Seated Cable Rows

Upper Back
Biceps
Lats
Shoulders

Equipment: Cable

New to this

Your first seated cable rows

What weight should I start with on the seated cable rows?

Start somewhere around 60 to 80 lb for 3 sets of 10, then adjust. Cable stacks are consistent enough between machines that the number will transfer.

Set your feet on the platform with a slight knee bend. Locked-out knees make the whole movement come from your lower back.

This is the easiest row to learn because the machine holds you in position. If you're new to back training, start here before the barbell version.

What usually goes wrong on the seated cable rows?

You rock forward and backward to move the weight. Your torso should stay upright. If you're rowing with your whole body, drop the weight.

Your shoulders round forward at the front of each rep. Let the weight stretch your lats, but keep your chest up rather than collapsing toward your knees.

You pull the handle to your chest. Aim for your belly button instead, and drive your elbows past your ribs.

If the row station is taken

Any horizontal pull substitutes cleanly. The dumbbell version also fixes side to side imbalances, which the cable version can hide.

How to do it

For this exercise you will need access to a low pulley row machine with a V-bar.
Note: The V-bar will enable you to have a neutral grip where the palms of your hands face each other. To get into the starting position, first sit down on the machine and place your feet on the front platform or crossbar provided making sure that your knees are slightly bent and not locked.
Lean over as you keep the natural alignment of your back and grab the V-bar handles.
With your arms extended pull back until your torso is at a 90-degree angle from your legs. Your back should be slightly arched and your chest should be sticking out. You should be feeling a nice stretch on your lats as you hold the bar in front of you. This is the starting position of the exercise.
Keeping the torso stationary, pull the handles back towards your torso while keeping the arms close to it until you touch the abdominals. Breathe out as you perform that movement. At that point you should be squeezing your back muscles hard. Hold that contraction for a second and slowly go back to the original position while breathing in.
Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.