Bent Over Barbell Row - Video Tutorial

image credit@ KarlOnSeaThe primary muscles worked with bent over barbell rows are the lats (latissimus dorsi).

However, the traps (trapezius) also get a great workout here. The shoulders, forearms and lower back also benefit from barbell rows.

There are many variations on the barbell row, but the one I illustrate here beats them all for real lat and trap stimulation.

Please note that you NEED to get the form on these right to avoid injury.

Check out the video, then see below for instructions…

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(1) Getting Into Position

  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, no wider
  2. bend over and take a firm, overhand grip of the barbell
  3. Your hand position on each side should be about 5 inches wider than shoulder-width apart. The total distance between each hand will be around 28 - 30 inches
  4. Now bend at the knees and straighten your back
  5. Your spine needs to remain straight throughout the whole movement. Do NOT round the lower back
  6. Your torso should not be parallel to the floor but a few degrees higher than parallel (see video)
  7. Your head position is wherever it feels most comfortable for you

(2) Concentric Part of the Repetition

  1. Take a deep breath in
  2. On exhaling, lift the barbell up with a controlled movement
  3. Make sure that you lift the bar right up so that it touches the bottom of your chest (pecs)
  4. It should take 1-2 seconds to get to the top of the movement

(3) Eccentric Part of the Repetition

  1. Start to lower the weight with a slow, smooth motion.
  2. It should take 2 seconds to lower the weight back to the starting position
  3. The weight should not rest on the floor between reps. Straighten your arms out fully, holding the weight above the ground. Do not rest before starting your next rep.

You should reach failure between 8 and 12 reps.

If you can do more than 12 reps, make a note to increase the weight on this set for your next back workout.

Stay Motivated!

Mark McManus

image credit@ KarlOnSea

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Posted: May, 26 2008
Under: Build Muscle
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  1. Kyle

    May 26, 2008

    You also get a good bicep workout with these

  2. Mark McManus

    Yes, biceps are hit indirectly but don’t rely on movements like this for your bicep work. They’ll need direct stress if you really want them to grow.
    Mark

  3. owen

    Thanks again for the video, Mark. After watching, I can certainly improve my form on barbell rows. Look forward to more

  4. Mark McManus

    That’s great Owen. Keep a full range of motion and you’re sure to feel this working the lats and traps.
    Mark

  5. sunny

    I know your advice is to keep workouts under 45 minutes, and today I tried the shoulder workout you have provided - it took only 20-25 minutes. I was sure to keep proper form as best as I could, but I just want to make sure, is such a brief workout correct? I feel like it was to short, perhaps I glazed over something? Thanks.

    Also, do you suggest that we do shrugs to help build traps, or do rows already do that?

  6. sunny

    I have another question about back workouts as well, you also dont mention the deadlift anywhere, is that something we should try, or are those lower back muscles engaged enough with the rows and pulldowns from the back workouts?

  7. Uplift

    More great instruction vids Mark. I’m with you, bent rows should be a staple, as they hit lats and centre back and traps differently than chin/pulldown actions, and really balance shoulders (rear delt and rotator cuff). Too many people only do the chin/pulldown action, which is also really important, but which can cause imbalance if its done exclusively.

    To Sunny, because I come from an athletic performance angle, not a pure bodybuilding angle, I really like exercises like deadlifts, (and hyperextensions) to bullet proof the lower back/ core, and to develop athletic power. As they really hit all the largest muscle groups in unison, along with every muscle and structure in the body, deadlifts have a major effect on hormones and metabolism, and can be good for genuine, really, really skinny people (true hardgainers) too. Anyone interested in deadlifting might want to look at this. I love them.

    http://www.davedraper.com/insider-tell-all-technique.html

    http://www.atlasfitness.com.au/atlas/productlist.asp?cat=1&subcat=2&range=1

    http://www.atlasfitness.com.au/atlas/animate.asp?prodid=132

    The hex bars are safer than, but just as effective as straight bar deadlifts, in fact, in some ways better, and great for beginners too. Awesome for shrug workouts. The Atlas one is a really good one, about the only one in Australia that is designed well and suits all sizes (huge guys too), plus takes olympic or standard plates. Sometimes they have them cheap on Ebay.

    I rant on about it, but like Mark points out and demonstrates, form is really important for all the exercises, and I really believe in total core strength and control, for longevity and protection, as well as athletic performance. When its all ingrained habit, it also means that you can really focus on working the muscles you want to target, without fear of injury. Especially if doing exercises like rows, deadlifts and squats.

  8. dave

    mark, is there a variation on this where one could use independent bar bells - like the same ones used for free arm curls - or would ‘holding them out’ to the side screw it all up?

  9. dave

    btw, your time stamp is messed up! also, could you revert to a white background? the black on gray is hard to read…

  10. Mark McManus

    Dave, do you mean dumbbells?
    You’re the second person that has told me about the background. I see white but the site was hacked a week or so ago and I guess that’s something they changed. Can others please let me know what background color they see?
    What’s wrong with the time stamp?
    Mark

  11. dave

    mark - yes, dumbells - i’ve got 25s, 35s and 50s for all sorts of stuff i do, rarely use a bar anymore at all (almost never, after some elbow damage, the bells give me more control)

    as for the time stamp, it’s basically off by a few hours, looks like it’s on europe time or something (hours ahead)

    as for the background, if you’re using something like wordpress or moveable type you could simply look at other themes…or if you know any designers you could ask ‘em to look at the files to see what’s causing it (or you could post on craigslist and probably find somebody for about 15 minutes of paid work to figure out what it is ;)

  12. Chris

    Nice video, thanks. Definitely need to focus on my posture for this exercise.
    The background is white on my screen. The only grey is on the right side of the screen where the RSS Feed, body fat caclulator, etc. are.

  13. Mark McManus

    Dave,
    Well I’m in Ireland so that explains the timestamp ;)
    If you can’t use a barbell the dumbbells are fine. Do ‘One Arm Dumbbell Rows’ taking no break between arms.
    Is the background grey or white now?
    Mark

  14. dave

    ah, ireland, that explains it…my grandfather is from portaferry!

    as for the background, still gray - but i see that you’re using wordpress, so you could also check out some of the other themes that are around (most are amazing and free)

  15. Mark McManus

    Your Grandad is very close to me then ;)
    I think you’ll be seeing white now. I had this theme designed so I want to stick with it, at least for the foreseeable future.
    Mark

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