Upper back exercise
Seal RowHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Upper back, Lats
- Also works
- Rear delts
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
How do you do the Seal Row?
- Set a bench high enough that the bar hangs off the floor with your arms straight.
- Lie face down, chest at the end of the bench, bar under your shoulders.
- Grip the bar overhand, just wider than your shoulders.
- Pull the bar up until it touches the underside of the bench.
- Lower it slowly until your arms are straight, without touching the floor.
Cues
- Chest stays on the bench.
- Pull until the bar hits the bench.
- Shoulders down, neck long.
Common mistakes
- Lifting your chest to heave the bar: lighten it and stay flat.
- Stopping short: pull all the way to the bench every rep.
- Letting the plates touch down: raise the bench or use smaller plates.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
A flat bench raised so the top of the pad is about 90 cm off the floor for a 1.75 m athlete: high enough that, with straight arms, 45 cm plates hang about 15 cm clear of the floor. (Purpose-built seal-row benches are about 113 cm, which suits tall athletes or a cambered bar.) Lie face down along the pad, the top of the chest level with the front end, chin just over the edge, neck in line with the spine. Legs straight and together along the bench, feet resting on it. Bar under the shoulders. Overhand grip a little wider than the shoulders (about 1.2 × shoulder width), thumbs wrapped, wrists straight.
The movement
Only the arms and shoulder blades move; the body stays flat on the bench and the head stays still.
End position
Bar touching the underside of the bench, below the lower chest. Elbows driven up and back above the line of the back, about 45° out from the sides (front view). Elbow flexion about 125°. Shoulder blades squeezed together. Chest, hips and legs still on the pad. Pause 0.5 s.
Tempo
Pull 1 s / touch 0.5 s / lower 2 s, then 0.3 s at full stretch, plates still off the floor.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plate clearance at full stretch | 15 cm | 5–30 cm | |
| Grip width | 1.2 × shoulder width | 1.0–1.3 × | |
| Trunk angle from vertical | 90° | on the pad, constant | |
| Elbow flexion at the start | 0° | 0–5° | |
| Elbow out from the side at the end (front view) | 45° | 30–55° | |
| Bar at the end | touching the bench underside | within 2 cm |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Seal Row is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
