Bend over, pull toward your stomach, and the whole back works. The measurements say how much of that comes from the grip, and how much from the elbow.
The bent-over row is done with a barbell or two dumbbells, with an overhand grip, palms in or palms up, and each version has its reputation. Four studies and a review measured what changes from one version to the next, and the usage data in the Overload exercise library shows which ones members do.
Which muscles the bent-over row targets
Fenwick et al. (2009) fitted seven men with surface electrodes on the trunk and hips, a spine position sensor and video analysis, then had them compare three pulls: the bodyweight inverted row, the standing bent-over row and the one-arm standing cable row.
The bent-over row produced large, symmetrical activation from the upper to the lower back. It was also the pull that put the largest load on the lumbar spine, with the highest trunk stiffness. The inverted row activated the latissimus dorsi, the upper back and the hip extensors more, with a lower lumbar load.
The bent-over row works the back along its whole length, lower back included. Of the three pulls Fenwick et al. tested, it is the one that loads the lumbar spine the most.
Saeterbakken et al. (2015) confirmed that lumbar cost in fifteen trained men, at matched effort. In the two-arm free-weight bent-over row, erector spinae activity was 34% higher than in the machine row, and 12% higher than in the same row done one arm at a time. Working one arm at a time recruited the external obliques more: with two arms, their activity was only 37 to 41% of the one-arm value.
How to do a bent-over row
- Feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, lean your torso forward by pushing your hips back, back straight.
- Let the barbell or dumbbells hang at arm's length, under your shoulders.
- Pull toward your lower stomach, leading with the elbows, then lower under control.
- Keep the torso angle constant. If your torso rises to finish the rep, the load is too heavy.
The elbow path matters more than the hand position, as the next section shows.
Overhand, palms in or reverse grip
None of the studies read here compares grips on the bent-over row itself. Vasconcelos et al. (2023) did it on the seated cable row, in eleven trained men and ten trained women, with a load cell and EMG on six muscles, using an overhand, neutral and underhand grip, then 30°, 60° and 90° of shoulder abduction.
The elbow weighs more than the hand. The further the elbow moves away from the torso (60° and 90°), the more the upper back works: upper trapezius, middle trapezius, posterior deltoid. The closer it stays to the body, the more the latissimus dorsi works and the more force is produced. The grip mostly affects the biceps, more active with an underhand or neutral grip than with an overhand one.
Lehman et al. (2004) found an even smaller gap on the lat pulldown and the seated row: switching from a wide overhand grip to a reverse grip did not change biceps activity, and the variations tested moved prime mover activity only slightly. The review by Di Fonza et al. (2026), which covers 23 EMG studies on the latissimus dorsi, points the same way: grip width effects were inconsistent, and the authors name the relationship between the humerus and the trunk as a likely driver of how the load is shared.
Elbows close to the body
Pull toward your navel, arms along the torso. Vasconcelos et al. measured more latissimus dorsi activity and more force there. The palms-in dumbbell row and the reverse grip fit this path naturally.
Elbows flared
Pull toward your lower chest, arms at 60-90° from the torso. The middle trapezius and posterior deltoid take over, with a lighter load. This is the version for the upper back.
Barbell or dumbbells? None of these studies compares the barbell row and the two-dumbbell row directly. Dumbbells let each hand choose its rotation, which makes the palms-in grip possible, and the barbell lets you load heavier on a single implement. The rest of the difference is not measured.
The seven bent-over rows in the Overload library
The Overload exercise library holds 897 movements, seven of them bent-over rows. All seven list the middle back as primary muscle. Member usage is heavily concentrated.
| Variant | Secondary muscles | Member uses |
|---|---|---|
| Bent Over Barbell Row | Biceps, lats, shoulders | 511 |
| Smith Machine Bent Over Row | Biceps, lats, shoulders | 148 |
| Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row | Biceps, lats, shoulders | 81 |
| Bent Over One-Arm Long Bar Row | Biceps, lats, lower back, traps | 4 |
| Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row With Palms In | Biceps, lats | 1 |
| Bent Over Two-Arm Long Bar Row | Biceps, lats | 0 |
| Reverse Grip Bent-Over Rows | Biceps, lats, shoulders | 0 |
The counter adds up the recorded sessions in which the movement appears. It counts neither sets nor lifters, and an exercise that comes up first in the app's search has a head start.
The barbell version takes 511 of the 745 uses, 68.6% of the family. The two versions people argue about most, the palms-in dumbbell row and the reverse grip row, have 1 and 0.
The library lists the lower back on only one variant in seven, the one-arm long bar row. Fenwick et al. and Saeterbakken et al. still measured strong lumbar activity in the standing bent-over row. Count it toward your lower back fatigue.
The bent-over row is a minority among pulls: the seated cable row alone has 1,052 uses, more than the seven variants combined. The cable training guide covers what the cable changes compared with free weights.
Practical recommendations
- Choose the elbow path by target: close to the body for the latissimus dorsi and the load, flared for the middle trapezius and posterior deltoid (Vasconcelos et al., 2023).
- Take the grip that suits your wrists and elbows. It mostly changes biceps work, which is higher with an underhand or neutral grip.
- If your lower back tires before your back does, switch to the inverted row or the seated cable row. Fenwick et al. measured a lower lumbar load in the inverted row, and Saeterbakken et al. 34% more erector spinae activity in the free-weight row than in the machine row.
- Row one arm at a time if you also want to train trunk rotation: the external obliques work more than with two arms (Saeterbakken et al., 2015).
- For what the neutral grip changes, or does not change, on a curl, see the hammer curl guide.
Barbell and dumbbells, two separate curvesOverload is a structured strength-training app. The Exercises section of the Analytics tab keeps your personal records and estimated 1RMs side by side, exercise by exercise, and each exercise opens its full chart and history. Muscle groups have their own list, with a body diagram and the muscles worked. Log the barbell row and the two-dumbbell row as two separate exercises to see which one progresses. Get Overload and log your next set of rows.
Conclusion
The bent-over row works the whole back, lower back included, and it is the most costly pull for the lumbar spine of the three Fenwick et al. compared. The grip mostly affects the biceps. The elbow position decides how the work splits between the latissimus dorsi and the upper back. Overload members do the barbell version in more than two cases out of three, and almost never the grip variants that get the most attention.
- Fenwick CM, Brown SH, McGill SM (2009) — Comparison of different rowing exercises: trunk muscle activation and lumbar spine motion, load, and stiffness. J Strength Cond Res, 23(5), 1408-1417.
- Saeterbakken A, Andersen V, Brudeseth A, Lund H, Fimland MS (2015) — The Effect of Performing Bi- and Unilateral Row Exercises on Core Muscle Activation. Int J Sports Med, 36(11), 900-905.
- Vasconcelos CMWA, Lopes CR, Almeida VM, Krause Neto W, Soares EG (2023) — Effect of Different Grip Position and Shoulder-Abduction Angle on Muscle Strength and Activation During the Seated Cable Row. International Journal of Strength and Conditioning, 3(1).
- Lehman GJ, Buchan DD, Lundy A, Myers N, Nalborczyk A (2004) — Variations in muscle activation levels during traditional latissimus dorsi weight training exercises: An experimental study. Dyn Med, 3(1), 4.
- Di Fonza D, Di Claudio G, Colantuono G, et al. (2026) — Electromyographic Analysis of Latissimus Dorsi Activation During Common Resistance Training Exercises: A Narrative Review. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol, 11(3), 315.
This article presents the current scientific evidence. For a personalised program, consult a health professional.