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Upper Back · Intermediate

Chest-Supported Dumbbell Scapular Retraction

Straight-arm chest-supported scapular retraction that trains the middle back through a short shoulder-blade glide rather than an upper-trap shrug.

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Chest-Supported Dumbbell Scapular Retraction demonstration

Exercise overview

Training details

Upper BackTraps Neck

Equipment

Dumbbell

Sets × reps

3 × 15

Rest

45 sec

How to perform it

Step-by-step instructions

  1. 01Lie chest down on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand and arms hanging straight.
  2. 02Keep your neck neutral, elbows extended, and chest in contact with the pad.
  3. 03Draw your shoulder blades back and slightly down to lift the dumbbells a small distance.
  4. 04Pause when your middle back contracts without bending your elbows or shrugging toward your ears.
  5. 05Allow your shoulder blades to glide forward under control and repeat through the same short range.

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Variations

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Closely related versions of this movement with a different grip, setup, equipment, stance, or difficulty.

Related variationBent-Over Scapular Retraction

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Alternatives

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Substitute exercises that train similar muscles or serve a comparable purpose in a workout.

Comparable substituteBand Lateral Scapular RetractionComparable substituteCable Chest Supported RowComparable substituteFace Pull

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