Rhomboids
Between the shoulder blades. Critical for posture and overhead pressing stability.
Exercises
Ranked by directness on rhomboids.
Band Row to Neck
Mid and upper back squeeze; great for warmups and posture work.
Seated Cable Row
Squeeze between the shoulder blades that lingers.
Inverted Row
Mid-back squeeze every rep. Easier than a pull-up, equally productive for the rhomboids.
Seal Row
Brutal upper-back squeeze with absolutely zero lower-back risk.
- Rhomboids
Also involves this muscle
Lifts that pull this muscle in as a supporter.
Rear delts
Reverse Pec Deck
Hard squeeze across the back of the shoulders.
Rear delts
Face Pull
Burn across the back of the shoulders + a release across the upper chest.
Rear delts
Prone T Raise
Rear delts and the middle of the upper back working as a unit.
Lats
Chest-supported Row
Lats and mid-back working with zero lower-back tax.
Lats
Lat Pulldown
Lats engaging from the very first inch of the pull.
Rear delts
Rear Delt Fly
Tight squeeze across the back of both shoulders.
Rear delts
Cable Reverse Fly
Constant tension across the back of both shoulders. Wickedly hard squeeze at the end.
Lats
Single-arm Dumbbell Row
Hard squeeze right under the armpit; lat tension you can chase by adjusting torso angle.
Biceps
Chin-up
Even split between hard bicep contraction and lat squeeze under the armpit.
Lats
Pull-up
Tight squeeze under the armpits - that's the lat.
Lats
T-Bar Row
Mid-back density work - lower lats and rhomboids fighting for space.
Lats
Meadows Row
A unilateral lat contraction with a slight rotational pull - very different from a standard row.
Lats
Barbell Bent-over Row
Mid-back squeeze + lower lat pull. Lower back stays tight, not working.