Chest Supported T-Bar Row
Also known as: T-Bar Chest Supported Row, T-Bar Row Machine, Lying T-Bar Row
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Description
Lie chest-down on the incline pad of a T-bar machine and pull the wide handles to your lower chest, elbows flared, to build your upper back and rear delts. The middle and lower traps between and below your shoulder blades do the most work, along with your rear delts and the small muscles over each shoulder blade: infraspinatus and teres major and minor. Your lats help only a little. You stand on a footplate with your torso on the pad, so nothing can swing and your lower back gets a break. Pick it over the bent-over T-bar row when your lower back is the weak link.
How to Perform
- Load plates onto the horn at the front of the lever while it sits on its stop, evenly if both sides take plates.
- If the footplate adjusts, set it so the top edge of the pad meets your lower chest and your shoulders clear the front of the pad.
- Step onto the angled footplate with your knees well bent and lie onto the pad, chest and upper stomach supported. Eyes on the floor.
- Grip the horizontal handles overhand, thumbs wrapped, hands wider than your shoulders, and lift the lever off its stop with straight arms.
- Start each rep from that full reach, shoulder blades spread: pull them back first, then drive your elbows up and out, roughly 60–80° from your sides.
- Stop when your hands reach the front edge of the pad at lower-chest height and your elbows are level with your back. Squeeze and hold a second.
- Lower over 2–3 seconds until your arms hang straight, and start the next rep just before the plates touch the stop.
- When you're done, set the lever down on its stop before you let go or step off the footplate.
What Muscles Work
Primary Muscle:
Secondary Muscles:
Tips
- Plan on 3–4 sets of 8–15 reps.
- The upper back and rear delts usually do well with 10–15, while 6–8 is enough for strength work. Add reps at the same load until you get 15 on all sets with straight arms at the bottom and a one-second squeeze at the top. Then add the smallest plate the horn takes, usually 2.5 kg, and go back to 8. The lever changes how heavy a plate feels, so compare numbers only on the same machine.
- It should burn across the middle of your upper back and on the backs of your shoulders. A burning neck means you're shrugging, a tired lower back means your chest is lifting off the pad, and a pump under the armpits means your elbows have dropped to your sides.
- If your shoulder blades barely move, warm up with a couple of light sets where your arms stay straight and only the shoulder blades pull back and return. When the top of your range comes easily, add a 2-second hold and a 3-second lowering before you add plates. A pinch at the front of the shoulder? Bring your elbows in to about 45°.
- Substitutes: Wide Grip Chest Supported Row (the same wide pull, seated), Chest Supported Machine Row (neutral handles and more lats), and Incline Bench Dumbbell Wide Row or Barbell Incline Wide Grip Row when there's no T-bar machine.
Common Mistakes
- Peeling your chest off the pad and pushing through your legs to heave the lever up. Your breastbone stays on the pad and your legs stay still; if that's impossible, the load is too heavy.
- Tucking your elbows and rowing to your stomach. With handles this wide, that's a cramped lat row. Keep your upper arms 60–80° out and finish at the pad edge, or use the Chest Supported Machine Row when you want the tucked version.
- Half reps: the arms never straighten at the bottom, or the shoulder blades never meet at the top. Let the lever go all the way down, hold the squeeze for a second, and drop a plate if you can't do both.
- Lifting your head to look ahead as you pull. Keep your chin tucked and your eyes on the floor in front of the machine.
Recommended Exercises
Explore exercises related to Chest Supported T-Bar Row for back training and similar movement patterns.
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