The Chest-Supported Row x Sorinex Bulldog Pad®

Strong Back, Strong Human: The Posterior Chain

The posterior chain refers to the musculature that is located on our backside (i.e. posterior). It spans from the soles of our feet along the calfs, hamstrings, glutes, erectors, all the way to our neck. As upright and bipedal creatures, us humans rely on a strong posterior chain to help us move through the day and carry out our tasks, duties, and perform activities of daily living. These may include performing athletic movements, carrying a plethora of odd loads (e.g. rucksacks, toddlers, groceries, suitcases), or wearing personal protective equipment and other gear (military, law enforcement, firefighters, shop workers etc.). Especially those of us riding the desk should be training the posterior chain to support an otherwise inactive daily routine. Sitting for prolonged periods of time actually “deactivates” some key musculature for postural control, such as the glutes, hamstring, even the hip flexors. This can, over time, result in a weakened posterior chain, which is often the source of back pain and other potential chronic musculoskeletal issues. Whatever it is you do or want to do or need to do, a strong back will allow you to do it – better and for longer.

Building a Durable Back

In order to effectively and efficiently build a resilient and sturdy backside, compound, or multi-joint, exercises are often prescribed by strength and conditioning (S&C) coaches, physical therapists, or fitness professionals to their athletes, patients, and clients, respectively. Compound movements require the action of multiple joints, which recruits substantial amounts of muscle mass, compared to single-joint movements, which mainly recruits the musculature directly above and/or below the joint in motion. When it comes to targeting the posterior chain comprehensively, pulling, or ‘hinging’ movements such as deadlift variations or clean pulls are common choices. However, when we want to isolate the musculature of our backside above the hip, a staple exercise among strength practitioners, gym goers, and physical culturists alike is the Chest-Supported Row.

The Chest-Supported Row

The Chest-Supported Row (CSR) is a compound resistance training exercise where the trainee places their chest on an inclined or horizontal surface to perform a rowing motion. The CSR is considered a compound/multi-joint movement because elbow and shoulder joints on both sides are facilitating the movement. The arms remain at the sides, perpendicular to the ground, or otherwise angled in the direction from where an implement (e.g. dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, bands) is to be pulled towards the body. This (quasi-/semi-) prone body position removes the assistance of the legs as we know it from seated or standing rowing variations. Take, for example, a Bent Over Row or Pendlay Row. In these variations, the hamstrings, groin, gluteus, and low back muscles can aid in slightly accelerating the training implement from its lowest point upward. Yes, this allows for greater loads to be moved, but much of the credit and adaptation goes to the lower part of the body. The CSR is designed to target the upper back musculature in isolation without additional help, just raw upper body strength. This in turn makes it more difficult to load it as heavy as a row with leg assistance. However, gains in back strength obtained via a CSR, which is still considered a compound movement, often translates into full body strength gains. Interestingly, the CSR is a great tool to improve your strength towards performing pull-ups or chin-ups. A strong upper back is also a key factor in postural control squats, deadlifts, bench press, cleans, snatches and other big movements for developing general and special strength qualities.

Target Musculature, Basic Anatomy & Exercise Modifications

Target Musculature

The CSR primarily targets the trapezius, latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, and posterior/rear deltoid muscles (Image 2. Muscles of the Back) through predominantly concentric and eccentric muscle actions. These muscles play a significant role in facilitating movement of the arms (e.g. abduction, adduction, rotation) and the torso (i.e. frontal & lateral flexion and extension, rotation), as well as postural control and stabilization of the neck. As such, improving work capacity and strength of these back muscles ultimately translates to a large number of activities of daily living (e.g. lifting, carrying, locomotion), contributes to sport- and task-specific movements (e.g. throwing, pulling, kicking, overhead movements, changing of direction, and load carriage), and acts a measure of longevity and protection of the spine and neck.

Secondary target musculature in a CSR include the biceps and brachialis muscles, depending upon grip orientation, as well as the teres minor, major, and levator scapulae (i.e. side parts of your neck). The erector spinae group, or back extensors, as well as some deep ‘trunk’ muscles, are also constantly activated in a (quasi-) isometric manner, mostly to maintain posture. However, these muscles may receive a great concentric stimulus during the upward phase of a row, if the athlete chooses to slightly hyperextend the back.

