The majority of upper body exercises are performed in either seated or standing positions. However, one of the more underrated ways to increase the difficulty of your upper body training is by using more challenging stance variations. This is particularly relevant if you train at home and use resistance bands for your pulling and pushing movements. Most importantly it comes with a lot of great benefits that can have a positive impact on your overall training and fitness.
Half-kneeling
The half-kneeling position is a great way to add variety to your routine while getting a lot of benefits. The main benefit of the position is that it helps you learn how to stabilize your trunk while performing a movement. This position teaches you to align your pelvis and rib cage which is important when it comes to being able to brace your core properly. A properly braced core helps you perform compound exercises in a safe and effective way (squat variations, deadlift variations, bent over rows, etc).
Furthermore, the half-kneeling position is great for improving hip mobility, balance, coordination and glute activation. Finally, this position will make it difficult to rely on momentum. This means you are less likely to overcompensate using your lower back. This will help you to perform exercises better and use an appropriate weight.
Tall kneeling
Similarly to the half-kneeling stance, the tall kneeling position will help you improve your alignment through better glute activation and forcing your core to work harder to keep you upright. The tall kneeling position is another excellent way to ensure you are performing the exercise properly without compensating by arching your lower back.
Removing any potential momentum or overcompensation can help you to really focus on the muscles you are trying to work while keeping a braced core.
Split stance
The split stance is a step up from the half-kneeling position. It has fairly similar benefits to the half-kneeling stance but requires even more stability and will be more taxing on your lower body.
Split stance benefits include all the usual suspects: stronger and more stable core, improved balance and coordination, as well as forcing you to maintain good technique. With even less base of support split stance will really test your core’s ability to resist lateral flexion and rotation.
Both the half-kneeling and split stance are more lower back friendly. This is due to a greater emphasis on your hips, glutes and legs that takes the pressure off your lumbar spine.
Set-up
When setting up for the half-kneeling and split stance you want to focus on contracting the glute of the back leg to stabilize yourself, keep your ribs down, maintain a neutral spine and pelvis. Aim for about 90 degrees in both legs.
Similarly, in a tall kneeling stance you want to focus on contracting your glutes and keeping your ribs down. You should maintain your spine and pelvis in a neutral position and avoid arching your lower back.
In all three variations, it is important to maintain square hips, shoulders and knees and focus on keeping a stable trunk position.
Exercises
All three positions can be used for most pulling and pushing upper body exercises. They can also be included in core-specific work (e.g. pallof press).
You can do exercises such as cable rows, cable chest press, cable chest flies, overhead press, as well as isolation exercises such as lateral raises.
Resistance bands can work well too if you don’t have access to a gym or cable machine. You have a bit more equipment choice when it comes to overhead press and isolation exercises. For example, you can do overhead kettlebell press or dumbbell bicep curls. Both unilateral and bilateral exercises can be performed in these positions.
Squatting position
Finally, I decided to include a squatting position which would be ideal for increasing the difficulty of your seated rows. Seated rows are a type of exercise where it’s easy to compromise your form. However, doing this exercise in a squatting position will eliminate that possibility. Performing rows in a squatting position will challenge your core and legs, as well as make your back work extra hard. Your technique will have to be on point in order to keep your position.
To set up, lower yourself into a comfortable squat position, your toes are in line with your knees. Avoid excessively rounding or hunching your shoulders. Make sure you are not lifting your heels or leaning forward too much. Use lighter resistance until you build up stability and balance.
Overall, it’s a great way to get the feel of your lats working and to build that mind-muscle connection. Since your torso has to stay stable you won’t be able to lean back and use momentum as you might in seated rows. Resistance bands would be perfect for performing this exercise at home and any type of cable machine will work well in a gym.
To summarize
Without a doubt, introducing a more challenging stance can help you improve your core strength, stability, posture, mobility, balance, coordination and overall technique. And all of this is happening while you are training your upper body muscles. If you are new to this type of exercises start easy, get used to the position before increasing the intensity. It might even be a good idea to try it out in the comfort of your home using resistance bands. When you feel more comfortable you can introduce these stances into your gym routine.