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Barbell Rows: Dave’s Favorite Lift
Accept no Substitutes: The Barbell Row
The more I train, the fewer exercises I use. Over time I have tried a huge number but only a handful or two are still around. Most of those that made the cut are the simple basic exercises that I learned when first starting out.
Now one of the basics that I never really took to was the barbell row. I always rowed, but I always used dumbbells. I figured if you’re going to row, do a rowing variant that spares your lower back; the lower back gets all it can handle (and sometimes more) from squats, deadlifts, pulls, etc. I was always relatively strong in dumbbell rows, so they were never a high priority in my program. I focused on pulldowns, and later on chins.
I thought this was a reasonable plan and didn’t really think much about it. I got to be a good chinner and grew a broad back. But a few things were subtly suggesting that I missed something.
“Thing is, they’re the toughest, meanest and most demanding upper body movement. Bent-over rows are a comprehensive exercise like squats, deadlifts and standing military presses. They work large and specific muscles (full back) yet engage the whole system in their execution — fingers to toes.”
You can and should read the rest here.
That got me thinking a little, but not enough to actually do some bar rows. I am dense. Fortunately, IOL Forum member and veteran strong guy Dan Martin mentioned, oh, forty or fifty times that bar rows are among the cream of the cream, the number one pull, in his estimation “the fourth powerlift.” Now dense though I am, Dan Martin’s subtle-meter reads somewhere between the drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket and a poke in the eye with a hot stick. I tried some rows.
Where Have You Been All My Life
To make a long story short, me like. Not rowing with a bar all this while was a huge omission. It may be that working both arms at once forces more of the back to work. Dumbbell rows minimize the work for the rest of the body, focusing everything on the pulling arm; maybe the big advantage is that bar rows do just the opposite, involving the rest of the body in the effort of stabilization. Whatever it is, the effects were dramatic.
Another plus: I was pleasantly surprised to find that my chinup ability didn’t suffer while doing nothing but rows. I decided to lay off chins entirely and focus on rows. Out of curiosity, I tried a set of chins on the spur of the moment. I was only a few reps off my best.
The conventional wisdom is that chins develop width in the back, and rows develop thickness. I heard that for years and it never made a lick of sense to me. To tell the truth, I’m still not sure it makes any sense to me; here’s what I think it means. Chins develop the lats, which are the largest single muscle in the back and create the dramatic wing like appearance. Rows develop the whole back. There are dozens of muscles back there.
Developing all these muscles rather than just lats is of interest to bodybuilders - it’s what separates a back like Dave’s from the broad, flat backs that you see so often. More importantly though, developing all these muscles is crucial for athletes and for general fitness. It balances the shoulder joint in ways that chins or pulldowns do not.
As always, form is extremely important with barbell rows. The most important form point is to keep a flat lower back. This will require quite a bit of flexibility in the hamstrings, and good core strength and stability in the bentover position. You must develop these prerequisites before attempting barbell rows (or T-bar rows, or seated pulley rows, etc.).
There are a lot of don’ts with barbell rows. Don’t try to modify your form so the exercise to emphasize lat development. It will develop the lats without any fiddling. Don’t emulate the form some of the monsters use in photo shoots for bodybuilding magazines. You’ll typically see these guys with 500 pounds, barely bent over, with very little range of motion. Stick to the form that Dave describes in the article above. Use a fairly wide grip, keep your trunk pretty much parallel to the ground, and pull the bar to the lower chest. With heavy weights, a little thrust might be okay. A little.
For some more fine tuning on rowing technique, I have had good results with the form described on the MadCow site. (Don’t blame me, I didn’t name it.) The main differences described are starting each rep with the bar resting on the ground, with acceleration, and emphasizing arching your UPPER back.
If you aren’t rowing with the bar, give it a go. Don’t make me send Dan Martin over there.
Byron Chandler
on November 27th, 2006 at 8:17 pm
[…] I have now read Brother Iron more than any other book I own, every couple of weeks I thumb through it and find something new in it. Anyway one day I decided I was going to try something really different and gave the Full Body Strength program a go. Suddenly I was thrown into the world of deadlifts, bent-over rows, clean and presses, and what can I say - it worked. But then, for whatever bizarre reason, I went back to doing what I had previously I lost the momentum. Until around four weeks ago that is. […]
on January 17th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Do you advice doing bar rows and dumbell rows in the same back training session ? (I wouldn’t want to give up dumbell rows. Love them).
on February 1st, 2007 at 5:58 pm
I personally tend to use a short list of exercises, so I would not do both; the dumbbell rows would be superfluous. Of course I’m not saying it’s wrong to do so, but I wouldn’t.
on April 10th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
I wouldnt mess with pulldowns…
Id go for the chins and barbell rows…
everything else is only substituting the truth of the human body..
think of Apes when your training your back.
on July 5th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Nice one Byron. You got me inspired.
on July 18th, 2007 at 9:27 am
I work out at home, by myself, and I decided long ago I wouldn’t tempt myself with barbells b/c of the potential hazards and past injuries not related to weight-training. That meant sacrificing some pretty crucial exercises and muscle groups, or least the variety I think contributes to continued development.
