The Dumbbell Row is by far one of the best upper body exercises period.
“If you wanna grow, you gotta row.”
The dumbbell row exercise will help strengthen the muscles of the upper back, lats, rear deltoids, forearms, biceps, and even the core. For an upper body exercise, the dumbbell row has almost countless benefits for nearly all strength, athletic, and fitness goals.
Benefit 1: Makes you appealing! Helps coveted V-Shape torso for the men, Hourglass shape for the women.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the aesthetic benefits of having toned back muscles. Both men and women have an improved appearance (and signals of ability) by strengthening the muscles that are targeted by the DB Row.
“Some engaged lats”
For men, waist to shoulder ratio is an obvious sign of attractiveness. And for women, the DB Row can strengthen the lats and upper back and give the waist a slimming appearance due to having improved muscular proportion.
Benefit 2: Dumbbell Rows are a unilateral exercise and can remedy strength and muscular imbalances between either side of the body.
Everybody has some asymmetry so it is an important part of a good strength training program to balance strength between all planes of the body. By working one side at a time, you are guaranteed to know how much that particular side can lift, without ever wondering if your body is compensating.
I noticed that tons of people are finding my blog by using the search term, “TRX Hip Bridge,” so I wanted to provide some value on this exercise.
TRX training is used around the world in professional and personal fitness for work, home, travel and more. Browse TRX training on Amazon.
Benefit of TRX Hip Bridge 1: Glute and Posterior chain activation.
Anybody who has allowed me to be their trainer and instructor knows that I am pretty much obsessed with glute activation. Even people with a big butt might have poor glute activation due to lifestyle (sitting down often, running form that is not ideal, or training programs that aren’t optimal).
Glute activation is more about strengthening or awakening the neurological connections between the brain and the butt so that you can perform efficiently and reduce incidence of faulty movement patterns.
Squeeze the butt for best results
MOREOVER, glute activation is important for the health of your lower back and other joints. Glutes need to be able to do their job and if you can’t activate the glutes, you could put yourself into poor posture (excessive anterior pelvic tilt) which will lead to injury at some point.
Benefit of TRX Hip Bridge 2: Injury prevention of hamstrings and other parts of your body.
First of all, many people are quad dominant. This means that the quadriceps are way stronger than the hamstrings and that is certainly a muscular imbalance. Research on soccer players indicates significantly higher risk of ACL and knee injury when the athlete has a poor quad to hamstring strength ratio.
The reason why the hip bridge specifically promotes healthy hamstrings is that you are performing a hamstring strengthening exercise involving your own body weight instead of using machines. While hamstring strengthening machines can be beneficial to the athlete or general population, it is valuable to balance out the training with bodyweight exercises because let’s face it: You must be able to handle your own body if you want the best in injury prevention.
Bending the knees significantly increases hamstring load and tension
The final reason that I’ll add today is that the TRX hip bridge can strengthen the hamstring with body weight at the knee joint. Because the hamstring connects at both the hip and the knee, it has function at both of those joints. While the single leg romanian deadlift can strengthen the hamstring while hinging at the hip, it is the TRX Hip Bridge or TRX Hamstring Curl that will strengthen the hamstring at the knee joint. Again, it’s all about muscular balance.
Benefit of TRX Hip Bridge 3: Carryover to other exercises.
While the TRX Hip Bridge isn’t one of those exercises that is 100% needed in every training program (in contrast to the squat, let’s say), you’ll still be able to get carryover benefit to other exercises.
You gotta stay healthy so that you can keep training
The Hip Bridge could improve your running, your deadlift, and pretty much all other related lower body activities. Due to the possible injury prevention benefits as well, it will allow you to train harder at a high intensity and therefore reach your goals even faster.
Even people with a big butt might have poor glute activation due to lifestyle.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned…
Exciting things for our blog and community are right around the corner.
Renowned for the power it bestows upon the skin of man. Tea Tree Oil has found widespread use throughout the entire world because it is a more reliable remedy than many.
