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Seal row

Horizontal pull for the back with a barbell.

How to do it

1 of 3

Lie face down on a raised bench

  1. Starting position

    Lie face down on a raised flat bench, plant your feet firmly and grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width.

  2. The movement

    Pull the bar toward the underside of the bench at your chest, then lower it until your arms are straight.

Most common mistake

Don't lift your chest off the bench, keep your body still and drive your elbows back.

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Muscle group
Back
Equipment
Barbell
Where
Gym
Logged as
Weight × reps

Muscles worked

The seal row is done lying face down, with the bench carrying your whole torso. The muscles between your shoulder blades and your lats do most of the lifting, helped by your rear shoulders, biceps and forearms. Your lower back and legs do not have to hold a bent-over position, and there is no way to get help from your hips, so most people need a lighter weight than in a barbell row. The pull ends when the bar reaches the bench, so the bench's thickness limits how far you can row.

Common mistakes

  • The bench is too low. If the plates touch the floor before your arms are straight, the bottom of the movement gets cut short. Raise the bench on boxes or sturdy blocks so the bar hangs freely with straight arms.
  • Your hands hit the bench. With too narrow a grip, your knuckles catch the edge of the bench before the pull is finished. Grip wide enough that your hands pass the bench freely and the bar can reach the underside.
  • Lifting your head to look forward. Craning to see the mirror bends your neck back on every rep. Keep your head in line with your back and your eyes on the floor.

Variations and alternatives

  • The barbell row when you cannot set up a high bench, but expect your lower back to work.
  • The wide grip machine row gives the same chest support with less setting up.
  • The inverted row trains the same muscles with bodyweight, when you lack the equipment.

Sets and reps

With neither your lower back nor cheating to limit the set, the seal row suits most goals. To build muscle, 8 to 12 reps over three or four sets is common, for upper back strength 5 to 8 reps works, and for endurance 12 to 20. For help choosing, see the guide to sets and reps.

The bench stops the bar in the same place every rep, which makes your numbers easy to compare. Use the same bench height and grip each time, add reps until you reach the top of the range on every set, then add 2.5 kg. That is how you follow progressive overload.

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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