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correct and incorrect posture for starting a for a bent over row.

Common Bent-Over Dumbbell Row Form Mistakes

Bent at the waist.

Folding forward at the waist causes your back to round, putting your lower back in an uncomfortable position for the entirety of your set, Fleming says. Instead, you want to hinge at the hips because this keeps your back in a neutral position.

Shoulders rounded.

Gravity naturally wants to pull you down when you’re holding weights toward the floor. As a result, your shoulders and upper back may get pulled forward. This can make it harder to retract your shoulder blade and target the right muscle groups during the exercise.

bad form: bent row with bent waist
bad form: bent row with bent waist and rounded shoulders

Feet too far apart.

While you want your feet to be wide enough to provide a stable base for rowing, placing them too far apart prevents your arms from hanging straight down. “You have to accommodate the width of the feet by pulling the arms out slightly to where they have to work outside of the quads,” Fleming explains. This forces you to lift the weights out to the sides and perform a mini lateral raise, “which is asking a lot of your shoulders.”

bad form: feet too far apart
bad form: feet too far apart

How to Set Up for the Bent-Over Dumbbell Row

Imagine closing a car door without your hands.

To ensure you’re bending from hips and not the waist, imagine you’re facing away from a car door and need to close it while your hands are holding groceries. “The way you would push your butt back to make that happen is the same concept you want to use to get into a proper bent-over row position,” Fleming says.

Roll the shoulders back.

When you assume the bent-over position with the weights hanging toward the floor, take a moment to roll your shoulders back and down, Fleming suggests. This can help you start the exercise with your shoulders in a good position.

good form: neutral spine, shoulders engaged.
good form: neutral spine, shoulders engaged.

Place feet hip width to shoulder width apart.

Find a foot position that feels stable yet allows your arms to hang straight down without traveling outside the legs.

(Discover intermediate and advanced variations, including the Pendlay row, to elevate your bent-over row at, “How to Do the Bent-Over Row.”)

good form: feet hip distance
good form: feet hip distance

Strong Starts

Are you setting up correctly while lifting? Get expert guidance on perfecting your setup for several common strength moves at “9 Strength Moves You May Be Setting Up Wrong (and How to Fix Them),” from which this article was excerpted.

Photographer: Kelly Loverud; Stylist: Pam Brand; Life Time Model: Nehemiah Owusu
Lauren
Lauren Bedosky

Lauren Bedosky is a Twin Cities–based health-and-fitness writer.

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