Dumbbell Seal Row
Also known as: DB seal row, Seal row with dumbbells, Prone dumbbell row on a bench
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Description
Lie face down on a raised flat bench and row two dumbbells up beside your ribs to build your lats and upper back without loading your lower back. The lats do most of the pulling, with help from the teres major under each armpit, the lower and middle traps between and below your shoulder blades and the small rotator cuff muscles on them; rear delts and arms assist. Your feet are off the floor, so there's nothing to push or swing with. Unlike the incline dumbbell row, your whole body lies flat; unlike the barbell Seal Row, you get a neutral grip and a full squeeze at the top.
How to Perform
- Raise a flat bench on solid blocks or plates until your arms can hang straight with the dumbbells off the floor. It must not wobble.
- Set the dumbbells on the floor under the head end of the bench, one per side, before you lie down.
- Lie face down with your upper chest at the front edge and your chin just over it, legs straight and feet together.
- Take the dumbbells with a neutral grip, palms facing the bench, arms hanging straight under your shoulders and shoulder blades spread.
- Pull your shoulder blades toward your spine first, then drive both elbows up and back toward your hips, upper arms 20–30° from your sides.
- Stop with the dumbbells level with the pad beside your lower ribs, elbows above your back. Hold one second, chest and chin down.
- Take about 2 seconds to lower to a full hang and let your shoulder blades slide apart before the next pull.
- Set the dumbbells on the floor first when the set is done, then slide off the bench.
What Muscles Work
Primary Muscle:
Secondary Muscles:
Tips
- Three or four sets of 8–12 reps are the default; go down to 6–8 for heavier work or up to 15 for lighter pump sets. Keep the same pair until you get 12 on all sets with the one-second hold and your chest on the pad. Then take the next pair, usually 1–2 kg heavier per hand, and build back up from 8.
- The sides of your back do the pulling, under your armpits and between and below your shoulder blades. Arms and grip work too but shouldn't quit first. Lower back joining in? Your chest is coming off the pad.
- When the dumbbells feel light but the next pair is too big a jump, hold 2–3 seconds at the top and take 3 seconds on the way down.
- Substitutes: Dumbbell Neutral Grip Incline Bench Row if you can't raise a bench, Seal Row for a heavier barbell version, Double Dumbbell Bent Over Row with no bench at all, or Chest Supported Machine Row.
Common Mistakes
- Bench too low, so the dumbbells tap the floor or your arms never straighten. Raise it on stable blocks or plates until you hang with straight arms and the dumbbells clear.
- Peeling your chest and head off the pad and arching to heave the dumbbells up. Keep your breastbone and chin down; if a rep won't finish without lifting, take lighter dumbbells or end the set.
- Elbows flaring wide and the dumbbells drifting toward your chest. Keep your upper arms about 20–30° from your sides and pull toward your hips; the elbows-out version is the Incline Bench Dumbbell Wide Row.
- Curling instead of rowing: wrists bend and the hands come up while the elbows stay low. Let your forearms hang vertical, treat your hands as hooks, and use straps if your grip goes before your back.
Recommended Exercises
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