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Wide grip machine row

Horizontal pull for the back on a machine.

How to do it

1 of 3

Wide handles, arms straight

  1. Starting position

    Sit firmly in the machine with your feet on the supports and hold the wide handles with straight arms.

  2. The movement

    Pull the handles toward your chest with your elbows out, then slowly extend your arms again.

Most common mistake

Don't lean back to pull, keep your torso still and drive your elbows back.

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

Muscles worked

Wide handles, elbows out to the sides and a pull towards your chest put the emphasis on your upper back. Your mid and lower traps, rhomboids and rear shoulders do much of the work, with help from your lats, biceps and brachialis. With your chest on the pad, which most row machines have, neither your lower back nor your legs need to support you. Many machines also have separate arms for each side, so a weaker side cannot hide behind the stronger one.

Common mistakes

  • Your shoulders tip forward at the end. Driving your elbows far behind your body often rolls the front of your shoulders forward. Stop when your elbows are level with or just behind your torso, and let your shoulder blades finish the movement.
  • Arching to lift your chest. A little lift through the chest is good, but if you push your stomach out and arch, your lower back takes over. Keep your abs lightly braced so your ribs stay down.
  • Starting the pull with a jerk. A yank at the start of each rep shifts the work from your back to momentum. Start smoothly, draw your shoulder blades back first and then let your arms pull.

Variations and alternatives

  • The wide grip seated cable row has the same angle without support, so your trunk has to work too.
  • The seal row is the barbell equivalent, when you want chest support but have no machine.
  • The reverse pec deck isolates the rear shoulders when those are what you want to train more.

Sets and reps

To build muscle, 8 to 12 reps over three or four sets works, and many people train the upper back with slightly longer sets of 12 to 15. Heavier sets of 6 to 8 reps are fine too, as the pad holds you in place. The guide to sets and reps helps you pick a range.

With separate arms, you can apply progressive overload side by side: now and then, do a set one arm at a time, check that both sides manage the same reps and let the weaker side set the pace. Otherwise, add reps first and weight second, one step at a time once you reach the top of the range on every set.

Also called

  • bröststödd rodd brett grepp
  • maskinrodd brett grepp

Swap for

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

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