Instructions

  1. Attach the handle to the cable row machine, sit on the pad, and place your feet against the footrests.
  2. Lean forward, grab the handle, and lean backward slightly so that your back is perpendicular to the floor and your arms are straight out in front of you.
  3. Keeping your back straight and staring straight ahead, let the handle pull your shoulder blades forward as far as they’ll go.
  4. Pull the handle toward your abdomen by bending your elbows and retracting your shoulder blades simultaneously. Keep your elbows close to your sides and pull until the handle touches your abdomen, your forearms are roughly parallel with the floor, and your shoulder blades are pinched together and down.
  5. Once the handle touches your torso, straighten your arms and let the weight pull your shoulder blades forward as far as they’ll go to return to the starting position.

Expert Tips

  • Let your shoulder blades move forward at the bottom of each rep (scapular protraction), then pull them back as you bend your elbows (scapular retraction). Concentrate on getting as deep of a stretch in your shoulder blades as you can, then hold the squeezed position for 1–2 seconds. This is the key to ensuring your traps are worked by this exercise, too.
  • Some back-and-forth movement is fine. That is, it’s okay to start each rep by leaning forward a little at the waist and finish each rep by leaning backward, but this should be very subtle. The goal isn’t to heave the weight backward, but to put your torso in a position where you can achieve a full range of motion and strong contraction in your back muscles, and a little fore-aft movement helps with this.
  • Keep your chest proud throughout the entire rep. You should end each rep with your chest high, upper back slightly arched, shoulders back and down, and elbows at your sides.
  • Avoid shrugging your shoulders up or letting your upper back cave during this exercise. If you can’t finish with your chest high and shoulder blades pulled together, reduce the weight.
  • If your grip gives out before your lats do, use lifting straps. This prevents you from having to end your sets prematurely due to your grip giving out, allowing you to train your back, traps, and biceps more thoroughly.

Workout Programming

Program the seated cable row as the first or second exercise in a back, pull, or upper-body workout.

A good default is 3 sets of 6–8 reps. Take each set 1–2 reps shy of failure—the point where you can’t move the weight despite giving your maximum effort—and rest 2–3 minutes between sets.

Mike’s Take

The seated cable row is one of the best exercises you can do for developing all of your back muscles and biceps.

It trains your lats, midback and traps, biceps, rear delts, and even your spinal erectors. It’s also safe, easy to learn, versatile, and readily available in most gyms, which is why I include it in my programs for men and women, Bigger Leaner Stronger and Thinner Leaner Stronger.

In a study conducted by researchers at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, seated rows produced more muscle activity in the middle traps and rhomboids than pulldowns.1 That said, when performed correctly, pulldowns are also a fantastic back exercise (I prefer the close-grip pulldown in particular).

The seated cable row also trains your biceps and brachialis in a manner similar to hammer curls.

The main downside of the seated cable row is that it requires a good deal of lower-back strength to keep your torso stable throughout each rep. This isn’t always a problem, but once you become reasonably strong, it’s common for the lower-back muscles to hit failure or cramp before your lats, traps, and biceps are fully trained.

This is one of the reasons I typically prefer the seated machine row, chest-supported T-bar row, or a chest-supported underhand machine lat pulldown over the seated cable row.

With all of these exercises, your torso is supported by a chest pad, which prevents your lower-back from becoming a limiting factor.

Another potential issue with the seated cable row is that many seated cable row stations require you to add weight in large increments—often 10 or even 20 pounds—which makes progressive overload more difficult.

There are several different handle attachments that you can use with the cable seated row that allow you to vary grip orientation (which way your palms face) and width while you perform the exercise.

The most common variation, and the one explained above, is the close-grip seated cable row, which is also often referred to as the “V-bar cable row,” “neutral-grip cable row,” or “parallel grip cable row.” It uses a V-bar attachment that places your hands about 6-to-8 inches apart with your palms facing each other.

Other popular variations include the . . .

  • Wide-grip cable row, which places your hands about 18-to-24 inches apart with your palms facing each other.
  • Pronated-grip cable row, which involves a palms-facing-downward grip just outside shoulder-width apart.
  • Supinated-grip cable row, which involves a palms-facing-upward grip about shoulder-width apart.

Aside from the V-bar grip, I like the supinated-grip cable row. It puts your biceps in a position where they can contribute more to the movement (and thus get trained more effectively) and can be more comfortable for some people’s shoulders, while still training your lats, traps, midback, and rear delts.

Seated Cable Row Alternatives

  • Seated Machine Row. My favorite alternative. It provides consistent tension throughout each rep, a long range of motion, and allows you to train your biceps, traps, lats, and rear delts (and completely takes your lower back out of the equation).
  • One-Arm Dumbbell Row. One of my favorite back exercises and a great alternative to the seated cable row. Has the advantage of training each arm independently, but also takes longer to finish each set.
  • T-Bar Row. Another outstanding alternative, especially if it’s a chest-supported version.
  • Close-Grip Lat Pulldown. Trains the same muscles through a similar range of motion. Tends to emphasize the lower traps and lats even more than the seated cable row.
  • Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row. Another pulling exercise that takes your lower-back out of the equation, but most people find it limits their range of motion more than the single-arm dumbbell row, which I prefer.
  • Barbell Seal Row. This removes your lower back as a limiting factor and makes it impossible to cheat, but it also has a very challenging resistance curve, can feel awkward, and few gyms have one.
  • Single-Arm Cable Row. The single-arm seated cable row (also known as the “one-arm cable row”) is a seated cable row alternative that you perform using a single handle attachment and one arm at a time. It doesn’t offer any meaningful advantages over the regular cable row and takes twice as long to finish each set, so I don’t recommend it.

3 Seated Cable Row Workouts

Here are three sample workouts that show how to program the seated cable row on a back day, a pull day, or an upper-body day.

Back Workout with the Seated Cable Row

Seated Cable Row: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Lat Pulldown: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Cable Pullover: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Machine Rear Delt Fly: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest
Barbell Shrug: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest

Pull Workout with the Seated Cable Row

Barbell Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
Seated Cable Row: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Lat Pulldown: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Machine Rear Delt Fly: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest
Barbell Curl: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 1–2 min rest

Upper-Body Workout with the Seated Cable Row

Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
Seated Cable Row: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 2–3 min rest
Lat Pulldown: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Machine Rear Delt Fly: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest
Cable Crunch: 2 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest

To progress these workouts, use double progression: use a weight that allows you to work within the given rep range, take each set 1–2 reps shy of failure, and once you hit the top of the range for your first set, add weight.

Muscles Worked by the Seated Cable Row

The seated cable row primarily trains your latissimus dorsi (lats), middle trapezius (mid-traps), biceps, and the smaller muscles of your midback like the rhomboids and teres major. Your posterior deltoids (rear delts) also contribute, while your forearms maintain your grip and your spinal erectors help hold your torso upright.

More Back Exercises

Scientific References +