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Bent Over Row

This is a great compound exercise that strengthens your upper to mid back and rear delts/shoulders which also has great improvements on posture and builds strength for other lifts. This movement is similar to a Fly however it helps hit your lats/upper back more so than the fly can, you can also use a heavier weight with a row. This movement is vital to help strengthen the back muscles to balance out all our daily forward movement on phs, computers, cooking, reading ect. It is essential to have these exercises within your workouts to correct muscle imbalances and to help correct posture.  

Muscles Used

  • Lats
  • Middle and lower traps
  • Shoulders
  • Deltoids- specifically rear
  • Rhomboids
  • Teres major
  • Core
  • Erector spinae
  • Bicep
  • Teres minor
  • Infraspinatus
  • Lower pecs

Instructions

Try with a low weight first and build up slowly if you have no lower back or shoulder pain. Please check with a specialist if you experience pain through this exercise. 

As tempting as it is, don’t rely on momentum for a movement, this is often when the body starts to compromise and jut your head forward and swing your arms instead of using the muscles required in order to strengthen the targeted areas, help with posture and avoid injury. Remember to keep good posture and don’t round your neck or shoulders through this movement.

STEP 1

Stand feet hip width apart and a slight bend in your knees, engage your core by drawing your belly button in towards your spine and slightly hinge at your hips keeping your back neck and head in neutral alignment.

The core is a big contributor to keeping posture through this movement.  If you are unable to engage your core you will struggle to keep your body still and not rock with the momentum. If this is the case try dropping the weight and incorporate some more core strengthening exercises within your routine.

STEP 2

While hinged forward half way up between parallel to the ground and standing, pick the ball with your right hand and begin bringing your elbow up in a straight line towards your body until just above your shoulders.

STEP 3

Make sure you don’t bend your wrists through this movement and your wrist stays in alignment with your forearm and the only bend is at your elbow as you bring the ball up towards your body.

STEP 4

Imagine pushing your fists into the ground as you slowly lower your arm back down, this will protract your shoulder blades, and help prevent your traps from primarily being used within this movement.

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