How to Perform Barbell Rows and Dumbbell Rows

The barbell row (or bent-over barbell row) is a highly effective mass builder for the back, especially for adding thickness and girth.  They will also beef up your biceps and improve your grip strength using heavy weights.  Imagine working up to a max set of 5 reps with 300 lbs.  You'll build popeye forearms and tremendous grip strength in the process.  Perfect for bodybuilding purposes.  There's also no better exercise for building your pulling muscles (back, biceps) than the barbell row or any of its variations.

The bottom line is that if you can row the equivalent of your body weight (using dumbbells or barbell/weight plates)  plus 50% of extra poundage, you can bet you’ll have big arms and a strong, thick, wide back.  If you currently weigh 180 lbs, then work up to rowing 270 lbs (180 + 50% additional or 90 lbs = 270 lbs) for sets of 8-12 reps.  This will take time.  Probably years.  It will not be easy.  Consistent and devoted practice to any rowing variation will give you excellent gains for all the "pulling" muscles of the body.

The execution of the barbell row is simple but does require some practice if you’re new to the movement.  It also requires some degree of flexibility to avoid excessive swinging and excessive momentum on the eccentric and contraction phase.

If you’re new to the exercise, start light with just the bar to get the mechanics and proper technique/form down first.  Lower back strain and joint-related injuries are common when starting with heavy weights. Use a 6-8 or 10-12 repetition range for maximum results when building muscular size and strength.

Here's a video demo of  the barbell row in action with excellent and strict form.  Noticed the strict form and straight back throughout the lift.  Cheating or swinging the bar up only takes away the stress from the back.

Performing the Bent-Over Barbell Row:

1) Load the barbell with weights and stand in front of the bar.  I recommend using just an empty bar first (either a standard 20 lbs bar or 45 lbs olympic barbell will do) to practice to get the strict form down.

2) Bend forward at the hip and waist until the back is parallel or near parallel to the floor (75-90 degrees angle depending on the strength and flexibility of your lower back).  Bend your knees slightly for leverage.  Maintain a flat back and slight arch in the lower back.   Keep the back tight.  Do not round the back or shoulders.  Retract the shoulders by pulling it back.

3) Grasp the bar using an overhand grip 2-4 inches wider than shoulder-width apart.  Make sure you wrap your thumbs around the bar.  Later when you have the form down, you may experiment with using a thumbless overhand or underhand grip.  This is the starting position.

4) With the bar held and arms fully extended and locked, slowly pull the bar upward to the lower part of the rib cage or upper abdominal area.  Let the bar come up and touch/brush the area.  As you pull, avoid using excessive momentum or swinging your back too much, especially when you’re using very heavy weights or weights exceeding your body weight.  Don't just heave the weight up by thrusting the hips forward.   It's easy to cheat but when you do, you're not actually targeting the back/lat muscles.  Look straight ahead focusing at a point.  Do not lower your head or flex your neck down.

5) Lower the bar slowly to starting position until arms are locked again.  The bar should be either on the floor or near the floor.  Your body should remain tight throughout the entire movement.  This is one repetition.

6) Repeat until the desired number of reps are  completed.

Variations of the bent-over barbell row:

• barbell bent-over rows in loose form

The barbell row can also be done with loose form as shown in the video below.  However, this is an advanced version of the movement for those wanting to train explosively and for building pure strength/explosive upper body strength.  First get your strict form down first, then experiment with this loose form.

• dumbbell one-arm rows and dumbbell rows

The barbell row can also be done using dumbbells with one arm at a time. You can also use both arms at the same time with dumbbells.  Use the same form as described above in the 6 steps.

Here's another video of dumbbell rows using both hands and a reverse grip/supinated grip/underhand grip (palms facing towards you) without using a bench support for the knees

• barbell rows and dumbbell rows with an underhand grip/reverse grip rows

Like the video directly above, you can do the barbell or dumbbell row with an underhand grip using the same form as the regular bent over row.  A thumbless grip can be used.  The reverse grip will generally place more emphasis on the biceps.  This is also an excellent variation to switch if you stall using the regular barbell or dumbbell row.

• t-bar rows

T-bar rows are done with the body bent at a more upright 45-60 degrees angle rather than a 90 degrees angle.  The "t-bar" used is clamped/secured onto the floor to prevent one end of the bar from moving.

• dumbbell bench rows

Dumbbell bench rows are done with your torso (chest and stomach) supported on a 45 degrees incline bench.  Keep your head down with the eyes facing the floor and hold to dumbbells in your hands. You can have a training partner hand you the dumbbells if you're working with heavy poundages.   Check out the video below for the proper form.

Any type of rowing movement or exercise using heavy resistance builds back strength and size.  Try any of the variations of the barbell row and reap the benefits today.

Train Hard.  Train Safely.  Train Smart.

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Tagged as: barbell rows, bent-over barbell rows, biceps, dumbbell bench rows, dumbbell rows, one-arm dumbbell rows, reverse barbell row, underhand grip