Find out how else you can effectively work your back muscles if you are not able to do pull-ups or block deadlifts. The crossover is an excellent simulator with which you can pump the muscles of the legs and arms with high quality, as well as develop the Sioux of the strike. Today we will talk about this type of sports equipment, as well as look at a couple of crossover rods that you might find useful. However, it must be warned immediately that all exercises performed in this simulator are isolated.
Straight arm pulls of the upper blocks
This movement is primarily intended to pump the lats. However, other muscles are also involved in the work:
- Synergistic muscles - pectoralis major and minor, large round, triceps, levator of the scapula, large round and posterior deltas.
- Stabilizing muscles - triceps brachialis, straight and oblique presses, wrist flexors, clavicular region of the pectoralis major.
Benefits of straight-handed crossover traction
To understand whether to include a particular movement in your training program, it is worth finding out what benefits can be obtained:
- Isolated work of the broadest muscles.
- The ability to shape the chest in a V-shape.
- The width of the back increases.
- Can be performed by athletes of all fitness levels and physique, as well as girls with suspicion of a barbell.
How to properly pull in a crossover with straight arms?
This movement can be safely ranked as exercises of low complexity, but the technique must be observed when performing it. First you need to go to the crossover and attach the wide handle. Take it with an upper wide grip and pull the block a little so that your hands are above the level of the shoulder joints. After taking one or two steps back, straighten your arms, leaving the elbow joints slightly bent. The legs should be at the level of the shoulder joints, and slightly bent at the knees. The body should be tilted forward at an angle of approximately 30 degrees. This is your starting position.
Inhale the air, while keeping your arms straight, and begin to pull the handle with the effort of your lats until it is in the thigh area. After that, exhale, and without bending your arms, return to the starting position. There are several options for this movement:
- Hand pull on belts or elastic bands.
- Rows using a rope handle.
- Standing on knee staves, pull elastic bands or belts.
How to make the exercise as effective as possible?
Each power movement has its own subtleties and nuances that allow you to achieve the maximum possible results. Crossover traction with straight arms is no exception, and here are some helpful tips.
- Throughout the entire set, you must ensure that your arms remain straight.
- At the lowest position of the trajectory, pause for two counts.
- At the final stage of the movement, it is worth expanding the chest and arching the back.
- Make sure that your shoulders do not round when performing the movement.
- Do not raise the handle too high.
- The downward movement should be carried out at a fast pace, and in the opposite direction it decreases.
- Avoid using impulses for each rep.
- The exercise should be performed only with the work of the lats, not the muscles of the arms.
- When moving the arms down, exhale, and when you return to the starting position, inhale.
- Do crossover deadlifts with straight arms for three sets of 15 or 20 reps each.
Recommendations for girls to work out the muscles of the back
It's no secret that many girls try to avoid barbell work, but maintaining the tone of the back muscles is in any case necessary. Pull-ups are the best movement for this, but not every girl can do them. In order not to use the barbell, but to get the opportunity to work out the back muscles with high quality, do two sessions during the week.
Remember to rest 48 to 72 hours in between. In one workout, work with dumbbells, and in the second, do the deadlift in the crossover with straight arms. You can also recommend alternating different patterns in terms of the number of sets and reps.
In one workout, do 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps, and on the next workout, do five sets of 15-20 reps. Crossover pulls with straight arms should be used solely for the purpose of fatigue targeting muscles and take the first place in your complex. After completing the main part of the program, do hyperextension for a maximum of three sets of failure.
Crossover Rows for Shoulder Training
When creating a beautiful, athletic male figure, remember the role of the shoulder girdle. Qualitatively pumped shoulders complete the beautiful silhouette of the upper body. For girls, shoulder muscles also matter, creating a visually narrow waist.
Men, when working on the muscles of the shoulder girdle, should work with high intensity and focus on basic movements. However, for maximum results, it is worth using load cycling. In other words, high intensity workouts should be followed by high volume workouts.
Of course, a high volume of training can be ensured thanks to the same work with free weights. However, in this situation, novice builders may simply lack technical skills, and experienced athletes may be injured. Even if you have no reason to give up free weights, you can sometimes use crossover rows to add variety to your training.
Shoulder girdle muscle atlas
Contrary to popular belief, the shoulder girdle does not consist of deltas alone. The humerus is an attachment point for a large number of other muscles of varying sizes. As a result, you should think about how to work not only the deltas, but also the rest of the muscles in this part of the body.
Moreover, it is important to exclude large muscles from work, since if there is a possibility, then they will do the main work, and small muscles will remain unworked. If you understand what you need to achieve in the process of training, then it is important for the body not only to complete the task, but at the same time to save energy.
We recommend that you carefully study the muscular atlas of the shoulder girdle, as this part of the body is very interesting and, in fact, deserves a separate article. First of all, you should remember that the shoulder joint is located on the axis of the scapula, and from above it is limited by the acromion. Thus, the deltas can perform related tasks with the muscles of the scapula, which should include the lats. In addition, the shoulder joint is highly mobile and you shouldn't forget about it.
You can move the shoulder joint to almost every side, and the limitation is only at the top. How you raise your hand determines the degree of participation in the work of each section of the deltas. We lead to the fact that when working on the muscles of the shoulder girdle with free weight or in a simulator, the lats can take away most of the load. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to fix the scapula, and perform the movement with an amplitude that allows you to move only the humerus. Let's take a quick look at a few of the crossover movements you can do to develop your shoulder muscles.
Swing in an inclined position
The main nuance of this movement is the need to turn the elbow joints up. This allows you to maximize the use of the rear deltas. The gaze should always be directed forward, and even better, look at the ground altogether. Thanks to this, the trapezoid is excluded from the work. It is also important to remember that movement is performed only by the movement of the shoulder joint. The elbows should remain motionless throughout the entire movement.
Swing to the sides on the lower block
When taking the starting position, you should bend your elbow a little to emphasize the load on the target muscles. Bend your back in the lumbar region, and the shoulder blades should be laid back. To make it a little easier to perform the movement, grab the crossover with your free hand. Legs need to rest on the ground and move the center of gravity of the body to the heels. Also, make sure that the elbow joint is pointing up.
Traction in the crossover of the lower block
In this movement, the main nuance is the location of the elbow joint. The more it is directed upward, the greater the load falls on the share of the middle section of the deltas.
In conclusion, I would like to note that a lot of myths have formed around the block simulator, which are not substantiated by anything. However, this is a fairly large topic and for now we will just give some general recommendations for performing traction in a crossover. This simulator is best suited for athletes who already have a sufficient amount of mass and want to dry out.
Traction in the crossover and during the mass-gathering periods of training is quite suitable. However, in this situation, the block trainer should be used after working with free weights. The higher your training experience, the more actively you can use the crossover. Novice builders should work with free weights, while simulators can wait.
But for girls, this type of sports equipment can be used much more often. The representatives of the beautiful half of humanity are not faced with the task of gaining the maximum amount of muscle mass. Working on the machine reduces the risk of injury and provides excellent muscle tone.
You can visually familiarize yourself with the technique of performing traction in a crossover in this video:
