Cable Seated Row Neutral Grip

Description

Sit tall at a cable row station and pull a shoulder-width, palms-in row bar to your lower ribs with a still torso to build your mid-back and rear delts. The work lands between and on your shoulder blades: middle and lower traps, rear delts and two small muscles on the blade, the infraspinatus and teres minor, while your upper traps, lats and forearms chip in. The handles sit wider than the close V-handle of the Seated Cable Low Row Neutral Grip, so your elbows travel slightly out and the lats do less. Palms facing in is easy on wrists and elbows, and the seat spares your lower back.

How to Perform

1. Clip the neutral-grip row bar to the cable: the curved bar with an upright handle at each end, about shoulder-width apart.
2. Sit facing the stack with your feet on the foot plate and your knees softly bent, roughly 15–30°.
3. Take the handles palms-in and slide back on the seat until your arms are straight and your plates hang clear of the stack.
4. Sit tall: torso vertical, chest up, ribs down. The handles start at about lower-chest height and the cable runs close to level.
5. Draw your shoulder blades back first, then drive your elbows behind your torso with your upper arms about 20–40° out from your sides.
6. Stop the handles at your lower ribs, just above your stomach, and hold for a second with your shoulder blades squeezed together and slightly down.
7. Take 2–3 seconds to let the handles forward until your arms are straight and your shoulder blades spread. The plates never touch down between reps.
8. When the set is done, bend your knees and bring the bar back to the foot plate with a flat back, then let go.