• Sit on ground facing partner who is holding middle portion of long towel
• Grab ends of towel and have partner provide resistance so that your arms are straight in front of you
• Without rocking, drive elbows straight back until hands are at chest
• Return hands to start position with control, still against resisting partner
• Repeat for specified reps

Benefits: Grip, bicep and back strength while enhancing upper-body muscle balance

Sets/Reps: 4x12
Coaching Points: Keep chest up and back flat // Have partner provide steady, constant resistance to allow smooth motion in both directions
Hess: This is applicable because the majority of athletes spends time developing the anterior [front] portion of the upper body and neglects the posterior [back] portion. Doing an isolated back exercise—concentrating specifically on those posterior muscles—can do wonders for the structure of an athlete’s body. Not only does it help with posture, which is important, it helps the shoulder joint to set correctly, thus alleviating the possibility of an impingement in the shoulder. As a general rule, I like my athletes to do two back exercises to every one chest exercise.