Neutral-Grip Bent-Over Dumbbell Row
Trains the Rhomboids and Middle Trapezius.
- Equipment
- Dumbbells
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Stand with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other.
- Hinge forward from the hips with a flat back until your torso is close to parallel with the floor.
- Let both arms hang straight down, palms still facing each other.
- Pull both dumbbells to your ribs, keeping the elbows close to your sides.
- Draw the shoulder blades back and together as the elbows pass the torso.
- Lower under control until the arms are straight and the shoulder blades have come apart.
Common mistakes
- Letting the palms rotate to face backward. The neutral grip is what keeps the elbows in and the pull running along the sides; once the hands turn, it is an ordinary bent-over row.
- Rowing to the chest with the elbows flared. Flared elbows point the pull at the rear shoulder and the middle back; tucked elbows point it at the lat. Both are real exercises and the grip here chooses the second.
- Holding the hinge with a rounded back because the hamstrings are tight. If a flat back will not reach parallel, the answer is a higher torso angle, not a rounded spine.
- Standing more upright as the set goes on. The angle drifting upward is the most common way a bent-over row gets easier without anybody deciding it should.