In this short instructional video, the presenter addresses a common problem: many lifters cannot feel their back muscles working during bent‑over dumbbell rows, even with good form. He offers three concrete cues to improve back activation. First, avoid wrapping the thumb around the dumbbell, which shifts pulling force to the forearm; instead keep the thumb alongside the handle. Second, change the mental cue from pulling the weight straight up to pulling it back toward the hip, encouraging a more posterior‑chain driven motion. Third, before initiating the row, pull the shoulder down into the “back pocket,” a cue that pre‑activates the latissimus dorsi and other back muscles. Applying these cues should make the back muscles noticeably engage during the exercise.
