Chest-supported row alternatives

Seated machine rows offer another supported horizontal pull. Seated cable, one-arm dumbbell and barbell rows change how the torso is supported.

The original lies chest-down on an incline bench with two dumbbells. Keep chest support when it matters to your plan; sitting upright or holding a standing hinge changes the demand.

Anatomical illustration of a man rowing two dumbbells while lying chest-down on an incline bench, with the upper and middle back highlighted.
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Choose everything you have. Some exercises need two items, such as dumbbells and a flat bench. Choose floor space for options without equipment.

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  • Anatomical illustration of a man performing a seated lever machine row, with the upper and middle back highlighted.

    Similar movement

    Machine row

    You need: Seated row machine

    Why it fits
    Keeps seated horizontal pulling with guided levers and controlled torso support.
    What changes
    Adjust the seat and use the chest pad if that machine has one. Its seated handles replace a chest-down incline bench and two free weights; machines vary in their support.
    See exercise guide
  • Anatomical illustration of a seated cable row in two frames, side by side. In both, a muscle-anatomy figure sits on a flat bench facing a low pulley on a weight-stack tower, feet braced on the machine's footplate and knees slightly bent, holding a short straight bar with a narrow overhand grip. In the left frame the arms are straight out in front and the shoulders reach forward; in the right frame the bar has been drawn in to the midsection with the elbows back past the ribs and the shoulder blades pulled together. Red highlighting in both frames covers the back of the shoulder and the muscles across the upper and middle back either side of the spine, spreading down the outer back in the finish frame.

    Similar movement

    Seated cable row

    You need: Low cable row station with seat, footplate and handle

    Why it fits
    Keeps a two-arm horizontal pull from a low resistance source.
    What changes
    The torso stays upright without chest support. Follow the close neutral handle in the instructions; the illustration shows a narrow overhand bar, and cable loads need their own history.
    See exercise guide
  • Anatomical illustration of a bent-over row with a dumbbell in each hand, shown twice side by side on a white background. The figure is a muscle model seen from behind and slightly above, hinged at the hips with the torso close to parallel to the floor and the knees softly bent, bare feet flat, holding a plate-loaded dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip. In the left frame the arms hang straight down at the bottom of the rep; in the right frame both dumbbells have been pulled up to the sides of the ribcage with the elbows behind the body. Shaded red in both frames are the upper back muscles across both sides — the latissimus dorsi sweeping up the back, the trapezius and the muscles between the shoulder blades, and the rear of the shoulder — with a strip of the forearm coloured in the left frame. No bench appears; the lifter is standing.

    Similar movement

    Dumbbell row

    You need: Dumbbells + Flat bench

    Why it fits
    Offers a supported free-weight horizontal row.
    What changes
    The written guide places one hand and knee on a flat bench while the other arm rows. Its picture shows a standing two-arm row; use the one-arm instructions and count both sides.
    See exercise guide
  • Two frames of an anatomical illustration of a barbell bent-over row, side by side on white. A male figure with the skin removed over the back is hinged at the hips with the knees bent and the torso folded to roughly forty-five degrees, holding a barbell with an overhand shoulder-width grip; the bar carries one large plate a side, marked 45. In the left frame the arms hang straight down and the bar is at about knee height. In the right frame the bar has been pulled up to the lower ribs and the elbows are drawn back past the ribcage. In both frames the highlighted muscles are shaded red across the whole upper and middle back — the trapezius, the rhomboids between the shoulder blades, the rear shoulder and the upper latissimus dorsi — while the arms, legs and lower back are left plain.

    Similar movement

    Barbell bent-over row

    You need: Barbell and plates

    Why it fits
    Keeps a two-arm horizontal pull with free weight.
    What changes
    A standing hip hinge replaces the chest pad. Hold the torso angle steady while the bar moves; removing support changes the load you can control.
    See exercise guide
See the original exercise guide

How we choose replacements

These are curated alternatives, chosen for the movement and the job the exercise does in a workout. A shared muscle group is not enough. Read what changes before choosing: support, range of motion, balance and resistance can all differ. If your goal is to improve a specific lift, alternatives do not replace practice of that lift.

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