I’m trying to work my upper back with dumb-bells, but when I do bent-over rows it feels as if I’m working my biceps. What’s wrong?
Johnny Miles, Sidcup

Jason Anderson replies: It sounds as if you’re not activating the upper back muscles that pull your shoulder blades together, which places the load on your arms. You’re probably using too heavy a weight, forcing your back to flex too much and deactivating the upper back muscles you’re supposed to be exercising. Re-learn this exercise with an unweighted bar. Start with a grip just wider than shoulder width. Bend over so that your body is almost parallel to the floor, your knees are bent slightly and your spine is in a neutral position. Starting with the bar directly under your shoulders, retract your shoulder blades slightly and pull the bar up towards your lower chest keeping your wrists straight. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top. Your elbows should be high and the shoulder blades retracted fully. If you find that you flex your wrists to get the bar to your chest, you are not retracting enough. Once you’ve cracked this movement you can start adding weight, keeping the reps at 15-20 to start with but ending the set immediately if you lose form.