Bent-Over Rows

	Primary Muscles Worked: Description: Latissimus Dorsi (Lats) The largest muscles of the back.     Secondary Muscles Worked: Description: Rhomboids, Teres Major, Trapezius Upper back muscles that move the arm backwards. Biceps Brachii Flexing muscles of the upper arm. How To Do It Tricks Common Errors Variations

The Bent-Over Row builds thickness in the upper back and uses the lower back and abs to stabilize the body during the movement. The biceps also contribute to the movement, however care should be taken to minimize biceps involvement as the biceps are the weakest muscle in the chain.

There are several variations but the most effective version for the lats is the reverse-grip row. Bend your knees and bend over at the waist, keeping an arch in your lower back and looking forward. It is important not to round your lower back in this exercise. Take a shoulder-width, palms-up grip on the barbell. Your knees will be inside your arms during the movement. The next thing you should do is suck up your abs and hold them tightly in. This will stabilize your abdominal area.

Keeping your knees bent (the angle will be somewhat greater than 90 degrees) and back arched and without lifting with your lower back, pull the barbell back and up into your lower abdomen. Fight the tendency to stand up to help cheat the weight up, which can strain your lower back. Also, do not dip your upper body down to meet the bar. This will reduce the effectiveness of the exercise and can lead to lower back injury. When done with proper form, the bent-over row is one of the most effective back exercises you can do.

Imagine your body as a plane coming in for a landing. This will help with your body positioning. Always look forward when doing this exercise. Looking down will automatically cause your back to round over.

If you have trouble keeping in the correct position, do this exercise with your butt pressed against the wall. By keeping it firmly in one spot, you will eliminate the tendency to stand up.

Pause at the top of the movement and squeeze your elbows in. This trick is hard to do with heavy weight, though.

Weight belts are not necessary for this exercise if you are using proper form. Always keep your abs suck in and tight and don't yank up with the lower back. Weight belts allow you to get away with improper form.

Bent-over rows can also be done with an E-Z bar. The wrist angle (halfway between palms-up and a neutral palms-facing-in grip) of the cambered bar actually allows you to tuck your elbows in to the sides better than a straight bar.

If you have a hard time keeping proper body position, balancing the bar and pulling it up, try doing this exercise on the Smith Machine. It will help stabilize your body by giving you something to pull against. It is a very effective alternative and is a very good way to introduce yourself to the movement.

1. Improper body position This is most commonly seen as the straight-legged, rounded back style. This is the worst position for your lower back to be taking weight on. Always keep your lower back arched, your knees bent, and your head up and butt down. 2. Yanking the weight up Always lift the weight up using muscle power only. Yanking the weight up in this position can cause lower back injury. 3. Dipping the upper body down This is often done as you pull the bar up in an effort to get the weight up to the end of the rep. Instead of pulling the bar up to you, you are dropping yourself down to meet the bar. This is a less effective way to train the back and has the potential for injury. Keep your torso as steady as you can.

For maximum muscle contraction, pull the bar up to your lower abdomen, not your upper abdomen. Pulling to the upper abdomen will use the biceps and limit the amount of weight you can use and the work done by the back.

This version will affect the upper areas of the back (e.g. the upper lats, the teres major and the rhomboids).

• Take a palms-down, wider than shoulder-width grip on the bar.
• Execute similar to reverse grip but pull to higher on the ribcage, i.e. the lower pec line rather than the upper abs.