Dumbbell Seal Row

Exercise:
Dumbbell Seal Row
Target Muscle:
Back (Mid/Lats)
Equipment:
Flat Bench, Dumbbells
Execution:
The first step to this exercise is getting your initial bench setup in place.

To do this, you can either take a decline bench and elevate the bottom of the bench on top of a box or some other platform, or you can use a flat bench and elevate both ends.

However you choose to go about it, your basic goal is to get the bench parallel to the floor (a slight incline or decline is no big deal), and to have it high enough off the ground so that you can fully extend the dumbbells below you and perform the exercise safely.

Once your bench is setup, simply lay facing down with your chin pressing against the top of it. Hold onto a pair of dumbbells with your palms facing in, and then row them upward toward your midsection until you feel a strong contraction in your back muscles.

Lower the dumbbells back down until your arms are fully extended below you and repeat.
Tips:
- In order to maximize the tension on your lats rather than your biceps and shoulders, focus on pulling the dumbbells up using your elbows rather than your hands. Imagine that your hands and forearms don’t even exist, and just place 100% of your focus on driving the weight up using your elbows.

- As you row the weight upward, focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together.

- To increase the activation of your back muscles even further, you can use a set of lifting straps or lifting hooks to fully eliminate your grip from the equation.