Two-Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
At a glance
- Equipment
- Pair of dumbbells
- Suggested reps
- 3–4 sets of 8–12 reps
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Common mistakes
You stand taller with every rep, letting the hips heave the dumbbells up instead of holding the hinge.
You yank the dumbbells up and let them free-fall, so the back never controls the negative.
You shrug the weight toward your ears with the traps instead of driving the elbows back toward the hips.
You round the back to chase a deeper stretch at the bottom.
What to focus on
Set the hinge once and keep the torso angle frozen; if the angle creeps up, the weight is too heavy.
Pause with the dumbbells at your ribs and feel the shoulder blades pinch before lowering slowly.
Let the shoulder blades spread fully at the bottom so every rep starts from a true stretch, and use the freer dumbbell path to pull slightly wider or deeper than a barbell allows.
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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