EXECUTION
- Assume an erect standing position holding a barbell on extended arms in front of the body with a pronated grip (palms facing the body). The feet and grip should be approximately shoulder width apart.
- Bend over from the hips and bend the knees until the trunk is level to the ground. The barbell should now hang on extended arms pointed straight down.
- This is the starting position. When you are ready, inhale and hold your breath as you pull the bar up to the waist. Keep the elbows in close so that they move to the rear as you pull upward.
- Be sure to contract the lower back muscles (erector spinae) to hold the normal curvature of the spine as you bend over, as you rise up and to hold the level back position (together with the glutes and hamstrings).
- Exhale as you lower the barbell under control to the initial position.
- Concentrate on pulling with the back and shoulder muscles and raising the elbows as high as possible. In the ending position the elbows should be above the level of your back.
TRAINING TIPS
- It is important that you do not raise the trunk during execution. The trunk should remain level to the ground at all times, and especially during the pulling action.
- Be sure to pull the elbows up as high as possible above the level of the back. The higher the elbows go, the greater the involvement of the muscles, especially the latissimus dorsi.
- When you pull the barbell to the waist, it is mainly the lower fibers of latissimus dorsi that are strongly involved. When you also bring the shoulders back (up) and the elbows higher than back level you also recruit more of the upper fibers together with the middle trapezius and rhomboid muscles..
- Be sure to keep the feet shoulder width or even slightly wider than shoulder width apart. This is needed for greater stability so that you can hold the back level (horizontal) during execution. A narrow stance can lead to an unbalanced position especially if your grip is not equally distanced from the ends of the bar.
- Be sure that the grip is shoulder width or slightly wider during the pull. This allows the elbows to get up above the level of the back and provides for more balance. A narrow or too wide a grip decreases your range of motion.
- Moving the trunk during execution is potentially dangerous to the back. This includes dropping of the trunk to the bar when pulling the bar up or first raising the trunk to overcome the inertia of the bar and then pulling with the arms. Whenever the back is in motion (especially if it is rounded), it not only detracts from the muscular involvement but also has the potential for lower-back injury.
- To help prevent low back injury, it is important that you maintain the normal curvature of the spine at all times. Pulling with a rounded back especially when coupled with movement of the back is highly dangerous.
- Do not use excessively heavy weights. Not only does this force you to use your back (trunk) during execution but it decreases the range of motion and results in poorer muscle development especially of the latissimus dorsi.
- To involve more of the posterior deltoid, latissimus dorsi and the midback (rhomboid and middle trapezius) muscles through a full range of motion, keep the elbows out to the side and pull the barbell to the chest. This is a more difficult variant and you will notice the different muscle involvement immediately.
- Be sure to keep the knees slightly bent, not only for better stability but also to accommodate the somewhat tight hamstring muscles which most body builders and athletes tend to have. If you do the exercise with straight legs, the chances of having a rounded back are increased, which in turn increases the potential for injury.
- To do the bent over barbell row without danger to the spine, it is important that you have strong erector spinae muscles in the lower back to keep the normal curvature of the spine during execution. Having strong erectors, should be a prerequisite to doing the bent over row. If your back muscles are not sufficiently strong, then you should do the one arm bent over row with arm support on an exercise.
- Do not overdo this exercise or fail to balance your lat development with other lat exercises. If you over develop the lower lats you may increase the size of your “love handles.”
MAJOR MUSCLES INVOLVED
In the shoulder joint the major muscles are the latissimus dorsi and teres major. These muscles are assisted by the posterior deltoid, long head of the triceps and the lower pectoralis major, that is active only when first initiating the upward pull. The latissimus dorsi is a large muscle covering the sides of the middle and lower back. The teres major is a smaller round muscle located alongside the upper portion of the latissimus dorsi. The posterior deltoid is located on the back of the shoulder while the long head of the triceps brachii is located on the back of the upper arm. In the shoulder girdle, the rhomboid and middle portion of the trapezius play the major roles. The rhomboid is a deep muscle lying under the trapezius in the middle of the back. The trapezius is located in the middle of the back and runs from the base of the skull through the twelfth thoracic vertebrae. Only the middle portion is involved in this exercise
MUSCLE AND JOINT ACTIONS
In the bent over barbell row, the major action is shoulder joint extension. In this movement the arms remain in a vertical plane and move from a position in front of the body to a position alongside and behind the body. To allow the arm to rise above the level of the back, the scapulae slide in toward the spine via contraction of the rhomboids and middle trapezius. There is also some downward rotation of the scapular via contraction of the rhomboid and pectoralis minor. The lower portion of the pectoralis major is involved at the beginning of the movement but not as the elbows approach the sides of the body and rise above.
SPORTS USES
The muscles and actions involved in the bent over barbell row are seen in all down and back movements of the arm. These actions are very important in gymnastics, especially when working on the rings, high bar, and unevens. In other sports the act of pulling the arms down and back can be seen in basketball rebounding, hand balancing, rowing, swimming (especially in the latter phase of the pull), wresting, judo, and football. In rope climbing and in rock climbing, this exercise is extremely valuable for pulling you upward. In bodybuilding, this exercise is important for development of the latissimus dorsi and midback muscles especially when doing both variants of the exercise, i.e., with the elbows in and with the elbows out. By doing both variants, you get full development of the latissimus dorsi as well as the midback and posterior shoulder muscles. Thus it is an excellent exercise for almost all of the muscles of the back. But you must have strong hip extensor and lower back muscles for safe execution.