Middle-trap mass is difficult to build for most trainees—but that may be from not understanding muscle-fiber alignment…
Scapulae retractions are considered the ideal exercise to activate the mid-to-low traps, but a slight adjustment can make it more mass-centric…
Notice the trap fibers in this skinless cadaver photo…
See how they run upward at a steep angle? That suggests that to get optimal stretch, your arms should angle up, not straight forward.
That may explain how Arnold got incredible back mass with less-than-ideal exercises like T-bar rows. Notice how his midback gets an upward stretch…
To mimic that on scapulae retractions, set the pulleys at eye level so that you’re stretching upward and squeezing with a downward motion—not horizontally. Here’s trainer Vince McConnell showing the stretch position…
You may even want to try setting the pulleys higher than eye level.
In the next training newsletter, I’ll have a new add-on move that takes advantage of these more vertical fibers to speed your back-mass development even more.
Like scapulae retractions, it’s another short-stroke exercise for packing on back size.
Your Efficient Mass-Building Handbook: For more mass-building tips like the above plus complete workouts that include the ideal exercise for each muscle and the best stretch and contracted add-on moves, get your copy of Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
