De Franco 3D Band pull aparts – A new twist on a classic

I love band pull  a parts. Seriously, I really do. Just ask my clients. I do them. My clients do them. If I had a dog, I would train my dog to do them. That’s how much I love band pull aparts. And whenever I introduce them to a new member in one of my classes, I always wait for the look on his/her face. “You’re kidding,” the look says. “I thought I was here to strength train, not pull on a band.” And then they actually try the exercise and their eyes get glassy and the strain sets in and before you know it, they are standing in a puddle of sweat. The next time they are in class, they begin to sweat just hearing the words “band pull apart.” It is not an easy as they think and that is the beauty of this exercise.

So what is a band pull apart you ask? A band pull apart is simple. You taking a band in both hands and pull it so it stretches across your chest. If you are looking for additional back work that won’t interfere with the rest of your workout, try the band pull apart. This simple, yet  effective exercise, works the upper back (primary muscles) and the shoulders (secondary muscles.)

How to do the exercise:

1. Stand with feet about shoulder width apart. Grasp the band in both hands.

2. Bring the band to chest height. Pull the band apart, spreading the band in front of your chest and squeeze your shoulder blades together.

3. Bring the hands back together and repeat.

Of course, I cannot just stop there. About a week ago, I was reading an article by Ben Bruno, a young strength coach at Mike Boyle’s Strength and Conditioning in MA, in which he describe a few of his favorite exercises for legs, back, shoulders, etc. When I got to the section on shoulders, I quickly discovered a new twist on my favorite exercise: “DeFranco 3D band pull aparts” courtesy of  Joe DeFranco of DeFranco’s Gym in New Jersey. This AWESOME exercise really tasks the shoulders first and the back second, even more than the traditional band pull apart and is a great warm up exercise or accessory exercise for the shoulders.

How to do the DeFranco 3D Band pull apart:

1. Take a mini band and step on it. Keep the legs close together.

2. Grab the band in both hands with an overhand grip. Raise the band to chest height. Hold the arms out in front of you and do not let the arms lower as you pull the band apart, spreading the band in front of your chest. Squeeze your shoulder blades together.

3. Bring the hands back together and repeat.

*You could also lower the arms each time after you bring the hands back together and make a it two part exercise: front raise, pull apart, lower, front raise, pull apart, lower, etc. Make sure to start with a light band because these are not as easy as they look. 😉

Here’s how it’s done:

So, whether you do the classic band pull apart or DeFranco’s 3D pull apart, you can’t go wrong with either exercise.  Both are excellent to add to your warm ups, mobility and extra work for back and shoulders. Try them out and let me know what you think!