Move · Videos · Technique · 11 min

Barbell Bent-Over Row Done Right

Barbell Bent-Over Row Done Right — video by ATHLEAN-X™ Play · 10:38

Video by ATHLEAN-X™ on YouTube · Open on YouTube

A physical therapist explains how to set up a barbell row from a rack at a torso angle your hamstrings allow, where to pull the bar and how to keep the lats doing the work. For lifters who already use a barbell.

  • 11 min
  • Intermediate
  • Low impact (no jumping)
  • barbell
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Step by step 8

Tap a time to watch that step in the video.

  1. Why not start on the floor: with tight hamstrings, bending that far rounds your lower back under load. 0:45
  2. Set up in a rack with the bar just below the knee, leaning forward only as far as your back stays flat. 3:17
  3. Grip just outside your knees and keep the bar close to your body. 3:53
  4. Pull the bar to your upper abs with elbows tucked, so the elbows travel well behind your body. 4:07
  5. Try to bend the bar and turn it as you pull, screwing your elbows into your sides to work the lats. 5:15
  6. Work down toward the floor only as your hamstring flexibility allows. 6:23
  7. Tense your triceps at the bottom of each rep so the lats, not the biceps, start the pull. 6:50
  8. Barbell dead row: sit the hips back, deadlift the bar to the knees, then row it up explosively. 8:37

The steps are a summary in our words, checked against the video — the coach shows every move.

Form cues from the coach

  • Start from a rack with the bar just below the knee and only hinge as far as your flat back allows
  • Grip just outside the knees and pull the bar to the upper abs with elbows tucked
  • Tense the triceps at the bottom so the lats, not the biceps, start the pull

What it works

Tap an area for more videos that work it.

Joints it uses 1 take load

  • Shoulders takes loadbarbell row, elbows pulled behind the body
  • Elbows movesrowing the bar to the upper abs
  • Wrists & hands movesgripping the bar
  • Upper back movesholding a flat torso while rowing
  • Lower back movesholding the hinged back flat under load

Easier option from the coach: Rack set just below the knee, torso only partly bent, instead of the floor

A guide to the joints this video’s moves load, from what the coach does — not medical advice. Some ache is normal; stop if a joint hurts sharply. How joints are rated

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Video by ATHLEAN-X™; the summary, steps, cues, body areas and joint notes are Notbroken’s, written from what the coach actually does in the video and checked a second time. Warm up first, take the easier options until a move feels easy, and stop if you feel sharp pain, chest pain or dizziness. General instruction, not advice for your body. About & safety