"You gotta row to grow" is a favorite expression among bodybuilders and unimaginative fitness editors. While this advice might be as derivative as it gets, I don't disagree – although I'd add that there are ways to make rowing for a bigger back even better!
This article details my top 8 rowing variations. However, let me preface things by saying that I didn't invent any of the following exercises to look cool or "cutting edge." I actually use these exercises on myself and with clients and have experienced great success with them.
If you read my T Nation A Monstrous Back: The Mountain Dog Way article, you'd know my back was very difficult for me to develop. I had to get very creative and devise special techniques that would make my back grow.
This isn't fluff – it's downright brutal when performed correctly. Some of these are easier to learn than others, but I promise if you get them right, your back will respond in a big way.
There are three important factors that go into deciding whether a back exercise is worthy or not. (You won't find this type of information in a textbook – only after many years of focused, hard training and listening to your body.)
Using these three factors, I evaluated my top 8 rowing movements and ranked them according to effectiveness. Here's the list, in ascending order of effectiveness:
I'm not a fan of traditional barbell rows. I know, Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman liked them and their backs were huge. Well, their backs would've grown even if all they did was paint their toenails.
One tweak that can make a barbell row better, though, is using a cambered bar. This allows for a greater range of motion in the contracted position as your elbows can travel back much farther.
Total score: 20
I like these primarily due to the stretch you can put on your entire back, especially the lower traps and rhomboids, which can also be enhanced by using bands. I have to thank my friend Smitty from the Diesel Crew for letting me steal this movement.
Note: I'm applying a penalty to this exercise because it's difficult to breathe and I feel like my head is going to pop off mid-set, so subtract 5 points.
Total score: 21
While I'm not a fan of straight barbell rows, you should see what happens when you use a trap bar. The design of the bar allows for much more lat compression due to the hand position (palms facing in). When you do it, you can feel your entire lat get crushed.
Total score: 22
I like dumbbell rows a lot, although the "squared" shoulder form most lifters use makes this an inferior exercise. But prop that hip up and you're in business. Another bonus is that you can also use the "deadstop" variation to make them more explosive.
Total score: 24
Everyone laughs at the lowly Smith machine, except the joke is on them as it can be very useful if used intelligently. A huge plus to using the Smith machine is that it allows you to row explosively.
Think about this, when you train your back, and on rows in particular, you should focus on driving your elbows up, not curling the weight up with your arms as most do. So by being locked into a fixed plane of motion, you can 100% focus on ramming your elbows up.
This is new territory for your lats. They aren't used to this kind of recruitment with any significant weight! Needless to say, I love these.
Total score: 24 (wins the tiebreaker over dumbbell rows because I like these better)
Ah, good ol' cable rows. The biggest problem I've had with these is finding the perfect handle. It seems as if some handles just make your shoulders and arms do all the work.
The two methods that I like the most are using two individual pulley handles and using a close-grip supinated attachment (my favorite, and featured in the video below). This attachment is great and I don't even need straps; and believe me, I'm a strap fanatic.
Total score: 25
These rows were made famous by some weird blonde dude that likes to wear sandals with socks and train with tank tops over the top of his T-shirts. Strange, I know.
Anyway, this exercise is intense. It's a first class ball buster and is the epitome of a basic movement, even though it's not considered a basic movement. Use a T-bar or landmine, and remember to use the hip trick here too, to get a better range of motion and intense pre-stretch.
Total score: 26
This is an absolutely unbelievable lat exercise. These and Meadows rows are the two rowing variations that have earned me the most "thank yous" from folks out there in training land.
You can add a Meadows row handle to this exercise and it feels even better, although I'll be damned if I can explain why. Adding a few chains puts the final touches on one absolute beast of an exercise, and you can even use a suitcase handle and they feel awesome. As you can see, there's a lot of potential with this exercise.
Total score: 29 – Winner and still champion row variation of the world.
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