Just like squats for legs and the bench press for chest, the back has its own ‘go-to’ exercise with the rowing movement. But the biggest difference here is that you can choose between a shitload of exercises and even group a few of them together in one lat day.
But not all rows are created equal, however. And this actually makes them better when you include more than one in your repertoire. Each and every one of these exercises will add width and thickness to your back but because they are performed differently, you’ll feel them hitting your lats from a few angles. The main difference is the grip and switching around from close to wide is a good strategy to cover all the bases.
WIDE/MEDIUM GRIP
BENT OVER BARBELL ROWS
This is the granddaddy of them all. If you want a back that will be impressive, do not skip this exercise. Grab that bar at shoulder width and bring it up to the bottom of your sternum. Be careful not to bounce if off yourself and hit each rep from a dead stop at the bottom. This will keep you from cheating by using momentum.
What makes these unique is that you can do them at either a 90 or 45-degree angle, depending on what you feel more comfortable doing.
SEATED PULL DOWN ROWS
A quick explanation first: The lat pull down cable station is normally used for just that – lat pull downs. And if you are intending on doing that exercise, then leaning back and rowing would change it entirely. Exactly. What the fuck are we talking about?
You can do two different exercises on this and the position and angle of your back spells out which one you’re performing. By leaning back all the way, this becomes a row and not a pull down. There are a bunch of different bars/handles that you can use here that give you the option of wide, medium and close grip. But the wider the grip, the wider the area worked.
CLOSE GRIP
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SEATED ROWS
Much like seated pull downs, you can switch between longer bars to perform this movement with a wider grip. But the small double handle is the most common one used here and for a good reason. You will get a great stretch and really hit the middle of your back hard with it.
There are two important factors to remember with these and both are vital in doing them properly. Keep your back straight on the first half of the rep and then just roll your shoulders forward and slightly towards the stack on the second half of the rep. Moving your lower back in both directions nullifies the entire object of what you’re trying to do.
T-BAR ROWS
One of the better exercises for your back, T-bar rows are done at a 45-degree angle and allow you to really put up some heavy weight. Here’s a tip for you guys that like to load up the poundage: Use 25-pound plates instead of 45s since they are smaller in circumference and allow for a much wider range of motion.