Howdy crew! I hope your April is off to a strong start. I won’t lie, late winter/early spring in our house this year was challenging. And full disclosure, I did not stay as consistent as I’d like. But I’m clawing my way back (unintended pun, iykyk) and I want to chat about one of the most slept on strength exercises today: bent over rows.

Part of my challenge these past couple of months was that I strained one of my intercostals. Holy pain. It was a solid three weeks before I could take deep breaths without wanting to cry. And Newton’s First Law tells us what happens to an object at rest. Read: Melissa took a much longer than planned break.

I am pretty certain I overdid back focused exercises which is what triggered the strain. I had been doing the same set of back exercises for a good bit, and while that is a good thing in terms of making adaptations, most of us have a ceiling in terms of intensity before the body breaks. I flew too close to the sun.

But in getting back on track, I’ve also revamped my series of back exercises and I’ve really been enjoying bent over rows. When you consider deadlifts, seated rows, lat pull downs (or pull ups), one arm rows, and reverse flyes it’s easy to see how bent over rows can fly under the radar. Aside from the deadlifts, the rest of the exercises are really targeted. Again, not a bad thing, but sometimes the body needs less laser focus and more broad motions.

Bent over rows are a great example of a broader motion. You must engage your abdominals to stabilize the torso and upper body on the correct angle. You need to have a decent base of support and sense of stability from your legs. Then you need to engage the majority of the back muscles, rear shoulders, and biceps to actually create the motion. And since this exercise is completed on an angle and not fully vertical or horizontal, it hits the back in ways that seated rows and pulls ups don’t. In short, this exercise is a lot of bang for your workout buck and here are my best tips.

First, and to no surprise to anyone who has read one of these from me before, so much of your success is determined by your set up. As mentioned above, there is a lot of active control of balance and stability needed from your lower body and abdominals for bent over rows. So first step is to set your feet nice and square between shoulder and hip width apart. Go with where you feel most comfortable so you don’t have to focus on it. Secondly, exhale and fold forward while keeping your spine straight. Once you hit about 45 degrees at your hips, lock the core.

My second tip is part set up and part movement correction. Once you have the bar (or dumbbells or kettlebells) in your hands, look up. The natural inclination is to look at the weight as you pull. But that means looking down and the body has a tendency to round at the thoracic spine. We don’t want that; we want the spine to stay straight. The easiest way to accomplish that is to pick a spot about 10 feet away and at eye level to gaze at.

Thirdly, and again no surprise to long time readers, breath control is clutch with this exercise. In fact, this is one of those that I actually like to do a warm up set without weight and just focusing on the motion and breath. As you pull the weight up and in, you should be exhaling. Inhale as you return the weight to the start position.

Bent over rows are one of those exercises that can be done with lots of different pieces of equipment. Most common is an Olympic bar, but you can use dumbbells, kettlebells, or even a cable cross with the pulley set near the ground. I always advise that equipment should be chosen for this exercise based on two reasons. One, how familiar you are with a piece and your comfort handling it. If you don’t use an Olympic bar for anything else, maybe don’t choose it for this. Second, what position do your wrists feel best in? Dumbbells and kettlebells allow a more neutral grip that makes wrists happier without sacrificing the effectiveness of the exercise.

Lastly, is the most common mistake I see with bent over rows. Many people pull towards their hips. I think it’s natural as most other strength training exercises like 90 degree angles and straight lines. Bent over rows don’t, though. If you want to get the most out of these, the bar should hit at the bottom of your ribs but slightly above your belly button. That’s a much higher pull, but it makes sure your rhomboids and traps are engaged and properly assisting.

Bent over rows can be an intimidating exercise, but they are fairly simple to learn and like push ups, engage a large percentage of upper body muscles. Don’t overlook this powerhouse exercise and until next time, move well friends!

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