Cable Lying Upright Row

How to do the Cable Lying Upright Row

1. 1Set the cable pulley to the lowest position and attach a straight or EZ bar.
2. 2Lie flat on the floor or a bench with your head toward the machine and your feet anchored, holding the bar with an overhand grip about shoulder-width apart.
3. 3Start with your arms extended toward the pulley so the cable is taut and there is tension on your shoulders.
4. 4Brace your core and keep your back flat against the surface to remove momentum.
5. 5Pull the bar up toward your chin, leading with your elbows and keeping them higher than your wrists throughout.
6. 6Stop when your upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor, pausing briefly to squeeze your shoulders.
7. 7Lower the bar slowly back to the start under control, keeping tension on the cable.
8. 8Complete your reps, then set the bar down and return the weight to the stack with control.

Form tips

• Lead the movement with your elbows, not your hands, so the work stays in your shoulders.
• Keep the bar close to your body as it travels up and down to keep tension on the deltoids.
• Use a controlled tempo and a brief pause at the top rather than yanking the weight.
• Press your lower back into the surface and keep your core braced to stay stable and isolate the shoulders.
• Start light to learn the path; the lying position rewards clean technique over heavy load.

Common mistakes

• Pulling the bar too high above chin level, which forces the shoulders into an internally rotated position and can cause impingement.
• Letting the wrists rise above the elbows, which shifts load off the deltoids and stresses the shoulder joint.
• Using a grip far narrower than shoulder-width, which cramps the wrists and increases joint strain at the top.
• Jerking the weight up with momentum instead of a steady pull, which removes tension from the target muscles and cheats the rep.
• Letting the cable go slack at the bottom, which loses the constant tension that makes this variation effective.

Frequently asked questions