Lying Cambered Barbell Row
Trains the Rhomboids and Middle Trapezius.
- Equipment
- A cambered bar, a box and either a flat bench or an adjustable bench
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Set a flat bench on blocks high enough that your arms can hang straight beneath it.
- Lie face down on the bench with a cambered bar on the floor below.
- Take an overhand grip a little wider than your shoulders.
- Pull the bar up toward the underside of the bench, driving the elbows out and back.
- Let the cambered shape give you extra range at the top before the bar meets the bench.
- Lower under control until the arms hang straight again.
Common mistakes
- Lifting the chest off the bench to pull higher. The bench is what removes the hips and lower back from the movement; coming off it gives them back.
- Setting the bench too low. If the bar reaches the floor before the arms straighten, the bottom of the range is cut — and the camber exists to add range at the top, not to compensate at the bottom.
- Pulling with the elbows tucked. Elbows out and back aims this at the middle back, which is what the setup is for.
- Choosing the load from a bent-over row. Chest-supported means no help from the hips, and the honest weight is a good deal lighter.