Inverted Row
Upper BackBodyweightBeginner
A bodyweight row that builds your back and teaches full-body tension.
Muscle worked
Upper Back, Lats
Equipment
Bodyweight, Barbell
Difficulty
Beginner
Time per set
30-60s
How to perform
Step by step, every rep
01
Set a bar
Use a Smith machine or rack bar around waist height.
02
Hang underneath
Grip the bar, body straight from head to heels, heels on the floor.
03
Row chest to bar
Pull elbows back and keep glutes tight so hips do not sag.
04
Lower with control
Return to straight arms while keeping the body line.
Common mistakes
Avoid these
✕
Hips sagging
Core tension disappears and reps get easier for the wrong reason. Fix: Squeeze glutes and ribs down like a plank.
✕
Neck reaching
You fake range of motion. Fix: Bring chest to bar, not chin to bar.
✕
Bar too low too soon
The exercise becomes too hard and form collapses. Fix: Raise the bar until you can hit clean reps.
Progressions
Scale it up or down
Make it easier
- Higher bar inverted row
- Bent-knee inverted row
- Band-assisted inverted row
Make it harder
- Feet-elevated inverted row
- Weighted inverted row
- Paused chest-to-bar reps
How to program it
Sets, reps, rest
| Goal | Sets | Reps | Rest | Load |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build Strength | 4-6 | 3-8 | 90-150s | Use a harder variation or add load when reps are easy. |
| Build Muscle | 3-5 | 8-15 | 60-90s | Pick a variation that leaves 1-2 clean reps in reserve. |
| Build Endurance | 2-4 | 15-30 | 45-60s | Steady pace. Stop before sloppy reps. |
Want this exercise programmed into a full plan?
Learning the form is step one. Fitting it into a plan built around your body, your equipment, your schedule and your food is what actually changes things. Fuel your sessions with enough protein using the Indian Food Database.
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