Bent-Over Barbell Row
At a glance
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Suggested reps
- 3–4 sets of 6–10 reps
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Common mistakes
You stand up more with every rep, using the hips and lower back to heave the bar instead of the lats.
You yank the bar with momentum and let it drop, so the back muscles never actually control the load.
You round the upper back at the bottom to reach a fake stretch.
You pull to the wrong spot, rowing to the upper chest with flared elbows and turning it into a rear-delt exercise.
What to focus on
Lock your hinge angle in and keep it identical from the first rep to the last; only the arms and shoulder blades should move.
Pause the bar against your torso for a beat and feel the shoulder blades pinch before lowering.
Lower for a slow count and let the shoulder blades spread at the bottom so each rep starts from a real stretch.
Related strength moves
Sources & further reading
- 1.The bent-over row activates the back heavily and symmetrically, but carries the highest lumbar-spine load of the rowing variations — brace hard — J. Strength and Conditioning Research (2009), Fenwick, Brown & McGill