RepCount App IconRepCount

Standing cable row

Also called standing V-bar cable row.

What is Standing cable row?

The standing cable row pulls a close-grip handle toward the lower ribs while you stand facing the pulley. It trains the back and elbow flexors without a seated support.

Two side views of a man standing upright and rowing a close V-handle toward his lower ribs, with the back and rear shoulder shaded red.

How to do Standing cable row

Set up

  1. Set a close-grip handle around waist height and stand facing the cable.
  2. Step back until the cable is taut, soften your knees and reach forward with a steady torso.

Execution

  1. Bring the handle toward your lower ribs while your elbows travel backward near your sides.
  2. Finish without leaning back or lifting the shoulders toward the ears.
  3. Reach forward under control while keeping your feet in the same place.

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging at the finish

    Once the shoulders ride up toward the ears the upper trapezius is elevating the shoulder blade rather than the middle fibres and rhomboids pulling it toward the spine. The finish of the row turns into a shrug.

  • Holding the shoulders locked back and only bending the arms

    If the shoulder blades never travel forward at the start and never draw together at the finish, the scapular half of the movement has been deleted and the row becomes a long-lever curl. The muscles between the shoulder blades work through the range you just removed.

Where it fits in a session

Early to middle of a pull or upper-body session, alongside a vertical pull rather than instead of one, and before arm work.

Use a stack setting you can row without stepping or shifting your stance; record the handle and distance from the pulley so later sets are comparable.

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.

Variations

  • 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.
    Seated cable rowAttach a close neutral handle and sit facing the low pulley with your feet on the foot plate and your knees slightly bent.
  • Anatomical illustration of a man rowing two dumbbells while lying chest-down on an incline bench, with the upper and middle back highlighted.
    Chest-supported rowUses two dumbbells with the torso fixed against an incline bench.

Frequently asked questions

Should the shoulder blade move in a cable row?

Yes. Let it reach forward as the arm straightens and draw back as you row. Keep the movement controlled and avoid rounding the lower back for extra range.

Where should the handle finish?

Bring it beside the lower ribs with the elbow near your side. Stop before the shoulder rolls forward or the torso has to lean back.

Sources

  1. Betts JG et al. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, 11.5 Muscles of the pectoral girdle and upper limbs. OpenStax, 2022. https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/11-5-muscles-of-the-pectoral-girdle-and-upper-limbs

Track your progress over time with RepCount

Log every set, see plate loading in context, and track your strength over time. Available on iOS and Android.

Download on the

App Store

Get it on

Google Play