Basic Anatomy

The back musculature that supports, stabilizes, and sustains our upright posture and locomotion (i.e. erector spinae group) is inherently composed of mostly type-I (slow twitch, high-endurance) versus type-II (fast-twitch, high-force/high-velocity) muscle fibers^8,4. This is also referred to as the II:I fiber type ratio. The main muscles targeted with the CSR are composed and structured with different II:I ratios to enable various functions and movements at varying movement speeds and directions. It is important to note that fiber type composition in human skeletal muscle is highly individualized and can vary significantly. Thus, we urge our readers to use this information as a guideline and to apply changes in any given program to the needs of the individual.

Since the different back muscles range between primarily type I (i.e. rhomboids) to primarily type II (e.g. latissimus dorsi) and since it is impossible to train a given muscle in true isolation, varying the training stimulus via load and volume manipulation is recommended for well-rounded development*. That is, unless a sport demands progressive development towards highly-task specific output of all supporting musculature (e.g. throwing, weightlifting, American football → fast, powerful). Specialized training stimuli can alter fiber type ratios which may affect the muscle’s function and metabolism⁶. This is linked to the SAID principle – specific adaptation to imposed demands, or simply the principle of training specificity^7,9. Below is a brief overview of the main muscles targeted by the CSR. Each muscle name is linked to an article for those who want to dive deeper into the functional anatomy of these muscles.

*See below for grip variations to target certain muscles.

Chest-Supported Row Target Musculature – From Largest to Smallest

Muscle	Fiber type	Main functions	Task/sport application
Trapezius5	Upper fibers: primarily type I (fast-twitch) Middle & lower fibers: primarily type II (e.g. quick arm action)	Stabilize and move the scapula (shoulder blades), stabilize the neck Upper: elevate & upwardly rotate scaps, extend neck Middle: medially retract (“pinch”) scaps Lower: depress/lower scaps, assist in rotation	Throw, punch
Latissimus Dorsi3	Primarily type II (fast-twitch)	Torso/thoracic movement (bend forward & laterally, extend, rotate) & arm movement (adduction & rotation)	Throw, punch, kick, shed (blockers), bat, pull, overhead arm movement
Rhomboids2	Primarily type I (slow-twitch)	Help form the shoulder girdle, arm movement, stabilization of the shoulder	Pulling, throwing, overhead arm movement
Deltoid (Rear)1	Primarily type II (fast-twitch)	Stabilization of the shoulder; rotate, abduct, and extend the arms	Pulling, throwing, overhead arm movement

Exercise Modifications

Alterations in grip orientation (e.g. pronated, supinated, neutral, angled) and/or width (e.g. regular, wide), can emphasize some parts of respective muscles more than others. From a general strength training perspective, it is wise to alternate grip width and orientation each training phase, or block, for well-rounded development, to combat training monotony and the risk for overuse injury. In athletes, selecting the right exercise variation, as with any other training variable, depends upon the overarching training goal and task, or sporting demands, that guide the training process.

For a more targeted approach to training certain muscles (e.g. bodybuilding, physique, rehabilitation) the following recommendations exist:

Grip Orientation

• Pronated (i.e. palms facing the front of your body) → Traps, Rhomboids
• Neutral (i.e. palms facing each other) → Lats
• Supinated (i.e. palms facing away from front of body) → Lower Lats, Rear Delts

Note: Applies when pad angle is moderate.

Grip Width

• Regular (in line with/just outside shoulder width) → Traps, Rhomboids, Lats
• Narrow (inside shoulder width) → Traps, Rhomboids
• Wide (as far as the pinky stays on the bar) → Lats

Note: Applies when pad angle is moderate.

Innovation and Collaboration

Strength and conditioning professionals and sport scientists have been at the forefront of innovation in the fitness and human performance industry for decades. These innovations include but are not limited to the development of training methods and principles (e.g. periodization, progressive overload, specificity), the creativity needed to work with limited resources (e.g. time, space, equipment), or the ability to connect with another human being and provide them with the guidance needed to achieve their goals. Just like sport science research, where a project begins with a “problem that needs solving”, at Sorinex we listen to the industry and the strength and conditioning professionals in it to identify problems to be solved. This turns practitioners furthermore into innovators for exercise equipment. This invaluable collaboration, forged through trust, relationship building, and us having skin in the strength coach’s game, helps us gain insight into limitations practitioners face and then provide impactful solutions that move the field, and you, forward.

