RIRLift app icon RIRLift

Exercises

Barbell row alternatives: bent-over row swaps for every setup

Published October 23, 2026

The best barbell row alternative is the chest-supported row: it trains the same upper back and lats just as heavy, with your lower back out of it. Keeping the bar, the Pendlay row or a seal row are the closest swaps; with dumbbells, the one-arm dumbbell row. At home with no weights, row a band or do archer pull-ups on a bar.

What a barbell row alternative has to replace

The barbell row trains your upper back (rhomboids, middle traps, rear delts) and lats, with your biceps and grip helping. Your lower back and hamstrings hold the bent-over position for the whole set, which is the part that ends many sets early. The load is hardest when your elbows are fully back and the bar touches your ribs.

A replacement should let you drive your elbows past your torso against heavy load, ideally with a full stretch at the bottom.

How to do the barbell row

Machines and cables

In a gym, a padded machine or a cable row trains the same back with your lower back off duty. Use one when the hinge, not your back, ends your sets.

Best swap when your lower back gives out

Chest-Supported Row

Upper Back, Lats

Your chest rests on a pad, so the set ends when your upper back is done, not when your lower back can no longer hold the hinge. You can still load it heavy.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat so the handles are at chest height and the pad sits against your upper chest.
  2. Grab the handles with arms straight and your shoulders stretched forward.
  3. Pull the handles back by driving your elbows behind you until your hands reach your torso.
  4. Return slowly to straight arms and repeat without lifting off the pad.

Cues

  • Chest stays on the pad
  • Wide elbows for upper back, tucked for lats
  • Full stretch each rep

Common mistakes

  • Pulling your chest off the pad to finish reps: the set is over when you cannot finish with the chest down.
  • Setting the seat too low so you pull toward your neck: handles should line up with your mid-chest.
Build a session with Chest-Supported Row

Cable swap, sitting upright

Seated Cable Row

Upper Back, Lats

Sitting with your feet braced takes the hinge away, and the cable keeps your back loaded at the stretch. A good second row after a heavy one.

How to do it

  1. Clip a close-grip V-handle onto the bottom cable, set a light pin and sit with your feet on the platform and your knees slightly bent.
  2. Lean forward just enough to take the handle, then sit tall with your arms straight and your torso close to vertical.
  3. Let the weight draw your shoulder blades forward so your upper back starts stretched, while your trunk stays tall.
  4. Drive your elbows back along your sides until the handle touches your stomach just below the ribs, and hold a beat with your shoulder blades pinched.
  5. Return the handle slowly until your arms are long and your shoulder blades slide forward again, then start the next pull.

Cues

  • Sit tall, then pull
  • Elbows past your ribs
  • Reach with the shoulders, not the spine

Common mistakes

  • Rocking back and forth to move the stack: if your torso swings more than a few degrees, take off a plate and let only your arms and shoulder blades move.
  • Stopping the handle short at the front: let your shoulders reach forward on every rep, or you skip the stretched part of the row.
  • Shrugging the handle toward your chest: pull to your stomach and keep your shoulders down away from your ears.
  • Folding forward at the waist at the front of the rep: your shoulders travel, your trunk stays tall.
Build a session with Seated Cable Row

Other barbell and landmine rows

Still have a bar? Change how you row it: from the floor, from a corner, or lying on a bench.

Heavy hinge row with a neutral grip

T-Bar Row

Upper Back, Lats

A bar in a landmine or corner rowed with a V-handle: the same hinge as the barbell row, but the fixed end steadies the bar and the palms-in grip is easier on many shoulders.

How to do it

  1. Stand over the bar facing away from the anchor, plates in front of you.
  2. Put a V-handle under the sleeve or grip the bar with both hands.
  3. Hinge until your chest is at about 45 degrees and your back is flat.
  4. Pull the plates toward your lower chest, elbows close.
  5. Lower until your arms are straight and your shoulders stretch forward.

Cues

  • Chest stays over the plates
  • Elbows to your hips
  • Full stretch at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Standing up as you pull: the angle you start at is the angle you finish at.
  • Shortening the bottom: let your shoulder blades spread before the next rep.
Build a session with T-Bar Row

One-arm barbell row in a corner

Meadows Row

Upper Back, Lats

Row the thick end of a landmine bar with one hand, standing side-on. Your free hand braces on your knee, so your lower back does less, and the range is longer than with two hands.

