Band pull-apart
Hold a light band at shoulder height with straight arms and pull it apart to your chest.
3 × 12–15
Rhomboids
muscle
Where it runs
From the spine of the upper back to the inner edge of the shoulder blade.
What it does
Pull the shoulder blade in towards the spine and rotate it downwards.
In a pull-up
Finish the pull by drawing the shoulder blades together at the top.
Drills that work it
Scapular push-up
In a push-up position with straight arms, let the chest sink between the shoulder blades, then push the floor away.
3 × 10–12
Scapular pull-up
Repeat the active hang as reps: shoulders down, pause, back up to a relaxed hang.
3 × 5–10
Strict pull-up
From a still, straight-arm hang, pull until the chin is over the bar, with no swing.
3 × 1–3
Top hold
Jump or step to the top of a pull-up and hold there, elbows bent.
3 × 5–15 s
Band-assisted pull-up
A strict pull-up with a band looped under a knee or foot to take some weight.
3 × 3–6
In the programs
- Phase 1 — Set the shoulder blades — Shoulder: kipping works, strict pull-ups do not
- Phase 2 — Own the top and the way down — Shoulder: kipping works, strict pull-ups do not
- Phase 3 — Strict again — Shoulder: kipping works, strict pull-ups do not
Works alongside
Other structures the same drills work.
- Lower trapezius
- Latissimus dorsi
- Teres major
- Brachialis
- Biceps
- Middle trapezius
- Serratus anterior
- Deltoid
- Infraspinatus
- Teres minor
- Pectoralis minor
- Forearm and finger flexors
- Pectoralis major
- Subscapularis
Questions about this
Test your recall: the free shoulder anatomy quiz asks about the rhomboids →
Print it: the free pull-up muscles diagram labels the rhomboids →
General anatomy, simplified. It describes a structure, not anybody's shoulder, and cannot say what is wrong with yours.