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Upright Row is an exercise that uses dumbbells to strengthen and tone your shoulders for a stronger upper body and more sculpted arms and shoulders. The shoulders are made up of multiple muscles and connective tissue.
Often people fall into the same pattern in their workouts thereby limiting progress by strengthening only one of the shoulder muscles involved in that particular move Maybe you do an overhead press with most of your workout but you’ve never added a front raise.
That means you are only getting the medial deltoid, or middle shoulder muscle, but not training the anterior deltoid. If you learn how to do Upright Row you will have one more shoulder move to put in your bucket.
The Upright Row can be done improperly so pay attention to your form. As you pull the weights up along the front of your body, be sure to pull your shoulders down away from your ears at the same time. It is common to “shrug”.
This should be avoided so as not to develop a large neck or perhaps risk pinching a nerve. For many people it helps to start with lighter weights while learning do to this move properly. Move to heavier weights when you feel confident in your ability to practice good form.
Upright Row Exercise Instructions
- Start standing with feet shoulder distance apart, arms long in front of leg holding dumbbells facing in.
- Pull dumbbells up slowly to chest height letting elbows point out to the sides as you lift dumbbells then return with control.
Targets: triceps, back, and shoulders
