenging movement because of that squat component. But its a fully body workout!
This one is hard! What's cool about it is it's a fully body exercise because of the more challenging position. This is the sort of exercise I would typically only include 1 or 2 of in a workout so we don't get overly exhausted.
This version of the lat dumbbell row is done in a lunge position. The position challenges balance and stability, and will work the muscles of the legs, especially the glutes, quads and hamstrings.
This is more challenging than other bent over rows where you are supported by your hand and/or knee on a bench. It will work more muscle groups at once, which can be a great way to increase the overall intensity of your workout session if you like, however you also may need to reduce the weight you are using for the rows compared to other supported versions because there is so much more work your body is doing with its other muscles at the same time. So the trade off is you may not fatigue the lat muscle quite as well.
HOW TO FEEL WHAT MUSCLE IS WORKING
How to Feel What Muscle is Working
Option 1: While standing, take one hand across, and touch near the bra line, just under the armpit. Actively press your shoulders down and elongate the torso/spine up, feel that muscle moving/contracting. That is part of your lat muscle.
If you don’t feel anything you can try it this way:
Option 2: While seated, take one arm across - but just below their breasts, and feel the lat just under the armpit. Take your arm on the side you are activating and push the hand down into the seat of the chair. Like a seated press-up. If your shoulder blade is elevated or in slight protraction you will not be able to get a good lat contraction, so be sure to pull your shoulder blade back and down, THEN push down and in with your upper arm. You will feel a strong lat activation just below your armpit along the side of your body.
HOW TO DO THE EXERCISE
LOOKS
HOW Split Stance Band Row SHAPE OUR BODY
Building the lat muscles contributes to what they call a “V-taper” - it adds to a more hourglass-ish, slim waist appearance.
Confident and healthy upright posture.
PROPER FORM
PROPER FORM: Split Stance Band lat Row
EQUIPMENT, SETS & REPS
EQUIPMENT
Main set (3: Light/Med/Heavy)
X-Heavy Band (I recommend getting this too if you plan to use resistance bands frequently).
SUGGESTED STARTING WEIGHT FOR WOMEN:
Moderate resistance level band.
SETS & REPS:
2 sets of 8 - must fatigue the muscles.
PACE:
Moderate up - with control and back stability, and lower down for the eccentric component.
BODY POSITION
BODY POSITION FOR THE Split Stance Band Row
BAND: Place an elastic band under the foot that will be in front in the split squat position. Hold one end of the band in each hand.
FEET: Staggered stance. The front leg: foot is flat on floor. The back leg: toe is planted with heel lifted.
BODY STANCE: Shift body weight towards the front leg, bend both knees lowering down to a squat position. The front knee is bent to approximately 70 degrees. Hinge at the hips to lean forward approximately 50 -70 degrees (this is limited by the strength of low back and core - must be able to maintain a neutral and stable spine), pelvis, hips, shoulders squared to the front.
HAND/GRIP: Neutral - palms will face in, this should be a comfortable grip. The band should be taut in the starting position.
ARM: Both arms hanging down to your sides, hands in line with the front lower leg.
NECK: Neutral and relaxed throughout the movement. Long neck - space between top of shoulder and earlobe.
HOW TO DO
HOW TO DO Split Stance Band back Rows
CUE: This is a challenging position - stay focused on form - keeping the torso squared to the front and really feeling the lats do the work.
Pull your shoulder blades in and down your back. Lift your upper arm back, letting your elbow bend. Resist the urge to use your biceps at this point. Pull the upper arm back behind the body, inwards towards the midline (the spine), and down towards your low back.
Your elbows will be behind your back at the end of the movement. Pause and squeeze the lat muscles.
Return to the starting position with slow control and repeat.
HOW TO SAFELY GET OUT OF THE EXERCISE
Release the band. Push up with both legs to straighten the knees, bringing the back leg forward.
COMMON MISTAKES
COMMON MISTAKES
WHAT TO AVOID WITH THE Split Stance Band lat Row
KEY TIP:
Guess what? Good news! Many avoids are the same for most movements. Once you learn the basics, there's really only a few extra avoids for each individual movement.
1. A few tips
It's important to do this exercise with proper form - this is a very challenging position to do this movement in. If you aren't able to do it with proper form, please do a different version that's not so difficult. Lastly, you can think about just doing 1 set of this version of the movment in a workout, and then 1-2 more sets in a less challenging position like the bench row or tripod row.
2. Avoid rounding/Arching your back
AVOID: Avoid arching(extending) or rounding (flexing) your low back
WHY NOT?
- Can lead to muscle strain or low back joint injury, it will also decrease the activation of the targeted muscles. Maintain a neutral spine position.
