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SEATED
ROW
 MPEG:Seated
Row
CORRECT FORM
1)
Assume a seated position facing the machine. Place your feet flat
on the foot-support. Position your upper body/torso so that it is
perpendicular to the floor. Flex/bend your knees about 15-20 degrees.
Grasp the bar or bar handles with the elbows fully extended.
2) Begin to pull the handle toward your chest by squeezing your shoulder
blades together. Your elbows and shoulders will naturally follow.
At the same time, maintain the position of your upper body perpendicular
to the floor.
3) Pull all the way in until either the handles touch your abdomen,
or your shoulder blades are maximally retracted.
4) Attempt to contract your middle back muscles.
5) Allow the bar or handle to move away from your abdomen slowly and
under control. Maintain erect posture.
6) Inhale as you move the bar/handle away from you. Exhale as you
pull the bar/handle toward you.
MUSCLES
USED
SAFETY
CONSIDERATIONS/PRECAUTIONS
You
should feel this primarily in your middle back, between and below
your shoulder blades.
It is very common to feel strain, fatigue or burning up closer to
the back of the shoulders (the posterior deltoid), or in the arms
(biceps/triceps). In this case, you are probably not beginning and
ending the movement by squeezing the shoulder blades together. Beginning
weight-lifters almost universally make this mistake.
Seated rows are not quite as safe as compound or T-bar rows, because
the chest is not supported. Because of this, there is some mild risk
of lower back injury becuase of the added stress placed on the lumbar
and thoracic erector spinae muscles which have to counteract the force
of the weight. If these muscles are not strong enough to handle that,
and they fail, the discs, joints, ligaments, etc of the back will
be at risk. It is therefore important to keep your back as straight
as possible and to maintain your torso perpendicular to the ground.
Leaning forward increases the strain on the lower back muscles and
on the posterior portion of the intervertebral discs.
EFFECTIVENESS
The seated row
is an excellent exercise for nearly every athlete or recreational
weight lifter. It builds up virtually every muscle in the upper back
in a very natural way. There is an added benefit of teaching the erector
spinae muscles to effectively stabilize the lower back, if those muscles
can handle it. If you feel strain in the lower back as a result
of performing seated rows, you should be performing a compound
row instead. |
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