The Correct Technique for the Low Cable Row

The middle part of the back and the lats (latissimus dorsi) make up a large amount of the body’s muscle mass, and training those muscles efficiently should be a central point of a good training programme; and in order to maintain good shoulder health and posture, in combination with the development of a musculature that contributes significantly to total body mass, training the back properly is the key; unfortunately, very few athletes pay attention to the back or train it so inefficiently that the training becomes very ineffective.

In this article we will look at some common variants of the cable row, but most of the comments could equally be applied to the barbell or dumbbell row, or even to various rowing machines; what matters is the mechanics of the different movements.

Muscles worked

The cable row can reach a number of different muscles, depending on the specific variant performed; the lats, the middle of the back (rhomboids, trapezius), biceps, rear deltoids and spinal erectors; all of them can be reached in one way or another, depending on the type of row performed.

Even the long head of the triceps (which is involved in shoulder extension) gets some work from certain types of row; basically it is one of the main compound movements; rows can work a large group of muscles in a small amount of time.

The basic technique

Starting with the basic position of the row with a parallel grip (semi-pronated); in the starting image you can see that the torso is only slightly leaned forward with the knees bent and the back kept straight; we would add that some variations of the row include flexion (bending the upper or lower part of the spine), so that, with the extension, more dynamic work is placed on the spinal erectors.

But here we concentrate specifically on the muscles of the middle of the back and on the lats; in the final position, you should notice that the elbows are slightly in front of the body, the shoulders are pulled back and the chest is lifted (with a slight arch in the upper back); the key is to get a good contraction in the back, and you will also notice that, because of the position of the elbows, the handle reaches the body at approximately the middle of the torso, with the forearms perpendicular to the line of pull.

In the next series of images, we contrast the proper final position, in the figure on the left, with what is normally seen in gyms, in the figure on the right; which shows what normally happens when too much weight is used and/or the athlete’s chest and shoulders are too involved in the execution of the proper mechanics.

In the incorrect position the chest is dropped, the shoulders do not pull back and, frankly, the back is not being used very efficiently; practitioners who use this kind of form are usually the ones who complain about the exercise, sitting there and getting fatigue in the arms; this happens because the muscles of the back are not being used properly, and they are also the ones who prioritise having a lot of weight on the machine over performing the exercise correctly.

Another common mistake, again made by those who use a lot of weight, is turning the movement into an extension of the back (as in hyperextensions) and leaning too far back, which is an extremely incorrect position.

Sometimes the cable row is used to do back extensions (and to train the hamstrings), normally by placing the arms in a straight position and performing a kind of movement similar to the straight-leg deadlift; for the purpose of training the back, the image at the bottom right is an incorrect final position.

Looking from behind, we now want to show how the proper final position looks from the back versus a rounded shoulder position (as can be seen in the two series of images below); on the left you can clearly see that the athlete’s shoulders are positioned back and the shoulder blades are close together, while on the right you can see that the shoulders were not pushed fully back and the muscles of the middle of the back are not being trained efficiently at the end of each repetition.

The next common mistake is related to a subtle positioning of the shoulders; in the middle image, the athlete pulls her shoulders down and back, with the shoulders kept lowered at the end of the movement; in the third image on the right, the shoulders are rising towards the ears and, if you look carefully, you can see the tension in the upper trapezius.

• This tends to happen when the muscles that lift the shoulders (upper trapezius, levator scapulae) are shortened and the muscles that keep them down (mainly the lats) are weak.
• Stretching the trapezius/levators between sets and actively trying to place the shoulders lower and further back not only helps correct this fault; it also helps rebalance the muscles that hold the scapula in place.

Variations of the exercise

Having examined the basic form of the cable row, we will now talk about how the different grips/positions affect the musculature of the back; the main muscles we are going to focus on are those of the middle of the back (teres and rhomboids) together with the lats and biceps, since these tend to be the muscles most dramatically affected by changes in grip type and width.

