Machine Row Kelso Shrug

How to Perform the Machine Row Kelso Shrug

Set up on a chest-supported row machine, lying face down with your chest against the pad.
Grasp the handles with a neutral or pronated grip, arms fully extended below you.
Instead of performing a full row, focus on retracting your shoulder blades together.
Squeeze your mid and lower traps to pull the handles a short distance by pinching your scapulae.
Hold the fully retracted position for a 1-2 second squeeze.
Slowly allow your shoulder blades to protract, returning the handles to the starting position.
Keep your arms relatively straight throughout; this is a scapular movement, not an arm-pulling movement.
Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.

Turning the movement into a full row by bending the elbows excessively

Keep your arms nearly straight and focus on moving the weight by squeezing the shoulder blades together.

Shrugging the shoulders upward instead of retracting them

Think about pulling your shoulder blades together and down, not up toward your ears.

Using too much weight and reducing the range of scapular motion

Use a moderate weight that allows full scapular protraction and retraction.

✓Targets the mid and lower trapezius, which are commonly weak and undertrained.
✓Chest-supported position eliminates lower back stress and momentum.
✓Improves scapular retraction strength, which enhances performance on pressing and pulling exercises.

●Visualize squeezing a pencil between your shoulder blades to cue the correct movement pattern.
●This exercise is excellent for fixing rounded-shoulder posture and improving scapular control.
●Pair with face pulls and band pull-aparts for comprehensive mid-back training.

Strength

4-5 sets of 6-8 reps at 80-90% 1RM

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 10-15 reps at 65-75% 1RM

Endurance

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

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