Seated Cable Row: Muscles Worked and How to Do It
TL;DR
The seated cable row works your middle back as the main mover, pulling your shoulder blades together as you draw the handle to your torso. Your lats and shoulders help pull your arms back, and your biceps bend your elbows, building a supported back workout with less balance demand than a standing row.
- Primary muscle:
- Middle back
- Secondary muscles:
- Biceps, Lats, Shoulders
Muscles worked
Your middle back does most of the work in the seated cable row, squeezing your shoulder blades together on every rep.
Your lats and shoulders help pull your upper arms back, and your biceps bend your elbows to bring the handle in. Being seated removes the balance demands of a standing row, letting you focus on your back.
Log Seated Cable Row in PR Streak
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How to do it
- For this exercise you will need access to a low pulley row machine with a V-bar. Note: The V-bar will enable you to have a neutral grip where the palms of your hands face each other. To get into the starting position, first sit down on the machine and place your feet on the front platform or crossbar provided making sure that your knees are slightly bent and not locked.
- Lean over as you keep the natural alignment of your back and grab the V-bar handles.
- With your arms extended pull back until your torso is at a 90-degree angle from your legs. Your back should be slightly arched and your chest should be sticking out. You should be feeling a nice stretch on your lats as you hold the bar in front of you. This is the starting position of the exercise.
- Keeping the torso stationary, pull the handles back towards your torso while keeping the arms close to it until you touch the abdominals. Breathe out as you perform that movement. At that point you should be squeezing your back muscles hard. Hold that contraction for a second and slowly go back to the original position while breathing in.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Form tips
- Sit tall with a slight bend in your knees and your feet braced on the platform.
- Start with your arms extended and a slight forward lean from your hips, not your lower back.
- Pull the handle to your lower abdomen, leading with your elbows and keeping your torso upright.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end of the pull before returning under control.
- Avoid rocking your torso back and forth to move more weight.
Exercise details
| Equipment | Cable |
|---|---|
| Level | Beginner |
| Mechanic | Compound |
Used by lifters following PPL, 5x5, upper/lower, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles does the seated cable row work?
The seated cable row targets your middle back, with your lats, shoulders and biceps assisting. Because you're seated and supported, it's an easier row to learn than free-weight versions while still building real back thickness.
Seated cable row vs bent-over row: which should I do?
Both train the same muscles. The bent-over row adds more lower-back and balance demand from the standing, bent-over position, while the seated cable row is more supported, making it a good option for higher-rep back work.
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.
