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Inverted Row

Inverted Row demonstration
  • Upper Back
  • Lats

Equipment: Bodyweight

New to this

Your first inverted row

What weight should I start with on the inverted row?

Bodyweight, and you adjust difficulty with the bar height. Set the bar at hip height to start, which puts you at roughly 45 degrees. Lower the bar to make it harder. You have it right when you can do 10 reps with your body in one straight line.

What usually goes wrong on the inverted row?

Set a barbell in a rack at hip height, or use a Smith machine.

Lie underneath and grip it just outside shoulder-width, arms straight.

Squeeze your glutes and abs so your body holds a straight line from heels to head.

Pull your chest to the bar, driving your elbows back past your ribs.

You should feel this across the mid back. If your hips sag first, the abs gave out before the back did.

Most common mistake: leading with the chin and letting the hips drop. The chest touches the bar, not the face.

If the rack is in use

The Seated Machine Row is the same horizontal pull with your torso supported.

The Chin-Up is a vertical pull instead, and harder, but it trains the same muscles.

How to do it

  1. Position a bar in a rack to about waist height. You can also use a smith machine.

  2. Take a wider than shoulder width grip on the bar and position yourself hanging underneath the bar. Your body should be straight with your heels on the ground with your arms fully extended. This will be your starting position.

  3. Begin by flexing the elbow, pulling your chest towards the bar. Retract your shoulder blades as you perform the movement.

  4. Pause at the top of the motion, and return yourself to the start position.

  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.