Lifting Question

[Serpent]

OK, here's the thing. A friend has been asking me about a routine using only dumbbells that will work his whole upper body, tagetting each area.

I've come up with this so far:

Bicep curls
Tricep extension (bending over, raising the arm backwards behind)
Bicep curl, rolling the weight down onto the fingers and back for the forearm
Shrugs for the traps
Vertical presses for the shoulders
Laying on the back flys over the chest for the chest/pecs
Standing outward flys for shoulder (and back?)

So, now I'm stuck. How can a person target the back with just dumbbells?

Also, what areas am I missing? What else would you knowledgeable people suggest?

Thanks for your help. (Assuming you do help!) By the way, please explain any exercise as I don't know all the names.

[IronFist]

You can hit the back with one armed rows. You know, the exercise where you put one hand and one knee on a bench and then do the starting a lawnmower motion with the other hand. The other foot goes on the ground.

IronFist

[Ras-Tanu]

Maybe it's better to work all the body parts instead of only the upper. That way you'll be proportioned.

These two sites were posted on this forum before, and have plenty of exercises you can do for every body part with dumbbells and a bench:

http://www.exrx.net/lists/Directory.html

http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/

I find these kill the back:

Bent-over dumbell rows: stand with knees bent and bend forward from waist, keep your head up & back straight. Hold weights at arms length and lift to your sides (not up to your chest). Lower and repeat. Also, don't involve your lower back. Read it at ABC for a better description.

One-arm rows (like IronFist mentioned) also really works the lats.

[Silumkid]

The one-arm rows are indeed killer. Key to that movement that I have found is make sure the arm stays close to the body. Do your best to keep the work in the lats instead of the bicep...I know lots of people who have a hard time isolating the lats.

You can also try this...if you have an adjustable bench, set the back of the bench a click or two higher than flat (slight incline). Lay face down on the bench and with the dumbells in each hand, row away. You can get a good stretch at the bottom of the move and having the bench under the chest may help minimize cheating or twisting as some folks tend to do with the one-arms.

Question: Is this the order in which you are planning to have this person lift? If so, I'd change it a little. Generally it's a good idea to work larger to smaller, not the other way around.

[Serpent]

Thanks a lot for the responses guys.

The one armed row sounds like a good one, I'll suggest that. (Might give it a go myself too!)

As for the order of exercises, I hadn't really thought about that yet. However, bigger to smaller sounds like a good suggestion, so I'll probably organise it like that.

The person in question is actually a long distance runner (marathons and stuff) and wanted some tips just for upper body strength and definition.

So, any other exercises that people would suggest with dumbbells? Any other body parts that I've missed?