- Pressure or discomfort in your low back.
WHAT TO DO:
- Maintain a neutral spine position to prevent low back joint injury, muscle strain, or damage over time.
- Troubleshooting suggested fixes:
- Poor core strength: activate your abdominal muscles, or do choose a position with more support.
- Poor back extensor strength: choose a position with more support.
3. Avoid using your neck
AVOID: Avoid using your neck
WHY NOT?
- The neck should be neutral and relaxed, space between the earlobe and top of shoulder - this can lead to neck and/or shoulder injury over time and it prevents you from using the correct muscles. This can lead to neck strain, injury, or damage over time.
- You may feel neck discomfort, find that you are pressing down with your head, or gripping with your neck muscles.
WHAT TO DO:
- Gripping neck muscles in an attempt to stabilize the shoulders: relax the neck and activate the core muscles more, activate the scapular stabilizers in retraction and depression.
4. Avoid making it a bicep curl
AVOID: Using the biceps to lift the bands
WHY NOT?
- The goal of the exercise is to use the lats.
- This may happen if you find yourself doing mostly bending at the elbow rather than moving through the extension of the shoulder behind you.
WHAT TO DO:
- Correct form and focus: the elbow does bend but it is a passive movement as the upper arm is lifted back. Avoid actively (using the biceps) bending the elbow.
5. Avoid elbows flaring out
AVOID: Avoid letting the elbows flare outwards from your body as you move them upwards.
WHY NOT?
- This will cause the back of your shoulder muscle (rear deltoid) to do more of the work and the latissimus dorsi to do less of the work.
WHAT TO DO:
- Pull elbow in close to body.
6. Avoid rounding your upper back or shoulders
AVOID: Avoid rounding your upper back or shoulders
WHY NOT?
- This can lead to neck, shoulder injury or damage over time and can result in using the wrong muscles (upper trap).
WHAT TO DO:
- Please watch the video clip to see the difference between shoulder blade protraction at the starting position vs. letting the upper back drop too far.
- Check posture and form in mirror
7. Avoid hips rotating back
AVOID: Avoid rounding your upper back or shoulders
WHY NOT?
- This can lead to neck, shoulder injury or damage over time and can result in using the wrong muscles (upper trap).
WHAT TO DO:
- Check posture and form in mirror
VARIATIONS
VARIATIONS
VARIATIONS OF Split Stance Band lat Rows
Single arm
Single arm
This allows you to focus on one arm at a time. The working arm will be the arm on the side of the leg that is back (ie - left leg back, left arm is working arm).
The arm that is not working (not completing the row) can be held down and relaxed or it can be held back at the top of the row to keep tension on the muscles as the other arm works. Working one arm at a time will work the muscles of the core a bit differently - the quadratus lumborum (to prevent side bending) and obliques (to prevent rotation) will be more active.
The arm that is not working (not completing the row) can be held down and relaxed.
Single Arm Version Benefits
Single Arm Version Benefits
The unique benefit to doing the movement with a single arm is that you can often use more resistance because you only have one limb moving instead of two. This will also work your core muscles differently - this version will utilize your side core muscles more, to resist rotation of your torso, and it's very practical for training of uneven carrying of items in everyday life (which is how we carry and lift most things in life right? Grocery bags in both arms are rarely the same exact weight on both sides right!)
Single Arm - supported
Single Arm Supported
This is a great way to break into this challenging movement and get used to it. To stabilize yourself, you can use the nonworking arm, placing it on the thigh of your front leg or on a chair/bench/wall. Remember now to lean on the surface with your weight, but just holding your hand there as lightly/gently as you can to help balance yourself.
Single Arm - iso
Single Arm - Isometric Hold
To increase the difficulty of the exercise, the non working arm can be held back at the top of the row to keep tension on the muscles as the other arm works.
Split squat
Split Squat Band Row
As you lift the arms back, push up with the front leg - until the front knee is straight - the torso will still be hinged forward. As you bring the arms down, bend the knees to squat down to the starting position. This variation challenges your coordination, balance, and leg strength.
WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY
WHAT & WHY
BENEFITS OF TRAINING THE lats
WHAT
WORKIN' OUR BACKSIDE
Sometimes we think of our backside as just the bottom half of us don't we! But today, we're working our OTHER backside- the top half.
The bent over row will work the latissimus dorsi muscle - which translates to “widest back”, it is most commonly called the lat muscle. The lat is shaped a little bit like a wing, and it can pull the arms in close to the body. The exercise is extra challenging because you will be working both the upper and lower body at the same time. In the movement we are doing today, you will be pulling the upper arm back and in close to the body.
