Inverted Row (version 2)

How to do the Inverted Row (version 2)

1. 1Set a fixed bar — a power-rack safety bar or Smith machine bar — at roughly hip height, high enough that your body clears the floor when you hang beneath it with straight arms.
2. 2Place a flat bench a step in front of the bar, sit on the floor under the bar, and rest your heels on the bench so your body hangs roughly parallel to the floor.
3. 3Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder width with an overhand grip and let your arms hang straight.
4. 4Brace your core and squeeze your glutes so your hips stay fully extended and your body holds one straight line from heels to shoulders.
5. 5Start the pull by depressing and retracting your shoulder blades before your elbows bend.
6. 6Row your chest to the bar, driving your elbows back and down at roughly 45 degrees from your torso.
7. 7Pause for one count when your chest touches or nearly touches the bar.
8. 8Lower yourself under control until your arms are fully extended again, holding the plank line.
9. 9Finish your last rep, set your hips to the floor, then step your heels off the bench and release the bar.

Form tips

• Dial in difficulty with bar height: the more horizontal your torso, the more body weight you pull. Lower the bar or raise the bench height to make a set harder.
• Keep your neck neutral and your chin lightly tucked. Craning up at the bar pulls the head out of line and encourages the hips to pike.
• Touch the same point on your chest every rep — usually the lower sternum — so your range of motion stays honest as you fatigue.
• Control the lowering phase over two to three seconds; the eccentric builds as much back strength as the pull itself.
• If your grip fails before your back does, switch to a shoulder-width underhand grip so the brachialis and biceps take a larger share of the work.

Common mistakes

• Letting the hips sag toward the floor: this breaks the plank line, shortens the effective range of motion, and shifts load off the target back muscles onto the lower back.
• Flaring the elbows to 90 degrees from the torso: wide elbows reduce lat involvement and load the front of the shoulder joint. Keep them tracking back at about 45 degrees.
• Pulling with the arms before the shoulder blades move: skipping scapular retraction means the small elbow flexors fatigue first and the mid-traps and lats never fully contract.
• Swinging or kipping the hips to start each rep: momentum shortens time under tension and removes the stimulus from the back. Keep every rep strict.
• Cutting the bottom short instead of fully extending the arms: a partial range of motion skips the stretch on the lats and teres muscles, where much of the growth stimulus lives.

Frequently asked questions