Incline Dumbbell Row
Trains the Rhomboids and Middle Trapezius.
- Equipment
- Dumbbells and an adjustable bench
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Set an adjustable bench to about forty-five degrees and lie face down on it with a dumbbell in each hand.
- Let your arms hang straight down, palms facing each other, and rest your chest and stomach against the pad.
- Plant your feet on the floor or the bench's base for stability, and let your shoulder blades travel forward at the bottom.
- Pull both dumbbells toward your hips by driving your elbows back and out at around forty-five degrees.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top, then lower under control until your arms are straight again.
Common mistakes
- Lifting the chest off the pad. As with any chest-supported row, the support is what removes the lower back from the movement — pushing off it puts the back straight back in.
- Setting the bench too upright, so the dumbbells cannot hang freely and the range is cut at the bottom. Around forty-five degrees usually gives full clearance.
- Rowing to the armpits with the elbows tight. That biases the lat; elbows out at forty-five degrees is what emphasises the rhomboids and middle trapezius.
- Rushing the negative. Lying face down makes it easy to just let the dumbbells fall — control them back to the stretch.