Reverse Grip Bent-Over Rows

Also called reverse grip barbell row, underhand row and yates row.

Works

Upper back, plus biceps, lats and shoulders

Equipment

Barbell

Level

Intermediate

Type

Compound

How to do it

Setup. Stand erect while holding a barbell with a supinated grip (palms facing up).

1. Bend your knees slightly and bring your torso forward, by bending at the waist, while keeping the back straight until it is almost parallel to the floor. Tip: Make sure that you keep the head up. The barbell should hang directly in front of you as your arms hang perpendicular to the floor and your torso. This is your starting position.
2. While keeping the torso stationary, lift the barbell as you breathe out, keeping the elbows close to the body and not doing any force with the forearm other than holding the weights. On the top contracted position, squeeze the back muscles and hold for a second.
3. Slowly lower the weight again to the starting position as you inhale.
4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Cues

• Palms up, shoulder width.
• Hinge until nearly parallel.
• Pull to the lower belly.
• Elbows close, squeeze 1 second.

Common mistakes

• Standing up each rep.
• Curling with the biceps.

Where to start

A starting point, not a law. Pick a weight you could lift two or three more times than the top of the range. Tempo is seconds down, pause, up. When every set hits the top of the range, add a little weight.

Go easy, or pick an alternative, if you have a cranky lower back. Pain that's sharp or gets worse set to set means stop.

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