Machine High Row
Trains the Rhomboids and Middle Trapezius.
- Equipment
- A machine
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Set the seat so the handles are above your shoulders when you sit and reach forward.
- Sit with your chest against the pad and take one handle in each hand, arms extended up and forward.
- Set your shoulders down away from your ears before you start.
- Pull the handles down and back toward your upper ribs, driving the elbows behind and below you.
- Squeeze where the shoulder blades come together, then hold briefly.
- Let the arms travel back up and forward under control until the shoulder blades come apart.
Common mistakes
- Pulling the elbows straight down as on a pulldown. The angle here is down and back — pulling only downward makes it a lat exercise, which the machine beside it already does.
- Shrugging as the handles come down. The shoulders start down and stay down; letting them ride up gives the movement to the upper trapezius.
- Leaning back to shift the angle. The chest pad is there to remove the trunk from the movement, and leaning away from it puts the trunk straight back in.
- Stopping when the hands reach the body. As on every row, the finish is where the elbows and shoulder blades are, and a hand can reach the ribs with the elbow still out in front.