Bent-over Row - Back (WRONG-RIGHT)

How to do the Bent-over Row - Back (WRONG-RIGHT)

1. 1Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet about hip-width apart, knees slightly bent.
2. 2Hinge forward at the hips, pushing your butt back until your torso is close to parallel with the floor, and brace your core.
3. 3Set your back flat (the right position) rather than letting it round forward (the wrong position), and let the dumbbells hang straight down at arm's length.
4. 4Pull the dumbbells up toward your lower ribs by driving your elbows back and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
5. 5Keep your elbows close to your body and avoid using a jerking, momentum-driven swing of the torso to lift the weight.
6. 6Pause briefly at the top with your back muscles fully contracted.
7. 7Lower the dumbbells under control back to the starting position, keeping tension in your back.
8. 8Complete your reps, then stand back up by driving through your hips and set the dumbbells down with a flat back.

Form tips

• Keep your spine in a straight, neutral line from head to hips throughout the set rather than rounding or overarching.
• Lead the pull with your elbows, not your hands, so the work stays in your back instead of your biceps.
• Keep your neck in line with your spine by looking at the floor a short distance ahead, not up at the mirror.
• Move at a controlled tempo so the muscles do the work, and use a weight you can row without swinging your torso.

Common mistakes

• Rounding your back during the hinge (the classic wrong position), which loads the spine unsafely and is exactly what this drill teaches you to avoid.
• Using momentum to heave the dumbbells up by swinging your torso, which steals tension from the back and risks the lower back.
• Standing too upright instead of hinging forward, which shifts the pull onto the shoulders and shortens the range of motion.
• Pulling with the hands and curling the arms, so the biceps take over and the back muscles get under-worked.

Frequently asked questions