Youโre stuck at home for whatever reason, no gym in sight. Youโve been trying to keep up with some kind of bodyweight exercises in order to keep your physique in shape (at least somewhat)โbut theyโre just not cutting it.ย What you might be missing, are pulling exercises.
The first exercise that comes to mind when you say โpulling exerciseโ is theย classic pull-up, a great way for full-body conditioning and functional strength building. There are, however, a number of things that might be preventing you from doing pull-ups.
For one, theyโre a difficult exercise to do. They require a significant range of motion and also a body weight that you can pull up on your own. Furthermore, they require a pull-up bar or an equivalent which is sometimes difficult to come by.
If you find yourself thinking any of the above, or even just wanting to add another pulling exercise into your training regime, the bodyweight row is the exercise for you.
Also known as the inverted row, the movement takes after its name. It has you lying below a bar (or another object) and pulling yourself up with your arms. Itโs primarily an upper-back, lat, and bicep workout, along with the core and various stabilizers.
While itโs a fairly simple exercise to do and can be used as a gateway into the world of pull-ups, its many variations can make the movement just as trying for advanced gym-goers. Furthermore, while the exercise does necessitate something to grab on to, it can be almost anythingโmaking it an excellent movement to do if you donโt have any equipment laying around.ย
One of the primary benefits of the bodyweight row is that it massively improves your posture. This is especially true if youโve just begun doing things like the bench press, since chest exercises tend to emphasize the front of your body and your front delts, giving your shoulders aย rounded look. With the bodyweight row being a back exercise as well, your back is targeted and this โrounded-nessโ is canceled out, or at least improved upon.
Weโve talked about the importance ofย grip strength before, and the inverted row is an excellent example of how to train this often-overlooked aspect. Not only does grip strength often correlate to overall strength, but a higher level of strength in this area will also help in improving your other lifts as well. For example, with pull-ups and deadlifts, the grip is often the failure point for a lot of people. Improve the grip, improve the lift (and increase the load).
When it comes to working out, there are a number of ways to differentiate movements based on their different characteristics. Not only is the inverted row a compound exercise (working a number of joints and muscle groups), but itโs also characterized as a pulling motion. While this (obviously) helps in other pulling exercises in the gym, such as the pull-up, itโll also help in terms of functional strength. When it comes to picking things up, lifting your body weight, swimming, or climbing, pulling strength is paramount.
The bodyweight row will also do a great deal for your shoulder stability and strength. When it comes to working out, a lot of people donโt properly put enough emphasis on a wide range of motionโthis leads to limited movements that can be more prone to injury in some circumstances.ย
Especially if you play any sports, the torn rotator cuff is one of the most common injuries that can be avoided if you do your due diligence and properly condition your shoulders. But it wonโt only help on the field or in the rink, itโll also help you better perform general daily physical activities that take even a little bit of functional strength.
And much like the pull-up, the inverted row is a surprisingly great way to engage your core and develop it further. In this slightly awkward position, your abs and other stabilizers will be under significant tension and stress when keeping your bodyโs posture throughout the movement. If you want to increase the activation of your core, itโs easy to adjust the exercise in order to place a greater emphasis on this area. For example, you can use a TRX grip, other unstable tools, or stability balls, in order to increase the difficulty and place a greater demand on your stabilizers. Which brings us to the next point.
Bodyweight rows are a fantastic exercise because theyโre so adjustable. And not only are they adjustable when it comes to emphasizing different muscle groups but also when it comes to the comfort level of the trainee. The easiest way is to adjust the height of the bar or adjust the height your feet are at. The higher your feet are, the more difficult the movement will be. If you want something easier, feel free to bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the groundโwhile not as demanding, itโll hit many of the same muscle groups to a great degree.ย
Bodyweight rows are a terrific way to get a full-body workout that hits a number of your muscle groups, mainly your upper body and back muscles. While the list is longer than the one below, these are the main muscles youโll be engaging by adding bodyweight rows into your exercise routine:
Biceps: One of the more obvious muscles, the biceps are responsible for the flexion of your elbow. Itโd be difficult to do the movement without your biceps doing at least some of the work in lifting you up from the ground.ย
Posterior delts: These muscles are responsible for the horizontal extension of your arm. While small, they play an important role in improving your postureโespecially if youโve been mainly focusing on the chest and arm areas. Not to mention that well-developed delts look good.
Middle traps and Rhomboids: Working together, these muscles pull your shoulder blades together when you move them down and back. Theyโre located around your shoulder blades and in between them and are essential in preventing common shoulder injuries.
Posterior chain: This is the name for all of the muscle groups on your backโfrom the erector spinae to the glutes and hamstrings. Along with your core muscles, these are the muscles that keep you stable throughout the movement and prevent you from falling from one side to the other.
Lats: The lats, otherwise known as your wings, are located on the sides of your back, just under your arms. They allow you to extend and adduct your upper arm, and theyโre an important aesthetic dimension when looking for that tapered physique.