Please note: If you saw the words "widest back" and panicked, let me clarify- you will not get a wide back from these exercises. What you WILL get is more definition in your back along with a healthier walking stride and better posture.
WHY BOTHER DOING IT?
WHY
WHY DO WE EVEN CARE?
BIG MUSCLES ARE TYPICALLY IMPORTANT
Bigger isn't always better, but on our bodies, when something is large, it usually means it's either really important, has a lot of different actions it's involved in, is connected to lots of bones and muscles, or all three.
So being that the latissimus dorsi muscle is the largest musce of the entire upper body, it's very important, not only for healthy movement of the shoulder, but also to hold us in an upright position.
CONNECTS WITH A BUNCH OF BONES & MUSCLES
The lat attaches to the spine, the shoulder blade, the pelvis and the arm - it even has a connection to your gluteus maximus - or buttock muscle. That's 5 places!!
Just knowing this tells us something about how important it is to work this muscle.
TEACHES US HOW TO USE THE LAT TO KEEP OUR TORSO DURING ARM MOVEMENTS
Learning how to use the lat to keep the torso still and move the shoulder blade back while you pull your arm back can help prevent future upper back, neck and shoulder pain.
UNLESS YOU'RE A WORKOUT PRO YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T EXERCISED THIS MUSCLE MUCH
The history that many of us ladies have with exercise, including myself (I only started doing these lat movements about a year ago), is such that we likely haven't done exercises that specifically work this muscle. We've probably done lots of squats. We've probably done some on our knees pushups even though we absolutely hated it. We've probably done some lightweight bicep curls even. But not much back stuff. Not lat stuff.
So, now that we know it's a big important muscle, we can finally give it the attention it deserves and catch it up to speed with the other body parts we HAVE been working on an off for the last twenty years.
EVERYDAY LIFE
EVERYDAY LIFE &
MUSCLE FUNCTION
HOW WE USE OUR LATISSIMUS DORSI IN EVERYDAY LIFE
1. PULLING THE ARM DOWN (EXTENSION FROM FLEXION)
- Swimming - it’s called the swimming muscle because it does all 3 motions of the crawl stroke
- Rowing
- Cross country skiing
- Chopping wood
- Golf swing
- Pulling heavy items towards you
- Pulling a door closed
- Pulling weeds
- Hugging someone really hard
2. PUSHING YOUR BODY UP WHILE KEEPING THE ARMS STABLE
- Using crutches
- Pushing down to get out of a chair
- Pushing yourself out of a pool (hands on edge of pool)
3. MOVES AND STABILIZES THE SHOULDER BLADE
- Pulls the shoulder blade down (scapular depression)
- Holds the shoulder blade down to provide a stable base for your arm to work off of
4. HOLDS THE TORSO IN A HEALTHY UPRIGHT POSTURE
5. STABILIZES THE LOW BACK
- When lifting, carrying, heavy arm and leg use
SCIENCY STUFF
SCIENCY STUFF
SPIFFILICIOUS FACTS ABOUT MUSCLES & MOVES
The latissimus dorsi is sometimes listed as an accessory breathing muscle. This means that in times of stress, or heavy breathing, it can help to expand the rib cage during breathing in (inspiration).
The broad latissimus dorsi has attachments to the lower 6 thoracic vertebrae, all of the lumbar vertebrae, and the sacrum (triagular bone at the base of the spine) through the thoracolumbar fascia. It also has attachments to the lower 3 or four ribs, the inferior angle of the scapular and the humerus.
Weak lats can cause upper, mid and lower back pain, shoulder pain, even pain down your arm. Tight lats can limit movement of your shoulder blade and your arm, and cause low back and shoulder pain.
ALLLL MUSCLES & WHEN
ALL MUSCLES WORKING & WHEN DURING THE Split Stance Band Row
The back extensors, quads, glutes, and hamstrings will work to hold the starting position and keep the body still. The middle and lower traps, rhomboids, serratus anterior work to stabilize the shoulder blades in towards the spine (retraction) and down the back (depression) so that the arm muscles have a stable base to work off of. The triceps, teres major and lat muscles work concentrically to pull the upper arm upwards (up from starting position - towards ceiling and back wall - depending on lean). Towards the end of the motion the long head of the triceps and the lat work to extend (move behind the body) and adduct (move the upper arm inwards towards the spine). The rear deltoid may assist at this point.
As the weight is lowered back to the starting position the lat, triceps, teres major, and muscles of the shoulder blade, work eccentrically to control the movement against the pull of gravity.
PIN IT FOR LATER!
