Chest Supported Row

Does your lower back feel tight or hurt when you are doing bent over rows? Are you looking to build a more juicy and strong looking V shape? Feel like you need a new back exercise for your next program? Well if you said yes to any or all of these the chest supported row is worthy of a place in your workout routine.

What Does It Do

The chest supported row works your upper back muscles including the lats, traps, rhomboids, and biceps. It is perfect for building muscle and increasing your strength.

The biggest benefit I find in using the chest supported row is that when you lay on the incline bench you are adding stability to the spine. This hosts a plethora of benefits.

• It decreases the use of your lower back

• Reduces the likelihood of using too much momentum

• Ensures that you maintain correct posture

• This all leads to not going too heavy and over compensating

Key Coaching Cues

1. You’ll need an incline bench set at 45 degrees and 2 dumbbells underneath the head end of the bench

2. Lay chest down on the bench with your head over the end of where your head normally goes and grab the dumbbells underneath in a neutral position

3. Lift your chest off the bench just a few inches keeping your head and neck neutral

4. Now squeeze your shoulder blades together as you pull the weights up towards your ribcage

5. Pause at the top ensuring a good contraction of the upper back and reverse the movement to the beginning.

Where To Implement It

As a strength exercise you can program this in many different ways. However it would be most fitting when you are looking to train your back and give your low back a rest. Being that it is a more stable exercise I often use it toward thend of a workout. When your body gets tired the extra support from the bench takes a lot of unneeded tension off the spine and CNS allowing you to target the specific muscles with less risk of injury.