Elevated Cable Row
Trains the Lats.
- Equipment
- A cable station
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
- Set a cable row station with the pulley above the level of your shoulders when seated.
- Take the handle with both hands and sit with your feet braced and your knees slightly bent.
- Sit tall and let your arms extend forward and up along the cable line.
- Pull the handle down and back to your upper ribs, driving the elbows past your torso.
- Keep the torso upright throughout rather than rocking with the pull.
- Return under control, letting the shoulder blades travel forward at the front.
Common mistakes
- Rocking backward with each pull. The higher cable line makes leaning back feel natural and it hands the movement to the hips; the trunk stays where it started.
- Pulling to the stomach. The elevated line finishes at the upper ribs — taking it lower fights the angle the setup was chosen for.
- Shrugging as the handle comes in. The shoulders start down and stay down; letting them ride up gives the pull to the upper trapezius.
- Choosing the weight by what you can move. Sitting with the cable above you means part of every repetition is resisting being pulled forward out of the seat, which is a lower ceiling than the back alone would set.