Along with the above, thereโs a number of muscles that come into play in various instances of the movementโbut these are the main ones. Being accustomed to what muscles are being worked and where they are on your body will allow you to develop a better mind-muscle connection. Developing this can help with your movements, form, and being able to exert more forceโand therefore, develop more muscle and strength.ย
And thatโs it! There you have your first bodyweight row, and a great way to earn future gains. If youโre finding the above too difficult, you can set the bar much higher. If you set it, for example, just below chest level, you wouldnโt begin the movement by lying on the floor.
Rather, hold on to it and get in position with your feet slightly forward, in front of the bar. This way, less of your body weight is used in the pulling up motion, since a lot of it is braced against the floor with your feet. The more weight on your feet, the easier the movement is. But before we get into some variations, letโs look into the things we have to keep in mind when we do inverted rows.ย
Like any exercise, proper form will make, or break, the movement and the benefits that come along with it. If you want to make sure that your time training is well-spent, then remember these things next time youโre hanging off the dining room table.
Weโve already mentioned this, but itโs worth saying again: keep your core and your glutes engaged. Donโt let your butt sagโyour body should be rigid from head to toe. This will activate more muscles and prevent any potential injuries from the movement.
Also, donโt flail around your elbows. The bar should be grabbed a little closer than you would with a bench press and keep your elbows at a consistent angle from your body. This might be more difficult if using a TRX grip or rings, but that just means you need to engage more of your stabilizers.
When going through the pulling movement, the bar should be coming towards the middle of your chestโnot up to your head, and not down your belly. Right in the middle of your chest will activate all the muscles you want to be engaging. Which leads intoโฆ.
Avoid any excessive arching, since itโs usually a sign of compensation for not being able to do the movement correctly or fully. This will, once again, reap the most benefits from the exercise. You want to follow with the middle back and avoid excessively leading with the hips. This last point, excessively leading with the hips, is another way some people compensate for not being able to do the movement fully. If you find yourself in this position, itโs a good idea to adjust either the height of the bar or how close youโre standing to it, in order to make it easier.
Properly activating the glutes and the core will also prevent any excessive arching and compensation. When it comes to focusing on the middle back, itโs a good idea to put your mind in your shoulder blades, focusing on bringing them back fully. This is opposed to just bending the arms. While the arms do play an important role in carrying out this exercise in its full range of motion, the emphasis should be placed on the back, and you should be making a conscious effort to not use too much of your chest or arm muscles.ย
So, youโve gotten the hang of the inverted row, but itโs still not scratching that itch. Or maybe itโs already scratched that itch, but now you want something bigger, tougher. As weโve mentioned, the bodyweight row is an easy exercise to add some variations to.ย
The most obvious one is using different tools to pull yourself up with. A simple bar will be the easiest, while something along the lines of a pair of towels will place a greater emphasis on grip strength. Furthermore, the use of rings or other unstable objects will necessitate a greater activation of stabilizers and core muscles.
If thatโs not enough for you, thereโs always the possibility of continuing to reduce the angle that youโre pulling up from. As you slowly get better, you can decrease the angle until youโre lying flat on a surface and trying to pull yourself up. This is much more difficult since youโre essentially pulling most of your weight up by yourself, with your feet just slightly supporting you.
Whatโs that? You want a bigger challenge? Then elevate your feet on an object, so now youโre working against even more of your body weight, and having to pull yourself up higher. This way, you can increase the elevation of your feet to a level that youโre most comfortable with. Throw in a stability ball in there as your object-of-elevation, and youโve got a recipe for getting anย absolutely shredded physique.
And finally, you can do the 1-armed bodyweight row, which, just like it sounds, requires you to use just one arm when pulling yourself up. This can have the added benefit of training both of your sides equally and having your weaker side catch up with the stronger. Even if we think weโre training both sides equally, any movement that takes both sides of our body will have the stronger side compensating for the weaker.
And if thatโs not enough for youย warriors out there, thereโs always the option of weighted inverted rows.ย
Since itโs a pulling exercise, the push-up (a pushing exercise) would be a great complimentary movement to do with your inverted rows. Put these together and you have a great basis for a superset that will leave your muscles burning and you gasping for breath. Try for 8 to 12 reps in 4 sets, and your body will thank you later.
Itโs also a great way to work up to pull-ups and dips, but if you can already do these, then the row can be used at the end of your workout as a finisher. Already tired after a heavy workout, the inverted row can be a way to push your endurance to the limit and really build up your fatigueโespecially if you do them to failure.
The bodyweight row has many benefits to your physique and fitness level, no matter how you program it. Just remember to keep your form up to par and donโt push yourself without having properly fueled up your body with whole nutrients and aย good amount of rest. Follow the above, and youโll be row-ing to fitness heights youโd never imagined before.
