What Are The Best Versions Of Row Exercises?

Rows are easily the most important exercise to build thickness through the upper back muscles. There really is no alternative, the vast majority of upper back exercises for thickness involve some type of rowing motion. Of course, there are many ways you can perform this exercise. The best row variations involve various grips and can be done with barbells, dumbbells, and machines.

It’s best to take advantage of multiple rowing exercises to hit your upper back muscles. Though you don’t necessarily want to take it too far and do every single one of these exercises during every single back workout. This would quickly lead to overtraining. Instead, do a handful at one workout and do different versions at the next workout. The possibilities are endless. Just be consistent and log your weights and reps to see what you have to beat the next time you do that particular exercise.

Bent-Over Rows

The classic bent-over barbell row is the king of the best row variations. It can seem like a rather basic movement. In simple terms, you bend forward at the hips and pull a weight up toward your body. As with many major exercises, there are a variety of ways bent-over rows can be done.

The most common form of the bent-over barbell row is with an overhand grip pulled into the upper ab/lower chest area. This is done with an arched lower back. As the weight is lifted your body will end angled a bit above parallel. Honestly, the higher the angle, the more weight you’ll get up. However, you do want to target the upper back muscles as opposed to the lower back or traps. It can be easy to break form so work on keeping it the best you can. Don’t get me wrong though, if you can get a few more reps by using some controlled cheating go for it.

Try An Underhanded Grip

My favorite way to do the barbell row is with an underhand grip. When I was younger I remember seeing former Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates doing these with some insane weight and the exercise stuck with me. In fact, they can also be called Yates rows. Underhand barbell rows will have you pulling the weight to your lower abs. The body can be at a higher angle as well. These features of the underhand row make it the best row variation for using heavy weight to build maximum lat thickness.

Pendlay Rows

Another great row variation done with a barbell is the Pendlay row. This is a very strict version of the barbell row. It starts and finishes with the barbell on the floor. You keep your upper body close to parallel and row very strictly to your upper abs. On each rep, lower the barbell all of the way down until it rests on the floor before you begin the next rep.

Barbell Corner Rows

Another one of my favorite versions of the row is the barbell corner row. This one is done with one end of a barbell in a corner. Many gyms have anchors you can use, which is preferable in my eyes. With an anchor, the barbell will be weighed down so you can comfortably row.

The common way to do barbell corner rows is to use a v-grip handle that can also be used for lat pulldowns. The handle choice is important, as you want a v-grip that will allow the barbell to lie in the middle of it and not to one side. I like to wrap one side of the v-grip with my wrist straps and place the grip where I want under the barbell before wrapping the other side.

One-Arm Corner Rows

The unique way I like to do barbell corner rows is one-handed. I’ll grip the end of the barbell sleeve with my body perpendicular to it. As the weight is pulled up it also goes out a bit automatically due to being anchored. This is kind of a different take on a dumbbell row. Because you are gripping the sleeve part of the barbell, wrist straps are practically a necessity.

You can also do one-arm barbell corner rows while standing alongside the barbell. When doing this, you grip the barbell at about where you would have a v-grip when you do the two-handed version. Then pull up the arm you are lifting to your side.

Dumbbell Rows

Dumbbell rows are also among the favorite versions of rowing exercises for most lifters. There’s just something about rowing a heavy dumbbell up to your side. No matter how you do them, dumbbell rows are an incredible exercise for building thickness throughout the upper back.

There’s nothing too different about the way I do dumbbell rows. To me, it’s preferable to do them standing and bent over as opposed to doing them with one side of the body on a bench. Admittedly, this is due to not having to move heavy dumbbells to a bench. Whatever way you prefer doing dumbbell rows isn’t gonna be wrong either way.

Cable And Machine Rows

You will find quite a variety of excellent row exercise machines at just about any gym. Seated cable rows are among the most popular. I’m into the high-row machine as well, as it’s almost like a pulldown and row combined. Most of these machines will allow for two-handed and one-handed versions of the exercises.

I feel free weights are always preferable to machines. However, there is one thing I would rather do on a piece of exercise equipment. This is the high-intensity technique. Whether you do drop sets or go back to back between which side you are training on back exercises, I think machines work well for this. Once I get finished with my heavy straight sets, I like to end my workouts with a couple of high-intensity sets.

In Closing

So there are the best versions of the row. Once again, while you want to take advantage of as many as you can, it’s detrimental to try doing every single one of these exercises during one workout. Instead, mix it up. Whatever exercises you did during your last back workout, do some different ones next time.