Upright Row - With Bands — start position
Start
Upright Row - With Bands — end position
End

Back / Beginner / Compound (multi-joint)

Upright Row - With Bands

A band exercise for the upper traps, with the side delts and forearms assisting.

At a glance

Primary
Upper traps
Secondary
Side delts, Forearms & grip
Equipment
Resistance band
Movement pattern
Lateral raise (abduction), Shrug
Level
Beginner
Type
Back, Compound (multi-joint)

Loads the shoulder. Use a load you can control and skip it if it causes pain.

How to do it

  1. To begin, stand on an exercise band so that tension begins at arm's length. Grasp the handles using a pronated (palms facing your thighs) grip that is slightly less than shoulder width. The handles should be resting on top of your thighs. Your arms should be extended with a slight bend at the elbows and your back should be straight. This will be your starting position.
  2. Use your side shoulders to lift the handles as you exhale. The handles should be close to the body as you move them up. Continue to lift the handles until they nearly touches your chin. Tip: Your elbows should drive the motion. As you lift the handles, your elbows should always be higher than your forearms. Also, keep your torso stationary and pause for a second at the top of the movement.
  3. Lower the handles back down slowly to the starting position. Inhale as you perform this portion of the movement.
  4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

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Muscles worked

Neck (Front)Upper traps — primary (Front)Front delts (Front)Side delts — secondary (Front)Chest (Front)Serratus anterior (Front)Biceps (Front)Forearms & grip — secondary (Front)Abs (Front)Obliques (Front)Hip flexors (Front)Quads (Front)Adductors (Front)Shins (tibialis) (Front)Calves (Front)Outer shins (peroneals) (Front)Feet (arch & toes) (Front)Neck (Back)Upper traps — primary (Back)Upper back (rhomboids, mid/lower traps) (Back)Rear delts (Back)Side delts — secondary (Back)Rotator cuff (Back)Lats (Back)Lower back (erectors) (Back)Triceps (Back)Forearms & grip — secondary (Back)Hip abductors (glute med) (Back)Glutes (Back)Hamstrings (Back)Adductors (Back)Calves (Back)
FrontBack
  • Primary: Upper traps
  • Secondary: Side delts, Forearms & grip

Best for

How specific this exercise is to each movement.

Photos and instructions: free-exercise-db (github.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db), public domain.