• The trapezius (which is a complex muscle group with 4 different segments that pull in different directions) can also be targeted directly, depending on the variant performed.
• Performed correctly, the cable row should reach the middle of the back, assuming the shoulder blades are brought together properly at the end of the movement, and the biggest differences tend to be in the contribution of the lats and biceps.
• In some people (with strong lats and a weak middle back) the lat-dominant row can override the middle back, with the lats doing almost all the work; in this case, a variant that takes the lats out of the movement should be selected as a better option

With the neutral/parallel grip (which was the type of grip used in the basic technique demonstration), the biceps do not have a good line of pull, although the brachialis muscle can be used intensely (as in the hammer curl) because the elbows are below the line of the body; the lats (which contribute to shoulder extension) will contribute significantly to the movement together with the middle of the back.

The supinated grip option:

A similar line of pull is the narrow supinated grip.

• The hands will be positioned at shoulder width, and the forearms end up perpendicular to the bar (avoiding stress on the wrists).
• The bar also reaches the lower part of the trunk compared with the neutral grip, more or less at navel level.

With the supinated grip, the biceps can have a greater participation in the movement compared with the neutral or pronated grip variants; as can the middle of the back and lats, which are also intensely engaged; frankly, if you were to choose a single movement to work the greatest number of muscles, it would be this one, because you can work the biceps, lats and middle of the back with just one movement.

• This row variant also tends to be the safest movement for the shoulders, since it tends to be easier to keep the shoulders down and it requires the smallest level of control of the scapular rotators to avoid problems.
• The key is to concentrate on keeping the shoulders low and back as you row.

The pronated grip option:

At the other extreme is the pronated wide grip, pulled basically in line with the chest.

• With this grip and pulling position, the lats have a poor line of pull and do not contribute as much as with the neutral or supinated grip; most of the stress is placed on the middle of the back (the rear deltoids are also worked very intensely).
• But this is a good movement for anyone who really wants to work the middle of the back without recruiting the lats much, although it tends to require more control of the shoulders/rotators in order to keep the movement safe; it is crucial to place the shoulders down in order to avoid possible problems in the shoulder joint, and if the shoulders rise as shown in the basic technique section, you could have shoulder problems in the future.

The neutral grip:

The medium neutral grip can be performed with a pronated or neutral grip (as we can see in the image below), pulling to slightly below the line of the chest; in this image we use a slightly longer bar than the one normally used and the forearms are pointing outwards instead of being parallel

And of course, there are other variants that can be performed; using just a crossover grip, or doing movements that can be performed with only one hand at a time; keeping the elbows down and pulling at a low height to concentrate on the lats, or keeping the elbows raised and pulling at a higher height to concentrate on the middle of the back.

And beyond this, all the concepts work equally well for the other forms of row, such as the barbell row (which can be performed with a supinated grip to the navel or with a pronated grip pulling the bar to the top of the stomach or to the chest), as well as the dumbbell row.

• A one-arm dumbbell row can be performed with the elbows close to the body (as in the neutral-grip row) to place greater emphasis on the lats, or with the elbows away from the body (as in the wide-grip row) for greater emphasis on the middle of the back; the same can be done with inverted bodyweight rows (performed with a fixed bar).
• A supinated grip when pulling to the stomach is similar to the supinated grip described above but reaches the lats more.
• The wide grip with the elbows away from the body reaches the middle of the back more.
• There are also various rowing machines, and they normally offer at least two grip options; they generally provide a downward-pointing grip (which keeps the elbows down, to place emphasis on the lats) and a horizontal grip (to keep the elbows raised for greater emphasis on the middle of the back); and other machines offer even more options.

Conclusions:

• Rows can be performed holding a static contraction of 1-2 seconds (or longer in some cases), and this not only tends to produce good form, but can also help a great deal in adopting the crucial posture of the muscles of the middle of the back, given that more and more people tend to adopt an increasingly rounded posture in the upper back, from spending so much time sitting in front of the computer.
• The key to making this exercise efficient is that the movement should end with the chest raised, the upper back slightly arched and the shoulders pulled as far back as possible and held there for the duration of the pause; this generally requires a significant reduction in weight, at least initially.