How to do it

  1. Stand side-on to the end of the bar, inside foot back, outside foot forward.
  2. Hinge and rest your free forearm on your front knee.
  3. Grip the sleeve overhand with your working hand.
  4. Pull your elbow up and back past your torso.
  5. Lower until your arm is long and you feel the stretch under your armpit.

Cues

  • Elbow up and back
  • Hips stay square
  • Long stretch every rep

Common mistakes

  • Rotating your torso to finish the pull: stop where your elbow passes your ribs.
  • Using straps before your grip has had a chance to grow: save them for the last set.
Build a session with Meadows Row

Closest barbell swap for strength

Pendlay Row

Upper Back, Lats

Each rep starts from the floor with your chest level, so your lower back resets between reps and you cannot cheat the bar up with your hips. Use it for heavy, low-rep sets.

How to do it

  1. Load the bar on the floor, stand with the bar over the middle of your feet and your feet about hip width apart.
  2. Hinge at the hips with a slight knee bend until your chest is close to level with the floor, then take an overhand grip a bit wider than your shoulders.
  3. Flatten your back, take a big breath and pull the slack out of the bar so your arms are long and tight before it moves.
  4. Row the bar fast off the floor to your lower ribs, driving your elbows back past your torso.
  5. Put the bar back down on the floor with your arms straight, let it settle, and reset your breath and back before the next rep.

Cues

  • Chest stays level
  • Elbows back, not out
  • Floor, settle, pull

Common mistakes

  • Standing up to move the bar: if your chest rises as you pull, your hips are doing the work. Drop the weight until your torso angle is the same at the top as at the bottom.
  • Bouncing off the floor: tapping the plates and pulling again turns it into a bent-over row with a bad bottom. Let the bar stop completely before each rep.
  • Pulling to your belly button with flared elbows: the bar should touch your lower ribs with your elbows behind you. If it lands lower, your arms are finishing the rep instead of your back.
Build a session with Pendlay Row

Barbell row with no hinge at all

Seal Row

Upper Back, Lats

Lying face down on a raised bench, you row the same bar with your lower back and legs out of it. Expect to use less weight, since nothing else can help.

How to do it

  1. Set a flat bench on blocks or boxes high enough that your arms hang straight without the plates hitting the floor, and lie on it face down.
  2. Grab the barbell under the bench overhand, hands a little wider than shoulder-width.
  3. Row the bar up until it touches the underside of the bench, elbows out at about 45 degrees.
  4. Lower to a full hang and repeat.

Cues

  • Bar to the bench
  • Stay flat on the pad
  • Full hang at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Lifting your head and chest off the bench to finish: stay down, the bench is the limit.
  • A bench too low, so the plates touch the floor: raise it until your arms hang free.
Build a session with Seal Row

Dumbbells and kettlebells

Dumbbells and kettlebells let each arm row on its own and travel further back than a barbell lets you.

Best dumbbell swap

One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Lats, Upper Back

Braced on a bench with one hand and knee, you can row a heavy dumbbell with a longer stretch than a barbell allows. It is the swap most lifters can do anywhere.

How to do it

  1. Stand next to a flat bench, brace your left shin and left palm on it, and step your right foot back and out for balance.
  2. Pick up the dumbbell with your right hand and let it hang straight below your shoulder, back flat and roughly level with the floor.
  3. Pull your elbow back and up toward your hip, brushing it past your ribs, until the dumbbell reaches your lower ribs.
  4. Pause for a beat with your shoulder blade pulled back, without twisting your chest toward the ceiling.
  5. Lower the dumbbell slowly until your arm is straight and your shoulder blade drifts forward, then row again. Finish the set, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Elbow to your back pocket
  • Hand is just a hook
  • Chest stays square to the floor

Common mistakes

  • Twisting your torso open to heave the weight up: keep your shoulders level with the bench and lighten the dumbbell if you need to rotate to finish.
  • Pulling the dumbbell straight up to your chest with the elbow flared: aim the elbow toward your hip for more lat and less upper trap.
  • Stopping short at the bottom: let the arm straighten and the shoulder blade move forward each rep so your back works through its full range.
Build a session with One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Same hinge, two dumbbells

Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

Upper Back, Lats

Hold the barbell row's hinge with a dumbbell in each hand. Palms facing in lets your elbows travel further back, and each side works on its own.

How to do it

  1. Take one dumbbell per hand, feet about hip-width apart, and hinge forward from the hips with soft knees until your torso is nearly level with the floor.
  2. Let the dumbbells hang straight down under your shoulders, palms turned in.
  3. Pull both dumbbells up to your lower ribs, keeping the elbows close, and hold the top for a beat.
  4. Lower to straight arms without letting your torso rise and repeat.

