Back thickness.

[Scott Stevenson]

Hey Bud!

I think you're on the right track with pre-exhausting Before loading sets by doing a set of shrugs using the DY row, supported T-bar, Supported incline, as well as just good old shrugs with a BB / DB's would be a great way to re-direct the loading to the traps, rhomboids and fine tune a mind-muscle connection there.

I'd also include the following :

Do a MR for back thickness that is just one of those horizontal / inclined / vertical plane shrugging movements.
DO the same for pump sets.
Make sure you back stretch is in the above plane of motion (e.g., lying on a T-bar Row doing an extreme stretch or doing an occlusion stretch at that angle.

I'd also include 1 ½ rep sets for rowing movements with the half rep at the bottom of the ROM (arms straight).   

E.g., on a seated row, you'd start with the arms extended and do a ½ rep that is simply starting in a (safe) stretched position, then doing shoulder girdle retraction (short hold at he top), then back to stretch, then back to solid (mid-range of what you just did) for the starting point of a full rep where you're keeping focus on the upper traps / rhomboids, being sure to pull them fully back at the endpoint ("squeeze") of the ROM of the full rep and keeping them engaged during the eccentric.

The above will mean pretty slow rep tempo so you keep the activation pattern focused on the upper traps.

You can do the above with any chest supported row (T-bar, DY, machines, DB rows on bench, etc.)

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For pump sets, I'd do partials per the above, too: Shrugs in the arms extended position. 5's into the Hole would be a winner here, I think!  You could also do partials at other points in the ROM where  / if it feels comfortable, i.e., you feel you can activate the upper back properly.

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Take the above learned skill (keeping the traps / rhomboids active) and then put it to use with the DB rows, and DL varieties, but keeping a strong contraction with the upper traps.

For Rowing, I'd let the shoulder girdle move with the movement, so it's not locked in place  - you're trying to get the shoulder girdle (Traps, rhomboids) movement to be part of the ROM.

For the deadlifting movements, this probably won't be safe, but instead, I'd lock the shoulder girdle in place from the get go and really contract hard there. (DL's are largely an isometric contraction in the back musculature, so they're producing growth there simply b/c the load is so high. (Those are def. good lifts at your weight, so you're not weak there at all!)

-S