Inverted Row: Muscles Worked and How to Do It
TL;DR
The inverted row works your middle back, pulling your shoulder blades together as you row your chest to the bar, while your lats assist by pulling your elbows down and back. It's a bodyweight pulling exercise you can scale by simply changing the angle of your body.
- Primary muscle:
- Middle back
- Secondary muscles:
- Lats
Muscles worked
Your middle back, the rhomboids and middle trapezius, are the prime mover. Their job is to pull your shoulder blades together as you row your chest up toward the bar, which is the part of the movement worth focusing on.
Your lats assist by pulling your elbows down and back toward your body, helping drive the pulling motion alongside your middle back. A wider grip shifts a bit more emphasis onto the lats; a narrower grip keeps more focus on the middle back.
Log Inverted Row in PR Streak
PR Streak's library has 873 exercises, each with photos and step-by-step instructions like this one. Log this move and see what you lifted last time right next to every set, with every PR caught automatically and a chart for every exercise.
How to do it
- Position a bar in a rack to about waist height. You can also use a smith machine.
- Take a wider than shoulder width grip on the bar and position yourself hanging underneath the bar. Your body should be straight with your heels on the ground with your arms fully extended. This will be your starting position.
- Begin by flexing the elbow, pulling your chest towards the bar. Retract your shoulder blades as you perform the movement.
- Pause at the top of the motion, and return yourself to the start position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Form tips
- Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels throughout the row.
- Pull your chest toward the bar by driving your elbows back, not just bending your arms.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of each rep.
- Walk your feet closer to below the bar to make the row easier, or further out to make it harder.
- Keep your chin neutral instead of craning your neck to reach the bar.
Exercise details
| Equipment | Other |
|---|---|
| Level | Beginner |
| Mechanic | Compound |
Used by lifters following PPL, 5x5, upper/lower, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the inverted row a good substitute for pull-ups?
It trains a similar horizontal pulling pattern using your middle back and lats, and it's easier to scale by adjusting your body angle, which makes it useful if pull-ups are still too hard. The patterns differ enough, horizontal versus vertical pulling, that both are worth training.
How do I make inverted rows harder or easier?
Walk your feet further under the bar and keep your body more upright to make the row easier, or extend your feet out and lower your body closer to horizontal to make it harder. Elevating your feet on a box adds even more difficulty once that feels manageable.
More middle back exercises
Exercise instructions and photos come from the free-exercise-db library, public domain, the same library used inside the PR Streak app.