Cues

  • Torso angle stays locked
  • Pull to the ribs
  • Squeeze, then lower

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hinge rise until you are rowing upright: keep a mirror or phone camera to the side and stop the set when your chest climbs.
  • Yanking the dumbbells with your hips: the legs stay still and the elbows do the work.
Build a session with Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

Dumbbell row with your chest supported

Incline Dumbbell Row

Upper Back, Lats

Chest down on an incline bench, you row two dumbbells with your lower back resting. The home version of the chest-supported machine.

How to do it

  1. Set an adjustable bench to about 30–45 degrees and put a pair of dumbbells on the floor at its front end.
  2. Lie face down with your chest high on the pad, plant your feet or toes on the floor behind you, and pick up the dumbbells.
  3. Let your arms hang straight down with an overhand grip, palms facing behind you, and let your shoulder blades spread apart.
  4. Drive your elbows back past your torso until the dumbbells reach your lower ribs, pinching your shoulder blades without lifting your chest off the bench.
  5. Lower the weights slowly until your arms are straight and your shoulder blades are stretched apart, then pull again.

Cues

  • Chest stays on the pad
  • Lead with the elbows
  • Reach long at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Lifting your chest off the bench to finish the rep: that brings back the momentum the bench is there to remove; use lighter dumbbells so you can finish with your chest down.
  • Shrugging the dumbbells up toward your ears: keep the shoulders down and pull your elbows back toward your hips.
  • Cutting the stretch short: let your shoulder blades slide apart at the bottom of every rep so the upper back works through its full range.
Build a session with Incline Dumbbell Row

Swap with two kettlebells

Kettlebell Gorilla Row

Lats, Upper Back

A wide stance and two bells on the floor; you row one while pushing the other into the ground. The braced hand keeps your torso steady, so the rowing arm can work hard without the bell swinging.

How to do it

  1. Place two kettlebells between your feet, stand wider than shoulder-width and hinge until your torso is close to level with the floor.
  2. Grip both handles with your back flat.
  3. Row the right bell to your hip while pushing the left one into the floor.
  4. Lower it, then row the left. Alternate for the full set.

Cues

  • Flat back throughout
  • Elbow to the hip
  • Push the other bell into the ground

Common mistakes

  • Twisting your torso open to row higher: keep your shoulders square to the floor.
  • Standing up between reps: stay in the hinge for the whole set.
Build a session with Kettlebell Gorilla Row

Bodyweight and bands

No weights at home: a band, a bar in a rack or a pull-up bar is enough to train your back hard.

Bodyweight swap with the same bar

Inverted Row

Upper Back, Lats

Set your barbell in a rack at hip height and row your body up to it. A good finisher after heavy rows, or a beginner's main row.

How to do it

  1. Set a bar in a rack or Smith machine at about hip height and lock it in place.
  2. Sit under it, take an overhand grip a little wider than your shoulders, and hang with straight arms.
  3. Walk your feet out until your heels rest on the floor, then squeeze your glutes so your body forms one straight line.
  4. Pull your shoulder blades back, then drive your elbows past your ribs until your lower chest touches the bar.
  5. Lower under control until your arms are fully straight, keeping your hips level the whole way.

Cues

  • Body straight from heels to head
  • Chest to the bar
  • Shoulder blades squeeze at the top

Common mistakes

  • Letting your hips sag: squeeze your glutes and brace so your body stays straight.
  • Stopping short of the bar: raise the bar or bend your knees until you can touch it on every rep.
  • Reaching your chin toward the bar: keep your neck long and lead with your chest, or the last inches come from your head instead of your back.
  • Dropping out of the bottom: lower yourself slowly to straight arms, since a bounce takes the stretch out of your upper back.
Build a session with Inverted Row

Swap with only a band

Band Bent-Over Row

Lats, Upper Back

Stand on a band and row it from the barbell row's hinge. The band is hardest at the squeeze, so hold the top of each rep for a second.

How to do it

  1. Stand on the middle of a long band with your feet hip-width apart and hold an end in each hand.
  2. Hinge forward from the hips with soft knees until your torso is at about 45 degrees, back flat.
  3. Row both handles toward your lower ribs, elbows close, and pause with your shoulder blades pulled together.
  4. Let the band pull your arms back to straight slowly and repeat.

