Incline Chest Supported Barbell Row
Also known as: Chest Supported Barbell Row, Incline Bench Barbell Row, Incline Barbell Row
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Description
Lie chest-down on a 45-degree incline bench and row a barbell from straight arms up to the pad, training your upper back while your lower back rests. The middle and lower traps between your shoulder blades, the rear delts and the small muscles over the shoulder blades (infraspinatus and teres minor) do most of the pulling, and the lats chip in along the sides. The pad holds your torso, so there's no hinge to hold and nothing to swing. Use it after heavy squats or deadlifts, or when your lower back limits your bent-over rows.
How to Perform
- Set an adjustable bench to about 45 degrees (30–45 works) and lay a loaded barbell on the floor under the top of the backrest.
- Straddle the seat and lean onto the backrest, chest and stomach on the pad, its top edge at your upper chest, chin just above it.
- Plant both feet with your knees bent, one foot a little further back. Your hips sit at the bottom of the backrest, not on the seat.
- Take an overhand grip about shoulder-width, hands just outside the pad, and lift the bar a couple of inches so it hangs from straight arms.
- Draw your shoulder blades back first, then drive your elbows back and up, about 30–45 degrees from your sides.
- Pull the bar almost straight up until it touches the underside of the pad at your lower chest or upper stomach, and hold for a second.
- Lower it over 1–2 seconds to straight arms and let your shoulder blades spread. The plates stay off the floor between reps.
- Set the bar down on the floor at the end of the set before you climb off the bench.
What Muscles Work
Primary Muscle:
Secondary Muscles:
Tips
- Row 3–4 sets of 8–15 reps for muscle, or 6–8 reps for strength. Pick a range such as 8–12 and add reps at the same weight until you get 12 on all sets with your chest on the pad and a one-second hold. Then add 2.5 kg in total (1.25 kg per side) and go back to 8.
- The work sits between and under your shoulder blades, at the backs of your shoulders and along the sides of your back, while your lower back stays quiet. A burning neck means you're shrugging. If your chest grinds into the pad and your legs start pushing, the weight is too heavy.
- Ready for more? Pause 2 seconds with the bar against the pad, or move to the Seal Row, lying flat on a high bench where your legs can't help. Struggling with the setup? Use an empty bar or an EZ bar until the groove feels natural.
- A light adjustable bench can slide or tip forward when you lean onto a steep backrest. Check that it stands firm before every set.
- Substitutes: Incline Bench Dumbbell Wide Row (same bench, dumbbells), Chest Supported Machine Row (fixed path, nothing to pick up off the floor) and Barbell Bent Over Row (no bench, your lower back holds the hinge).
Common Mistakes
- Peeling your chest off the pad and heaving the bar up with your torso. Keep your breastbone on the pad until the last rep; if you can't, take weight off.
- Half reps: the arms never straighten at the bottom, or the bar stops well short of the pad. Start every rep from a full hang and pull until the bar meets the pad.
- Cranking your head up to look forward. Tuck your chin slightly and look at the floor just ahead of the bench.
- Plates tapping or bouncing off the floor at the bottom. Raise the backrest a notch, set the bench on plates or blocks, or switch to smaller plates.
Recommended Exercises
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