The Rise of the Bulldog Pad®

The Bulldog Pad® was borne out of a visionary collaboration between Sorinex and Coach Scott Sinclair, Director of Strength & Conditioning for the University of Georgia Football team. Coach Sinclair wanted to solve the problem of efficiency by maximizing the training space and time that is allotted to him and his staff. Primarily designed by Sorinex as a first-of-its-kind rack attachment for Chest-Supported Rows, the Bulldog Pad® quickly revealed itself as a highly versatile training tool. It has proven extremely useful for those who supervise and coach large numbers of athletes, those who utilize high-density training strategies such as supersets, trisets etc. and those who seek more variation and creative solutions in their training (Table 1).

“I love the Bulldog Pads. I mean, we had that vision and we took it from a big vision down to something that really works well in here. You know, and it's small so it doesn't take up a lot of space, it gives us different angles we can use, we got the row on the bottom of it (see Image 2) - we can do dumbbell rows if we need to. I really like the chest supported stuff. The ability to do a bunch of rowing motions and posterior work was really important to me, because that's how we are going to program it in.” – Coach Scott Sinclair

Of note, many physical training and performance settings in high school, collegiate, or professional sports, to military and other tactical units often face time restrictions dictated by pre-determined schedules (e.g. class, shifts, command PT), governing bodies (e.g. NCAA), and/or collective bargaining agreements (CBA) such as the NFL CBA. It is also not uncommon that collegiate strength and conditioning staff may coach and supervise 50+ athletes per session, depending on the sport, while coaches in high school or military settings can face numbers in the hundreds. Thus, when you’re limited in time and space to train a large number of athletes, the organization and flow of your training space, the training plan, as well as your time, and task management ought to be dialed in. Maximizing carrying capacity (i.e. multiple athletes per rack, or station) of a training facility is therefore always a priority for high-level practitioners. Not only is it essential for time efficiency in training, but also – and most importantly – it allows the coach(es) to warrant safety and provide athletes with undivided attention and direct coaching feedback by not having to move between multiple locations.

Like most of our rack attachments, the Bulldog Pad® is compatible with all Sorinex racks carrying 3” x 3” inch tubing with 1-1/16” holes that spaced 2 inches at the center. The low profile design of the pad (12” x 8.5”) allows for the use of dumbbells, Center Mass Bells®, barbells, kettlebells, cables, and bands (list of sample movements below). Four adjustment angles at 15 (top), 35, 55, and 75 degrees, offer wide-ranging versatility – from pulling and pressing movements to neck and mid-section/core strength training – supporting arms, head, chest, back, and legs. However, the most prominent exercise application of the Bulldog Pad® remains the Chest-Supported Row, a staple exercise in posterior chain development.

Application A	Application B	Application C
High-Density Training Strategies e.g. Supersets, Trisets etc.	Supervise & Coach Large Numbers of Athletes e.g. High School, Collegiate, Professional Sports, Tactical	Small & Specialized Training Spaces e.g. Home Gyms, Private Training Facilities, Rehabilitation
More Load Moved in Less Time = Work ⬆	Improved Safety, Coaching Vision & Ability to Cue	More Variation & Creative Training Solutions

Adding to the possible exercise modifications found in the Chest-Supported Row Target Musculature section, the following modifications are recommended for the Bulldog Pad® to address specific muscles:

Bulldog Pad® Angle

• Low, 75° → Traps, Rhomboids (think High Row, Chest-Supported Shrug)
• Moderate, 55° → Traps, Rhomboids, Lats (traditional CSR setting)
• High/Flat, 35° & 15° → Traps, Rhomboids, Lats (depending on grip). Ideal for barbell or kettlebell rows from the floor, for example the Seal Row (see Image 1).

Note: The Bulldog Pad® must be moved up or down the upright depending on movement goal, height, and arm length of the individual.

Aside from enabling an efficient and effective way to perform the Chest-Supported Row, the Sorinex Bulldog Pad® allows for a wide array of other movements, supporting various parts of the body from the head to the feet.

Here are some of these sample, or alternate, movements that are possible with the Bulldog Pad®:

Sample Movements

Chest-Supported Rear Lateral Raise

Dumbbell Chest Fly

Copenhagen Plank

Barbell Hip Thrust

Head-Supported Shrug