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Chest-supported row

Also called chest supported row, chest-supported dumbbell row, chest supported dumbbell row, incline dumbbell row.

What is a chest-supported row?

The chest-supported row is a two-dumbbell row performed face-down on an incline bench. The support removes the need to hold a hip hinge, leaving the lats, middle back and posterior deltoids to pull while the elbow flexors assist.

Anatomical illustration of a man rowing two dumbbells while lying chest-down on an incline bench, with the upper and middle back highlighted.

How do you perform a chest-supported row?

Set up

  1. Set a bench to a low or moderate incline, around 30 to 45 degrees, and place one dumbbell on each side.
  2. Lie chest-down with your feet planted, take the dumbbells and let your arms hang straight without the weights touching the floor.

Execution

  1. Pull your elbows back and row the dumbbells toward your lower ribs, allowing your shoulder blades to draw together.
  2. Keep your chest on the pad and stop before the shoulders roll forward or the torso lifts.
  3. Lower the dumbbells under control until your arms are straight and the shoulder blades can move forward.

Common mistakes

  • Setting the bench too low for the dumbbells to clear

    The weights hit the floor before the arms straighten. Raise the bench or use a setup that gives the dumbbells room to hang.

  • Lifting the chest to finish

    That removes the support and adds torso momentum. End the pull where the chest can still stay in contact.

  • Pinning the shoulder blades throughout

    The back muscles then hold one position instead of moving the blades through the row. Let them reach forward under control at the bottom.

Where it fits in a session

Use it as a main horizontal pull or after unsupported rows when the lower back should no longer limit the set.

Keep the bench angle and elbow path consistent when comparing dumbbell loads between sessions.

Muscles worked

Front
Front — Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.
Back
Back — Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.

Primary

Secondary

Select a muscle name to locate it.

Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.

The back muscles move the upper arms and shoulder blades while the elbow flexors assist. The bench supports the torso instead of the spinal extensors holding a hip hinge.

Variations

  • 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.
    Single-arm dumbbell rowSupports the body with one hand and knee while rowing one dumbbell.
  • 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.
    Barbell bent-over rowRows from a hip hinge without chest support.
  • Anatomical illustration of a man performing a seated lever machine row, with the upper and middle back highlighted.
    Machine rowUses a guided lever and dedicated seat instead of dumbbells and an incline bench.
  • Seal row — Uses a raised flat bench, which keeps the torso horizontal and requires more clearance below it.

Related tools

Frequently asked questions

What muscles does a chest-supported row work?

It trains the latissimus dorsi, middle and lower trapezius, rhomboids and posterior deltoids, with the elbow flexors assisting.

What bench angle should you use?

Around 30 to 45 degrees is a practical starting range. Use enough height for the dumbbells to hang freely while your chest and feet remain supported.

Where should you row the dumbbells?

Pull toward the lower ribs with a moderate elbow path. Stop where the chest can stay on the pad rather than lifting to chase extra range.

Should the shoulder blades move?

Yes. Let them move forward as the arms straighten and draw together during the pull, while the chest stays supported.

Sources

  1. Anatomy, Back, Latissimus Dorsi. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448120/
  2. Anatomy, Back, Trapezius. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK518994/
  3. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Deltoid Muscle. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537056/

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