Cues

  • Hold the squeeze for a second
  • Slow on the way back
  • Shorten your grip to add tension

Common mistakes

  • Letting the band snap your arms back down: resist it all the way, because the lowering counts.
  • Using a band so light the set never gets close to failure: choke up on the band or switch to a heavier one.
Build a session with Band Bent-Over Row

Swap with only a pull-up bar

Archer Pull-Up

Lats, Upper Back

A vertical pull rather than a row, but pulling toward one hand at a time loads each side of your back with most of your bodyweight. Use it when a bar to hang from is all you have; with a dumbbell and a bench, the one-arm row is the closer match.

How to do it

  1. Take an overhand grip about twice your shoulder width and hang with your arms straight.
  2. Pull your body toward your right hand, letting your left arm straighten along the bar.
  3. Get your chin near your right hand at the top, then lower back to the middle.
  4. Alternate sides each rep, or do all reps on one side and switch.

Cues

  • Pull toward one hand
  • Other arm straight
  • Lower to center

Common mistakes

  • Bending the assisting arm so both share the work: straighten it as much as you can.
  • Rushing back through the middle: control the lowering on each side.
Build a session with Archer Pull-Up

Example sessions without the barbell row

Session 1

Gym, lower back is the limit

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets22 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentSeated Row Machine, Barbells, Cable Row

You train in a gym and your lower back tires before your upper back on barbell rows.

Every row here takes the hinge away: the chest-supported machine for heavy sets, the seal row with a barbell on a bench, then a seated cable row for the stretch. Your upper back can now be pushed close to failure. 11 working sets.

Back
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Chest-Supported Row1 warm-up set first 4 × 6–10 2 2 min
Seal Row 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Seated Cable Row 4 × 10–12 1 90 s
How to run it
Once or twice a week as your back day, or split across two upper-body days.
How to progress
When every set of a lift reaches the top of its rep range at the RIR shown, add the smallest weight jump next session and start again at the bottom of the range.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Home gym, rows for strength

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets22 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Landmine

You lift in a garage gym with a barbell, a rack and a corner for a landmine, and want heavy rows that spare your lower back between reps.

Pendlay rows keep the heavy barbell work with a reset on the floor each rep, so reps stay low and rests long. Meadows rows add one-arm volume, and inverted rows under the same bar finish the session. 11 working sets.

Back
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Pendlay Row2 warm-up sets first 5 × 3–6 2 3 min
Meadows RowSets are per arm. 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Inverted Row 3 × 8–15 1 90 s
How to run it
Twice a week, at least two days apart.
How to progress
On the Pendlay row, add the smallest plates when all five sets reach 6 clean reps. On the other two, add reps first, then load or raise your feet.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Home, dumbbells and a pull-up bar

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets22 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Pull-Up Bar

You train at home with dumbbells, a bench and a doorway pull-up bar, and no barbell.

The one-arm row is the heavy lift, two-dumbbell bent-over rows keep the barbell row's hinge at higher reps, and archer pull-ups add the most load your bodyweight can give each side. 11 working sets.

Back
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
One-Arm Dumbbell Row1 warm-up set firstSets are per arm. 4 × 8–12 2 90 s
Dumbbell Bent-Over Row 4 × 10–15 1 75 s
Archer Pull-UpReps are per side. 3 × 3–6 2 2 min
How to run it
Twice a week on non-consecutive days.
How to progress
Add reps until every set reaches the top of its range, then go up a dumbbell. On archer pull-ups, add a rep per side each week up to 6.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What is a good replacement for barbell rows?

The chest-supported row is the closest without the lower-back load. Keeping a barbell, Pendlay rows and seal rows work; with dumbbells, one-arm rows.

Can I do bent-over rows at home?

Yes. Do them with two dumbbells or a band under your feet, or brace one hand on a chair and row one dumbbell at a time.

Can I do bodyweight rows at home without any equipment?

You need something to pull on. A doorway pull-up bar gives you archer pull-ups for the same muscles, and a long band gives you bent-over rows; with a rack, row your body under the bar.

Are bent-over rows a good exercise?

Yes. They let you load the upper back and lats heavily and train your hinge too. If your lower back limits them, a supported row trains the same muscles harder.

What can I replace dumbbell rows with?

A one-arm cable row, a chest-supported row or a Meadows row keep the one-arm or supported pull. With two hands, a seal row or seated cable row.

Is the dumbbell row a compound exercise?

Yes. It moves your shoulder and elbow together and trains your lats, upper back, rear delts and biceps at once.