How To Perform Upright Rows Correctly

One exercise that you might consider adding to your upper body workout routine if you want to see great shoulder development and strength gains is upright rows. Upright rows work many of the same muscle groups that the shoulder press works only it’s a slightly more isolated exercise as you won’t get the triceps being called into play as well.

Upright rows can either be performed with a barbell or with a set of dumbbells, so there are a couple of options for you to choose from.

Let’s quickly run through how to perform upright rows correctly and what you need to make sure you’re avoiding as you go about this exercise.

1) Get Into The Correct Position

To start off the upright row exercise, you’ll want to get into a standing position so that the feet are comfortably spaced apart and the hips are pulled up. You’ll want to make sure that you do keep the hips in a neutral position the entire way through this exercise because if you start to arch your back, you will be placing yourself at risk for developing lower back pain.

Once you’re in that standing position, you’re then going to grasp the weight in the hands, resting them down by the sides of the body with the elbows fully extended.

2) Lift the Weight Slowly Under Full Control

The next step for performing upright rows is to slowly begin to lift the weight upwards, allowing the elbows to move out to the sides of the body. Continue lifting upwards until they are at about chin-height level and then pause for a brief second before lowering them back down to the starting position once again.

3) Never Jerk the Weight – It Must Be Under Full Control

As you do this movement it’s important that you don’t jerk through the action as this can place a very high amount of strain on the shoulder girdle and could lead to a serious injury.

Remember to breathe out when you’re lifting the weight upwards and take a deep breath and breathe in as you lower it down to the ground to complete the rep.

Common Errors To Avoid When Performing Upright Rows

So now that you know how to perform upright rows, what can you do to ensure that you don’t suffer from an injury?

One of the biggest errors that people make when performing upright rows is not coming up to the right level as they raise the weight.

Some make the mistake of not coming high enough thus they don’t receive the full benefits that they could from the exercise while others make the mistake of going too high and placing a very high stress load on the front head of the deltoid.

You want to come up to a height where the weight is just in line with the shoulders – no higher and no lower. Pause when you reach that position and lower down slowly and in a controlled movement pattern.

Never let the weight just drop back down as that is another error that’s made that could cause you to actually throw out your shoulder altogether.

So there you have the main things to note about how to perform upright rows. Make sure you follow these tips to perform them properly.