I want to change that w/out necessarily making any additional dollar investment or crowding my gym space, and I would like to know if the barbell row can be equally beneficial if I use either an E-Z curl bar or Triceps bar.
In closing, I found this website today, and I’m really impressed. I’ll be back, I’m sure.
on July 23rd, 2007 at 9:22 pm
The barbell row is the king; dumbbell rows are hard, tiring and cetainly not for the faint of heart, but they are second in my book. My test has always been, ask yourself “which exercise would I rather do?” Then, getting your answer, do the other one, which usually is the harder exercise, but also the more rewarding. Same rule applies here. DD has it down cold — parallel, parallel. The ego suffers as the weight has to drop, but parallel BB rows are the “real” exercise; the Dorian Yates 70′ row with 405 lbs. is good for Olympia-level athletes, but I’ll stick w/ the DD/ Sergio/ Franco parallel style - because it works. I dropped from 315 rows (at 70′) to 175 (at parallel) - and, hey, who knew - I’ve grown lats! The heavy 70′ stuff gave thickness, but that was due to 10+ years of lifting that way — in ONE year of DD training, I’ve seen noticeable increases in width, overall thickness and shape — strength is slower to come, but that is b/c I’m trying to stay parallel. For ANONYMOUS, a nice trick is after your BB rows, go to a burn set (or 2) of simultaneous DB rows, to really get that pull up into the mid-back.
on September 16th, 2007 at 9:17 am
I have always done bent over rows.I never had acess to a pulldown or chin station.I do barbell pullovers for balance.I think my back is wide and thick and one of my best bodyparts.I also do both types of deadlifts(stiff legged and regular).
on November 28th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
bent over rows have always been my staple for back. at 57 years old I still rely on them to keep my back strong. gone are the days of heavy,now I concentrate on feel and form. 200lbs tops for 12 reps 4 sets. I still use pulldowns for the pump and dumbells for upper middle back. but it starts with bent over rows. I feel them 3 days after a workout, and yes, you do get a good lat spread from them.
on June 1st, 2008 at 4:09 pm
I have done a lot of bent barbell row sets and reps in my life,but since i discovered one arn dumbell rows,and mastered the movement , position of my body and hands variation,i would never trade it back for barbell rows,to me,it’s the best mass lastisimus dorsi exerxise i ever did:after my dips for chest,come one arm dumbell rows 1×15 120–1×10 140–1×10 —160 1×8 200 lbs. dumbell rows forever.—it’s time to fly —bigvicthecuban.
on October 26th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
That was a wonderful read.
I personally prefer barbell rows more than chinns, for many reasons like the feel of power, the contraction and ability to establish the mind muscle connection for the entire back rather than the lats alone. And your article clearly explains the importance of rows.
row row and row for a awesome back
cheers
on January 23rd, 2009 at 2:38 pm
At 45, I’ve lifted religously for 30 years. The barbell row rules, but I always do dumbell rows seated rows, pullups, australian pullups, standing pulldowns, low cable rope rows. This isn’t overdoiing it, this is attacking the back with a vengeance, go for it
on April 12th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Barbell rows are trully the fourth power lift. While I do all the other seated rows and pull downs with a different grip everytime and the dumbells. These excercises are suplimentry to the Barbell row which i do heavy (circa maxa) and dynamic, light weight with bands working for speed. (carefull now, watch form and make dubely sure the hammies are good & warm and streached when attempting speed work) Three year ago i went into the gym at 46 could hardly do a 135lB bench….at 49 my bench is closing in on the 300 lb club and am competing in my first powerlifting comp this weekend. The key to a big bench is a huge back. When I work the barbell row hard my bench goes up. I love the Barbell row. I dream of it, and look forward to the back day with the barbell. I only use the excercise twice a month. It is like Heavey squat, and deadlifts so i give myself lots of time to recover and will substitue it for a squat/deadlifts day.
Go back for big bench!
on July 29th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
I like the way you’ve broken it down but I think deadlift is a much better exercise. Builds much more mass and size. I think barbell rows are a good alternative, maybe swap it for deadlifts every other week but I prefer deadlifts as no#1. :-)
Just my 2 cents-
Bill