Barbell Bent Over Row

How to do the barbell bent over row with a neutral spine to build the upper back, lats, and biceps

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How to perform

1. Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and a soft bend in your knees.
2. Hinge forward at the hips until your torso is roughly parallel to the floor, keeping your back straight and your chest lifted.
3. Grip the bar with an overhand hold slightly wider than shoulder width and let it hang at arm’s length below you.
4. Exhale and pull the bar toward your lower chest by retracting your shoulder blades and driving your elbows back.
5. Pause briefly at the top, then inhale and lower the bar slowly back to a full hang before the next rep.

Muscles worked

The bent over row is a horizontal pulling movement that builds the entire back. The upper back muscles move the shoulder blades, the lats pull the bar toward the body, and the biceps and forearms flex the elbows and hold the bar.

• Upper back and rhomboids — retract the shoulder blades as you pull
• Lats — draw the bar into the body
• Biceps — flex the elbows through the pull
• Forearms — maintain the grip under load
• Lower back — holds your torso in the hinge position

Make it easier

Use a lighter barbell or a chest-supported machine row so your lower back does not have to hold the hinge. One-arm dumbbell rows braced on a bench are a great alternative for learning the pull.

Make it harder

Add weight, pause for two seconds at the top of each rep, or slow the negative down to a 3–4 second count. Pendlay rows, pulling the bar from the floor on every rep, remove momentum and force the back to do more work.

Common mistakes

Mistake: Rounding the lower back. Fix: keep your spine neutral, chest lifted, and hips pushed back through every rep. Mistake: Using the arms instead of the back. Fix: start the pull by squeezing your shoulder blades together, not by bending the elbows. Mistake: Bouncing the bar off the floor. Fix: lower the bar under control to a full hang and start each rep from a dead stop. Mistake: Rising up with the torso as you pull. Fix: hold your hinge angle steady and move only your arms and shoulder blades.