Barbell Bent Over Row

What is the Barbell Bent Over Row?

The Barbell Bent Over Row is a horizontal pulling exercise where you hinge forward and row a barbell up to your lower ribs. It mainly trains your lats and the muscles between your shoulder blades. Your lower back and hips also work hard to hold the bent-over position.

Quick facts

• Level: Intermediate
• Equipment: Barbell
• Movement pattern: Horizontal pull
• Force: Pull
• Type: Compound
• Sides: Both arms together

Muscles worked

Primary muscles

• Latissimus dorsi (lats)
• Middle trapezius and rhomboids

Secondary muscles

• Rear deltoids
• Biceps and brachialis
• Lower back (erector spinae)
• Hamstrings

The demo uses an underhand grip, with palms facing forward. Many people feel more biceps with this grip. Your lower back and hamstrings work to hold the hinge, not to lift the bar.

How to do the Barbell Bent Over Row

1. Setup: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hold the barbell with an underhand grip, palms facing forward, about shoulder-width apart.
2. Setup: Push your hips back and bend your knees slightly. Lean forward until your torso is well angled toward the floor.
3. Start: Keep your back flat and your core braced. Let the bar hang below your shoulders with straight arms.
4. Move: Pull the bar toward your lower ribs. Drive your elbows back close to your body.
5. Move: Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top.
6. Return: Lower the bar under control until your arms are straight. Keep the same torso angle before the next rep.

Coaching cues

• Keep your chest proud and your back flat.
• Pull your elbows back past your body.
• Hold your torso still.

Common mistakes

• Rounding the back. Brace your core and keep your chest up. Use a lighter bar if you can’t hold a flat back.
• Standing up as you pull. Keep the same torso angle for every rep. If you need to lift your chest to move the bar, it is too heavy.
• Jerking the bar up with your hips. Keep your hips still and pull with your arms and back. Lower the weight if you need momentum.
• Cutting the range short. Let your arms straighten at the bottom and bring the bar to your ribs at the top.

Easier and harder options

• Easier: Dumbbell Incline Row. Your chest rests on an incline bench, so you don’t need to hold the bent-over position yourself.

Training focus and energy demand

This row is mainly used to build back strength and muscle size. Because you hold a hinge the whole time, it also trains your lower back and hips to hold position under load.

Several energy systems work at the same time, and their mix depends on load, speed, set length and rest. Short, heavy sets rely more on fast energy stored in the muscle. Longer sets with brief rests rely more on aerobic energy. Hard efforts that last from several seconds to a few minutes also rely heavily on energy your muscles make quickly from carbohydrate.

FAQs

Should I use an underhand or overhand grip?

Both work your back. Many people feel more biceps with an underhand grip, and it lets your elbows stay closer to your body. An overhand grip often brings the elbows out a little wider.

How far should I lean forward?

Lean as far as you can while keeping your back flat. Many people find a torso angle between upright and parallel to the floor works well.

Sources

• Fenwick, Brown and McGill, trunk muscle activity and spine load in rowing exercises (JSCR, 2009)
• American College of Sports Medicine position stand on progression models in resistance training (2009)
• Gastin, energy system interaction during maximal exercise (Sports Medicine, 2001)