Incline Dumbbell Row

How to Perform the Incline Dumbbell Row

Set an adjustable bench to a 30-45 degree incline and lie face down with your chest supported on the pad.
Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms hanging straight down toward the floor, palms facing each other.
Plant your feet firmly on the floor behind you for stability.
Retract your shoulder blades and row both dumbbells upward, driving your elbows back and squeezing your mid-back.
Continue pulling until the dumbbells reach the sides of your torso and your shoulder blades are fully squeezed together.
Hold the top position for 1-2 seconds, focusing on the contraction between your shoulder blades.
Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position, fully extending your arms and allowing a slight stretch in the lats.

Lifting the chest off the bench to generate momentum

Keep your chest firmly pressed against the bench throughout the entire movement. If you need to lift off, reduce the weight.

Shrugging the shoulders up instead of retracting the shoulder blades

Focus on pulling your shoulder blades together and driving your elbows back, not shrugging your shoulders toward your ears.

Not getting a full range of motion

Fully extend the arms at the bottom and fully retract the shoulder blades at the top for maximum back activation.

✓Eliminates lower back stress and momentum, isolating the back muscles more effectively.
✓The chest-supported position forces strict form and prevents cheating.
✓Excellent for developing the mid-back, rhomboids, and rear deltoids.

●Adjust the bench height so the dumbbells clear the floor at the bottom of the movement.
●You can angle your elbows outward to emphasize the rear delts and upper back, or keep them close to target the lats.
●This exercise is excellent for lifters with lower back issues who cannot perform bent-over rows.

Strength

4-5 sets of 5-8 reps at 75-85% 1RM

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 8-12 reps at 65-75% 1RM

Endurance

2-3 sets of 15-20 reps at 50-60% 1RM

Join 2,000,000+ lifters tracking their workouts with Stronger. Available on iOS and Android.