2 Tweaks

I'd like to add a couple of recent tweaks to excercises I've previously talked about. These thing evolve so I feel I've got to tell you about it. The excercises I'd like to amend are from the Back Sets blog and they would be the Arms Extended Back Raises, and the Seated Half-Row. I would recommend that if you plan to implement these excercises into your workout you should start with the versions of these I've described earlier before adding the little nuggets I've discovered more recently.

Amendment to the Arms Extended Back Raises;
Do it faster. It's just the same wide sweeping arc of a movement with arms extended in a good gymnastics "neutral", biceps by the ears, shoulders reaching up. Recently I've taken to using a 5 to 8 lb dumbell instead of a plate, but it's held out just as far. Now, try to accelerate the upward "positive" part of the excercise and without moving your shoulders you will actually be able to let go of and catch the dumbell at the very top of the movement. Be sensible about it though, don't go for distance and make sure it never really leaves your grasp. It'll go weightless for a sec if you do it right. Then the negative is slowish but controlled, not the focus of this one. This one's about the thrust. Generate force for as long and wide of a movement possible. Throw the dumbell without moving from the shoulder, keep it straight. One line from your hips (fulcrum) to the dumbell (load) on the way up to a slight unforced arch at the top. If you need to do a bridge to warm up for it, go ahead. The image I focus on while doing this is that of the first half of a back handspring. If you've ever seen one done, and I believe most people in the world have, that's good enough. Copy it in the back raise bench, and throw a back handspring like you meant to do more than one in a row.
An explosive movement type of excercise in the fast/slow twitch muscle fiber discussion.

Ammendment to the Seated Half-Rows;
Get yourself situated in you gym's Seated Row Bench and poke the peg in at around your own bodyweight. Grab the stirrup, straighten you body (parallel to the floor/bench, like a deadlift only horizontal), then start the negative. As you are approaching 90 deg. take weight with your feet on the footpad panel thingy with straight legs until you find your buns of steel are no longer on the bench. Lock out the knees. There should become a point of balance at the 90 deg. position with the bench no longer taking any of your weight. Now that you've achieved that, angle your straight (of course they're straight) arms downward so that they are level with about the 3rd or 4th rib below the sternum. A tad lower than your solar plexis should be about right. Hold for 10 seconds, then do the negative.
A held position type of excercise in the fast/slow twitch muscle fiber discussion.

If I advance these any further, of course I'll let you know.