Dumbbell Reverse-Grip Row

How to do it

Setup

1. Stand tall holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing forward (supinated grip).
2. Set your feet hip-width apart with a soft bend in your knees.
3. Hinge forward at your hips, pushing your hips back while keeping your spine neutral until your torso is roughly 45 degrees to nearly parallel to the floor.
4. Let the dumbbells hang straight down below your shoulders with your arms extended.

Movement

1. Initiate the pull by driving your elbows back toward your hips, keeping them tucked close to your torso.
2. Continue rowing until the dumbbells reach your lower rib cage and your shoulder blades retract.
3. Pause briefly at the top to feel a full contraction in your lats and mid-back.
4. Lower the dumbbells under control until your arms are fully extended, allowing the scapulae to protract slightly before starting the next rep.

Breathing

Inhale as you lower the weights to the hang position; exhale as you pull your elbows back and squeeze your back.

Cues

• Drive your elbows to your hips.
• Keep palms turned away from your body throughout.
• Keep your chest broad and spine flat.
• Do not swing your torso to initiate the pull.

Common faults

Rounding the lumbar or thoracic spine under load.

Brace your core, hinge deeply at the hips, and maintain a flat, neutral back throughout the set.

Flaring the elbows out wide away from the body.

Keep your elbows tracking tight along your sides to properly target the lats and protect the shoulders.

Using hip extension and momentum to heave the weights upward.

Keep your torso angle fixed and pull purely through the arms and upper back muscles.

Safety

• Avoid this unsupported variation if suffering from acute lower back pain; consider a chest-supported alternative instead.

Muscles

• Latissimus dorsi prime mover
• Teres major prime mover
• Biceps brachii synergist
• Brachialis synergist
• Rhomboids synergist
• Middle trapezius synergist
• Rear deltoid synergist
• Erector spinae stabilizer
• Hamstrings stabilizer
• Gluteus maximus stabilizer

Joints

• Shoulder: Extension
• Shoulder blade: Retraction, Downward rotation
• Elbow: Flexion
• Lumbar spine: Isometric stabilization
• Hip: Isometric stabilization

Details

Movement

Horizontal pull, Pull, Hip hinge, Anti-flexion

Modality

Strength, Hypertrophy

Mechanics

compound

Force

pull

Laterality

bilateral

Kinetic chain

open

Level

intermediate

Equipment

Dumbbell

Record

Repetitions and Load

Load

external, per implement

Related

• variation of Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
• substitute for Barbell Reverse-Grip Row

Sources

• wger: Dumbbell Underhand Dead Row, by Moffi (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

dumbbell-reverse-grip-row.json