The leaves grow naturally near ponds in Australia which are known to this day as healing waters
Even better, tea tree oil is LOADED with studies suggesting the benefits to be reflective of reality.
Benefits of Tea Tree Oil
For thousands of years people have benefited from the antiseptic and anti-bacterial properties of tee tree oil
Antiseptic: of, relating to, or denoting substances thatprevent the growth of disease-causing microorganisms
Anti-Fungal action makes tee tree oil a viable option for skin health
So there you have it, tea tree oil may promote the strengthening of damaged or infected tissue.Find on Amazon.
Tips on using tea tree oil
Tea tree oil is for external use and is toxic to humans and animals if ingested.
For sensitive areas, you can dilute with clean water or other oils to good effect.
When used properly it sanitizes, sterilizes, disinfects, cleanses and purifies the skin
Want to heal faster? In conjunction with tea tree oil, you can use other oils that are rich in antioxidants, nutrients and vitamins/minerals such as Sea Buckthorn Seed Oil, Rose Hips Seed Oil, Calendula Oil, Olive Oil, Coconut oil and other extracts)
The leaves of tea tree survive and grow in temperatures considered quite harsh — demonstrating that this plant is capable of protecting itself and even thriving in a challenging environment.
Thankfully the oils work in synergy with the life and ecosystem of our skin… promoting a more healthy you.
Many people will reach a fat-loss plateau if their workouts have no progression. You need progressive resistance techniques. You must strive to do more physical work in a shorter time period.
The body always seeks to adapt, therefore the work is never truly done.
Challenge in new ways, kneeling cable pallof press for core strength and stability
Always strive for more, while understanding that recovery is even more important than your workouts.
You will burn more fat outside of a workout
By focusing on recovery, you will burn more fat in the day than you could ever burn during a one hour workout session. Here are some practical recovery trips:
RECOVERY TIPS
Consume lean protein and ideally a nutrient dense carbohydrate within 0-60 minutes post-workout
example: eggs/beans, chicken/rice, protein powder/designer carbohydrate, etc
Move around and stay active
stretches (especially dynamic stretches), bodyweight squats and hip bridges, going for a brisk walk, outdoor activities, jumps/leaps or sports
Consume lean protein at every meal
feed the lean, simple as that
Prioritize sleep
examples: drink relaxing tea after dinner, minimize exposure to light in the hours before bed, try a melatonin if you are forced into a different sleep schedule (such as shift work), naps
Hydrate with water
Eat living food with active cultures and live probiotic bacteria
You want to support the symbiotic colonies that make your digestion even possible.
Having a healthy gut ecosystem affects all things human (from the smell of your feet, reproductive health, and even whether you’re more likely to burn additional fat)
Other option is eating pre-biotic (food that is pre-curser to the natural bacteria present from birth). Examples: ginger, banana, onions etc
REMEMBER: Muscle groups can take between 12-36 hours to recover and a big part depends on your lifestyle factors
I would always kick your butt in a workout and leave you destroyed, but unless the recovery is a priority for you then we have to possibly limit the intensity of your workouts.
Bonus: things that hurt recovery
Alcohol
No sleep
Stress
If fat burn is your priority, avoid those and deal with it.
The Good Night recovery with many restful hours will help performance.
Rest meme
Nutrition in the morning
Carbohydrates and hydrating liquids are valuable because it takes less effort to digest these nutrients. The carbs are energy and must be used wisely.
Not an everyday thing
You want your body to burn the fuel, the carbohydrates fuel the intense feeling that drives you.
Go FAST or go moderate boost
Should you power through the first mile or sit back and pace it?
It probably depends on your own personal strengths. For those runners who have been training in the weight room, they will benefit from power at the start into a relaxed pace for active recovery in anticipation of the final mile push and all out. Powerful runners tap into a wider array of muscle fibers.
Dre Fitness 