RC/PE5 Bulgarian Row form clarification

Hi all,

 

Just moved on to RC/PE5 and I am wondering what the form should be like...

 

I video'd myself doing a few different types - should I be actively pulling elbows back like in rep 1? Or do I not need to pull them so far backwards? 

On the 3rd rep you can see the pulling elbows backwards more obviously. 

 

http://youtu.be/tG-o696__S4

 

 

Thanks

 

edit - video is taking a while to loaddd

I prefer the first one where you start with prone grip. in my opinion the cue of this video is try to increase the hands distance, in order to to that you need to think to move one hand far from the other. to ensure  a good execution see if you can maintain the forearm orthogonal to the upper arm. in this way you are forced to pull wider and not compensate at bending at the elbow.

Okay, so in maintaining a 90 degree angle between forearm and upper arm I shouldn't have to really force my elbows back, it should just happen itself?

It's my understanding that the aim is to display both a 90 degree angle between the side of the body and the upper arm at all times and a 90 degree angle at the elbow at the top of the movement.

https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/16246-bulgarian-rows-hand-width/#entry156730

 

In practice this is very hard, but despite that (or perhaps even because of that) it is worth the time spent working towards mastery. Joshua Naterman has written about this various times on the forum.

Holding the upper arms at 90 degrees to the body apparently prevents the lats from assisting in pulling the elbows back, meaning you must rely solely upon the traps.

I am not entirely sure of the purpose of pulling the hands apart in the top position, but I am guessing it prevents the biceps from assisting; again isolating the traps.

 

I have found that the best way to build up an awareness of correct form was to start with feet on the floor and rings raised to head height. Once I could achieve 5 x 5 with the correct shoulder and elbow angles, I dropped the rings to an elevated row position. I will soon move on to a ground row position, before finally working towards mastery with feet elevated. This may sound like a big investment of time, and your experience may well differ, but if your traps aren't strong enough, they aren't strong enough.

 

I agree with Alex that your first rep looks the best. Your shoulder angle is good, but your forearms also need to be vertical. Good luck!