The Bent Over Barbell Row

Why do them?

Bent over barbell rows are a fantastic exercise for developing lat strength and thickness in the upper back. They are an old-school movement that recruits muscles throughout the body for stabilisation.

Because of this they are excellent at developing functional and core strength. When done with good form, they are also probably the single most effective weight lifting exercise for building upper-back thickness and mass.

Which Muscles do they Work?

In addition to this, your hamstrings, lower back and abdominal core are all tensed in contraction to stabilise your body and your centre of gravity as you perform the row. That's why the barbell row can feel like a full-body exercise after a heavy set.

Barbell rows are an essential part of many weight lifting routines. If you're bodybuilding and looking to build muscle mass, you will find them invaluable for adding size to your upper-back and developing that "thick" look from the side. In fact, they're probably the best mass-building exercise you'll find for back thickness.

If you're an athlete on a strength training routine, barbell rows are the perfect complement to pullups for building upper-body "pulling" strength - so important in contact sports like Football or Rugby. Also, many coaches favour barbell rows as they are excellent at developing core strength.

For powerlifters, bent over barbell rows are an important assistance exercise for the bench press. Although the pullup is considered the king of exercises for upper-back strength, the powerlifter's focus is on the barbell row. This is because barbell rows develop strength in the same plane of motion as the bench-press - i.e. the horizontal push-pull. If you want to find out more about assistance exercises in powerlifting, check out the powerlifting articles.

How to do them

If you're powerlifting, or training specificially for strength or speed, you might benefit from a different technique.

The Basic Barbell Row

I recommend starting with extremely light weights as you learn the form. An unloaded barbell is ideal at first. Place the barbell on the ground in front of you. Stand feet shoulder-width or slightly wider. Bend down and grasp the bar with both hands, overhand. Your grip should be wider than shoulder width - maybe 4-6 inches wider on each side. This grip width ensures you're working the middle of your back as much as your lats.

Position

This is the position you need to be in before you start rowing. Your knees should be bent - not straight - somewhere between a 90 and 180 degree angle. Your lower back should be tensed - straight or slightly arched, and you should be looking straight ahead, not at the ground.

Your arms should hang straight, pulled down by the weight of the barbell, which should be a few inches off the floor. To get the most out of barbell rows, your lower back should be as close to parallel to the floor as possible. The most important thing is to keep it straight or slightly arched, however.

Movement

As you row, you pull the barbell towards your body. Aim to touch it to your upper abdominals or ribcage. Remember, the barbell row is a back exercise. Often, beginners find it hard to "lift with their back" and use their arms excessively. If you find your biceps fatiguing before anything else, it may help to think of your arms as "hooks" attached to the barbell, with the pulling action coming from your lats and back.

Pull the barbell to your torso, maintaining tension throughout the rest of your body. Keep your head facing forward and your lower back slightly arched. Touch the barbell to your torso – you should feel your shoulder blades squeezing together. Lower the bar back down slowly, to full arm extension. That’s one rep.

Repeat for as many reps as your routine dictates. You’ll know you’ve done your rows right when you feel a pump across your lats, the back of your shoulders, and between your shoulder blades.

Form

A word about form - moreso than most other exercises, form is extremely important in the bent over barbell row. Your hamstrings, abs and lower back should all be tensed in stabilisation, and the only joints moving should be your shoulders and elbows.

Any swinging movement of the upper back, jerking the weight up, or movement at the hips or knees is a very bad idea – your vertebrae are not built to suddenly decelerate hundreds of pounds of weight that you decided to cheat up for that last rep! Keep your back stationary and slightly arched, and you’ll stay injury free.

To maintain good form, it’s a good idea to keep the reps high-ish and use a weight you can handle. Add weight slowly during your training – about a few extra pounds per session – it soon mounts up.

How to incorporate them into your training

How you incorporate bent over barbell rows depends on your goals. If you're training exclusively to get big, or if you're after size with some strength gains, then it makes sense to do your rows on your "back" day. It's best to keep the reps high - 8-10 is ideal - and the form immaculate. Three or four sets is sufficient.

If you're doing pullups, then you'll probably find you want to do pullups before barbell rows, as pullups are the harder exercise.

If deadlifts are going to be part of your workout, it's up to you which comes first - both bent over barbell rows and deadlifts stress the posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, lower back) and so whichever exercise you do second, you'll be less than fresh in. The choice is yours - personally I like to do my rows before deadlifts. If I do deadlifts first, my lower back is so hammered that I'm hardly able to row my warmup weight. Experiment for yourself, and see which order you prefer.

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