Upper back exercise
Seated Row (Machine)How to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Upper back, Lats
- Also works
- Biceps, Rear delts
- Equipment
- Machine
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
How do you do the Seated Row?
- Set the seat so the handles line up with your mid-chest.
- Sit tall with your chest on the pad and feet flat.
- Grip the handles, palms facing, arms straight.
- Pull the handles back until your elbows pass your body; squeeze.
- Let your arms straighten slowly without the weights touching.
Cues
- Chest stays on the pad.
- Elbows back and close.
- Shoulders down, away from your ears.
Common mistakes
- Leaning back to finish the rep: keep your chest on the pad and lighten the load.
- Shrugging: set your shoulders down before you pull.
- Letting the weights crash: take two seconds or more to return.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
Set the seat so the handles are at mid-chest height with the arms straight. Set the chest pad so the arms are fully stretched forward when the chest touches the pad. Sit tall, chest against the pad, feet flat on the floor or foot platform, knees about 90°. Neutral grip on the vertical handles (palms facing each other), hands about shoulder width apart, wrists straight.
The movement
The handles travel straight back on the machine's track, level or rising very slightly. Only the arms and shoulder blades move. The trunk, head and legs stay still and the chest never leaves the pad.
End position
Handles beside the lower chest, elbows driven back well behind the torso, close to the sides. Elbow flexion about 130°, upper arm about 45° behind the trunk line. Forearms about level with the floor. Shoulder blades squeezed together and down. Chest still on the pad. Pause 1 s.
Tempo
Pull 1 s / squeeze 1 s / return 2.5 s, then 0.3 s at the stretch.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handle height at the start | mid-chest | nipple line to lower chest | |
| Hand spacing | 1.0 × shoulder width | 0.9–1.2 × (machine-fixed) | |
| Trunk angle from vertical | 5° forward | 0–10° forward, constant | |
| Elbow flexion at the start | 5° | 0–10° | |
| Elbow out from the side at the end (front view) | 15° | 0–30° |
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 Seated 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.
