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Inverted row alternatives

A ring row keeps the feet-supported bodyweight pull. Chest-supported dumbbell rows, seated cable rows and barbell rows keep a horizontal pulling task while changing what moves and how the torso is supported.

The original guide uses a locked low Smith-machine bar, straight legs and heels on the floor. Bodyweight alone does not provide a secure bar or suspension anchor. Choose a replacement for the setup you actually have and record its angle, support and load separately.

Anatomical illustration of a straight-leg inverted row under a low fixed bar, shown hanging and with the chest pulled to the bar, highlighting the upper back and arms.
What equipment can you use?

Choose everything you have. Some exercises need two items, such as dumbbells and a flat bench. Choose floor space for options without equipment.

Your replacements

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These options need different equipment. Use the finder above to show only the setups you can use.

  • Similar movement

    Ring row

    You need: Pair of gymnastic rings with adjustable straps + Secure suspension anchor

    Why it fits
    Keeps a bodyweight horizontal pull with the feet on the floor and the body held in one line.
    What changes
    Use two rings with adjustable straps on an anchor rated for suspension exercise. Rings move and rotate independently of a fixed bar. Keep ring height and foot position consistent; bar height or added weight is not a direct conversion. The linked guide currently has no exercise illustration.
    See exercise guide
  • Anatomical illustration of a man rowing two dumbbells while lying chest-down on an incline bench, with the upper and middle back highlighted.

    Similar movement

    Chest-supported row

    You need: Dumbbells + Adjustable bench with incline and upright settings

    Why it fits
    Keeps horizontal rowing with the chest supported instead of lifting the body toward a bar.
    What changes
    Lie chest-down on an incline bench with room for both dumbbells to hang. The torso stays on the pad while the weights move; this removes the straight-body hold of an inverted row. Keep bench angle consistent and select new dumbbell loads.
    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 horizontal pull using a seated cable setup when no low fixed bar is available.
    What changes
    Use a low row station with a seat, footplate and row handle. Stay upright while pulling the handle toward the midsection. The stack moves instead of your body, so record the machine and load separately from bodyweight rows.
    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 a free barbell and no low fixed bar or suspension anchor.
    What changes
    Hold a hip hinge while rowing the bar to the midsection. Your trunk now holds the bent-over position instead of moving as one line toward a fixed bar. Choose a controllable barbell load independently of inverted-row difficulty.
    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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