The body row is a great upper body exercise and helpful for those who want to get into full body weight pull-ups.

Primary Muscles Used: Biceps

Secondary Muscle(s) Used: Triceps and Back

How To Do Body Rows

Grip the rings that are at around waist height with your feet on the ground.

Squeeze the shoulder blades together and pull your chest up to the rings.

Some helpful hints and reminders…

• Keep a straight line with your body.
• The closer your body is to being horizontal the more difficult the exercise becomes.
• Beginners can bend the knees and use more of their heels to help push up to the top of the exercise.

The body row is a pull-up exercise great for beginners. The body row is one of the final stage exercises before you try a full bodyweight pull-up.

It’s kind of like the pull-up since you use the same muscles. It’s easier to do because you are not lifting all of your body weight and you have some help with your feet on the ground.

As you gain strength with the body row, lower the bar or rings until you are able to do full bodyweight pull-ups without any help.

Barbell Rows work your upper back, lower back, hips and arms. They build a muscular back and bigger, stronger biceps. Barbell Rows are one of the best exercises you can do to increase your form and strength for squats, bench press and deadlift. Make sure to keep your lower back neutral in order to avoid back pain.

Do not hold the bar in the air between reps or your back will get tired quickly, so rest the bar on the floor between reps. Set your lower back neutral every time before you Barbell Row the next rep. Barbell Rows are easy to cheat and have a bad form. You can lift heavier weights by using your hips, but your upper-back should be doing most of the work; which is why it’s good to keep your back neutral. A good thing to remember is if your torso rises too far, the weight is too heavy. Make sure you are not using your hips and you are lowering to work mostly your upper-back. Barbell Rows are not deadlifts.

You pull from the floor so make sure to set your lower back to neutral. Proper form on Barbell Rows is similar to deadlifts, in that each rep starts and ends on the floor. Here’s how to Barbell Row with a bar in proper form in 5 steps…

1. Walk up to the bar with it starting on the ground. Stand with your feet under the bar. Make sure not to touch it with your shins. Go into a medium stance with your toes pointing out.
2. Grab the bar using a medium grip width. You want to be narrower than doing a Bench Press and wider than doing Deadlifts. Hold the bar low in your hands.
3. With your knees unlocked, keep your hips higher than when doing the Deadlift. Bend your knees but keep them back so the bar won’t hit them.
4. Lift your chest up. Straighten your back keeping it neutral. Do not move the bar and don’t drop your hips. You don’t want to squeeze your shoulder-blades together.
5. Take a big breath, hold it in and pull the bar against your lower chest. Lead with your elbows and pull them to the ceiling.

-Terry Asher