This exercise is more effective than press-ups for your upper-body

This exercise is more effective than press-ups for your upper-body

 Here’s how to do it properly

This exercise is more effective than press-ups for your upper-body, Bent-over rows are unmatched when it comes to building upper-body strength. And with 9.9k of you searching for ‘bent-over row’ each month, they’re an exercise many of you are keen to introduce into your fitness routine. They’re one of the best ways to target the often underused muscles in the back – latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, and trapezius – and can be used with a variety of strength equipment. Bonus: you’ll work your biceps, too.

The bent-over row is a strength exercise that targets the back muscles, and performed by hingeing at the hips and pulling a weight towards the body in a rowing motion.

• Exercise type: Strength
• Equipment required: That depends on how you prefer to do the move – barbell/dumbbells/kettlebells
• Mechanics: Compound
• Force type: Pull
• Experience level: Beginner to advanced – ramp up the intensity by increasing the weight you use

To recap: bent-over rows offer serious bang for your buck when it comes to targeting the upper and mid back, as well as other ‘pulling muscles’, including the:

• Latissumus dorsi (run down the sides of your back)
• Rhomboids (upper and mid-back)
• Trapezius (upper back)
• Biceps

1. Place a barbell in front of you. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart. Reach down and grip the bar with both hands, just outside your knees, about shoulder-width apart.
2. Hinge at your hips, pushing your hips back as if you’re shutting a drawer. Keep your back flat and chest up.
3. Pull the barbell toward your lower ribcage in a controlled manner by driving your elbows back and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Keep your elbows close to your body.
4. Slowly lower the barbell back to the starting position maintaining a flat back and neutral neck (look at the ground in front of you). Exhale as you row the bar up, and inhale as you lower it.

You have some options when it comes to the dumbbell bent-over row stance:

1. Split stance: You can go for a split stance, (as in the image at the top of this article): holding a dumbbell in your right hand, take a big step back with your right leg. Bend both knees and lift your right heel, keeping your toe planted for balance.
2. Feet hip-width apart: You can perform bent-over rows with both feet planted on the ground hip-width apart, as in the video above.
3. With a bench: If you’re battling with balance, or rounding or arching your back, using a bench might help. Simply pop your left hand (or whichever one is not holding the weight, obvs) and left knee on a bench, as shown below.

Whichever option you choose, be sure to brace your core, keeping your back straight and your chin tucked.

1. Then draw the dumbbell towards your waist, keeping the elbow tucked into your side.
2. To complete the rep, extend the arm back to the starting position. Aim to complete three sets of 10 to 12 reps on each side.

Too easy? ‘Go heavier,’ she says. ‘As long as you don’t sacrifice form.’

SPRI 3.6kg/8lbs Vinyl Dumbbells

An ideal rep range for bent-over rows is between 8 and 15 reps, Benjamin says. ‘Going beyond this range may compromise your lower back health as you start to fatigue and reduce the ability to support your weight pivoted forward.’

No matter where on that rep scale you land, make sure you use a weight heavy enough to make the last few reps challenging, to help you build strength.

Hey, sometimes you’re going to get things wrong. It happens. Here are two common mistakes to be aware of, plus how to fix your bent-over row form.

1. Your back is rounded

Do you want to end up injured? Then stop that right now. Use a mirror to spot yourself and make sure your lower back is straight and you’re not hyperextending – that means no arching either.

2. You use momentum to lift the weight

If you’re jerking the weight up or swinging, it’s usually a sign you’re using too much weight. You should be performing a controlled, strict pull using your lats and traps, not yanking it up.

3. You’re not using your back

Rather than bending and extending the elbow, which means you’re using your arms, pull the weight back towards your chest and down towards your hips.

1. Bent-over rows work your upper back and arms
2. Bent-over rows improve functional fitness
3. Bent-over rows can be done with a dumbbell, kettlebell, resistance band or barbell
4. Bent-over rows strengthen muscle to support good posture and reduce back pain
5. Bent-over rows don’t require much space

Bent-over rows are a compound movement, explains Tim Benjamin, former Olympian and co-founder of audio coaching app, WithU, meaning it works more than one muscle group at a time.

‘The key benefit of bent-over rows is the ability to work your upper back and bicep muscles through dynamic movement, while at the same time developing your posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings and lower back) through a static contraction,’ he says.

And, if your job requires you to spend much of your day hunched over a computer, it’s likely that your posterior chain could do with some TLC.

‘Bent-over rows are a fantastic way of strengthening the posterior chain muscles, an area that supports posture and core stability,’ says Orangetheory coach Rachel Skinner. This is why building strength in the muscles in your back body can help improve your posture and reduce back pain.

Skinner recommends adding a rowing move like bent-over rows (or one of the variations below) into your routine once or twice a week.

Hex Dumbbell 10kg

Target multiple muscles with these variations – pick whichever you have home gym equipment (or gym equipment) for!

1. Kettlebell bent-over rows

Follow the steps above, just use a kettlebell instead of a dumbbell.

2. Seated cable rows

Got access to a gym? Test your rowing skills with a seated cable row machine (usually a low bench in front of an upright weight and pulley system, with a double-handled grip). Be sure to keep your back upright.

3. Single-arm bent-over rows

Rather than alternating, try single-arm sets of bent-over rows to increase time under tension on the same arm.

4. Underhand bent-over rows

Using an underhand grip on a bent-over row will make it easier for you to activate your lower lats. Typically, a bent-over row is performed with an overhand grip, which activates your upper lats and shoulders.