Bent Over Row Training Tips

If there’s one exercise that you must make sure you’re getting placed into your workout program, bent over rows are it. Bent over rows are a compound upper body exercise that are going to work the back muscles, the lat muscles, the biceps, and even the core muscles will get recruited to a slight degree to help your body maintain position.

Adding bent over rows to your workout program is one of the best ways to help burn fat, build muscle, and help to create a very well-rounded upper body.

That said, there are some important tips that you should keep in mind when performing bent over rows to ensure that you see all the benefits possible from this movement.

Let’s go over what you need to know.

Tips For Performing Bent Over Rows

1) The very first tip to always keep in mind when doing your bent over rows is to think mind-muscle connection. This is one exercise where you really need to think about the muscles that are being used so that you can ensure you’re activating the right ones.

Those who just ‘go through the movement’ very often end up using more lower back and bicep power than using their lats, traps, and rhomboids instead. This is precisely what you want to avoid. By thinking of the muscles that you’re intending to work you can be sure that they are the ones contracting and relaxing and you see results from the bent over rows.

2) Second, it’s also important to understand some of the variations you can do with bent over rows. If you want to specifically work the biceps more because that is your primary intent, then flip the hand position around so that you’re using an underhand grip rather than an overhand one.

This is going to help to ensure that you do work those bicep muscles fully as they’ll be recruited to a much higher extent like this.

Or, if you want to really hit the traps, place the hands slightly closer together when doing barbell rows. This will target that area of the back slightly better so will help you see greater overall development.

Common Errors To Avoid When Performing Bent Over Rows

So what errors should you be avoiding when performing bent over rows?

1. In order to prevent an injury, make sure that you maintain as stable of a position with the back as possible. If it’s rising up and lowering, that signifies that you’re using momentum to help power you through the exercise.
2. Second, also make sure that you aren’t lifting the head as you do the exercise. Some people do this to look into the mirror and all it’s going to do is place straight on the neck and upper back.

Keep the head downwards looking just ahead of you on the floor.

So make sure that you are getting bent over rows into your program and that as you do, you perform them correctly. This will ensure that you make maximal progress from your upper body routine and get you stronger than you’ve ever been before.

The Correct Posture For Performing Bent Over Rows