Aughey leverages the stretch and contraction for pull-day gains.
Last updated on March 4th, 2025
While two exercises could suffice to train most muscles, they’re hardly enough for a complex system like the back. It comprises several muscles with different functions, and each needs to be accounted for.
In a recent training vlog, gymfluencer Natasha Aughey shows how to build complete back and muscle endurance with key movements and intensity techniques.
Aughey’s Back, Delts & Biceps Workout
[Related: 3 Exercises & Training Techniques for Chiseled Back Width]
A thorough warm-up is invaluable for boosting performance and preventing injuries. Aughey maximizes mobility and range of motion with plank shoulder taps, band dislocations, and bodyweight I-Y-T raises.
Assisted vs. Non-Assisted Pull-Ups
Aughey’s program calls for assisted pull-ups, emphasizing slow tempo. She prefers bodyweight pull-ups and believes they are challenging. They’re similarly beneficial, but the latter offers more control for those who lack upper body strength.
A wider overhand grip, as Aughey demonstrated, biases the lats and teres major to promote a V-taper aesthetic. She pushed all sets to failure. Performing partial reps from a dead hang may provide more growth stimulus. (1)(2)
Kneeling Row, Rest-Pause & Tempo Challenge
For cable rows, Aughey braced against the bench in a half-kneel, protracting her scapula fully forward for maximum stretch. She prioritizes range of motion over weight, ensuring complete contractions. Single-arm rows with a narrow grip seem to enhance lat width and thickness. (3)
- Pull the elbows down and back sweepingly towards the hips for a better lat emphasis.
Moving to shoulder presses, Aughey employed tempo training:
The first set is a 3-second eccentric with a pause at the bottom; the next two are slow on the way down.
Slow eccentrics increase time under tension and muscle damage, which could enhance gains. (4) Moreover, rest-pause sets have been shown to increase training volume, a factor for muscle hypertrophy.
Unilateral Reverse Fly & Reverse Cable Curl
Aughey experiments with one-arm machine reverse flyes. She sits sideways on the pec deck, grabs the handle across her body, and pulls away from it, providing a better medial deltoid stretch.
Aughey cable curled facing away from the machine, maintaining a neutral arm position to improve the stretch further, but science says angling the arms behind the body, such as during incline curls may be best.
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References
- Pedrosa, G. F., Lima, F. V., Schoenfeld, B. J., Lacerda, L. T., Simões, M. G., Pereira, M. R., Diniz, R. C. R., & Chagas, M. H. (2022). Partial range of motion training elicits favorable improvements in muscular adaptations when carried out at long muscle lengths. European journal of sport science, 22(8), 1250–1260. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2021.1927199
- Kassiano, W., Costa, B., Kunevaliki, G., Soares, D., Zacarias, G., Manske, I., Takaki, Y., Ruggiero, M. F., Stavinski, N., Francsuel, J., Tricoli, I., Carneiro, M. A. S., & Cyrino, E. S. (2023). Greater Gastrocnemius Muscle Hypertrophy After Partial Range of Motion Training Performed at Long Muscle Lengths. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 37(9), 1746–1753. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000004460
- Lehman, G. J., Buchan, D. D., Lundy, A., Myers, N., & Nalborczyk, A. (2004). Variations in muscle activation levels during traditional latissimus dorsi weight training exercises: An experimental study. Dynamic medicine : DM, 3(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-5918-3-4
- Wilk M, Zajac A, Tufano JJ. The Influence of Movement Tempo During Resistance Training on Muscular Strength and Hypertrophy Responses: A Review. Sports Med. 2021 Aug;51(8):1629-1650. doi: 10.1007/s40279-021-01465-2. Epub 2021 May 27. PMID: 34043184; PMCID: PMC8310485.
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