The Death of the Bent-Over Row

[Phil]

The Death of the Bent-Over Row
By David Barr
http://www.staleytraining.com/articl...t-over-row.htm

Nutritional Consults with David
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[GJG]

While I am no trained professional, nor an athlete, I am someone that has spent considerable time in the gym and wanted to share my personal, if uneducated thoughts on the Bent Over Row.

I am one of the people that finds a full contraction difficult, but only when using heavy weight. At a moderate weight I am rock solid, in position, can pull the bar up tight into my body and give a hard squeeze to my back. Perhaps its not as effective as other excercises however my personal thought is that because it requires so much of the nervous system, and requires more concentration to perform correctly, that it is useful in order to really develop that mind body connection. It's like driving a manual transmission vs an automatic. With the auto, everything is there, done for you, you just have to get in and drive. This is the machine or cable row. The manual, even when you have been doing it for years, you have to interact and your brain is working more, clutch in, shift, clutch out while easing back onto the gas. This is the Bent Over Row, your brain has to focus on keeping your body in position, while moving the arms, and squeezing the back, making sure to breathe properly. I feel that this translates more into real world use for athletes or anyone that is physical outside of the gym. It's not often in real life that you get to focus on one muscle group while the others are relatively unused.

So I don't think that the Bent Over Row is an excercise that should be stopped. I don't think that it should be the only rowing movement, but I think that it is definitely of value, and that maybe people need to learn to lower the amount of weight used and concentrate on form while doing this excercise. I see too many people trying to move massive amounts of weight for this excercise and they end up looking like a floundering fish on a hook. Just all poor form, making it into a partial clean/deadlift/bicep curl.

Just my thoughts....

[Skidmark46]

Regarding the above post - I think there is need for both the barbell row and the dumbbell row or similar isolation movements. Refer to the "Cheating to Win" article. I'm in a cycle where my lower back is tired so I turned to the Single arm DB row and the chest supported barbell row to work the upper back.

But on days where the lower back is good, I like to do pendlay rows and control the negative. Pendlays allow a little bit of leg drive to get the bar moving, though you are supposed to pull the bar to the torso with the upper back. It surely works my back and I'm quite sore the next few days - which I interpret as my back attempting to adjust to the stimulation.

Summary? I think it's a bit soon to proclaim the death of the bent-over barbell row.

[Phil]

Originally Posted by Skidmark46

Summary? I think it's a bit soon to proclaim the death of the bent-over barbell row.

I agree 100% with much of both the above posts. Its a BIG compound move, its using the body as a machine to move big loads in a multi joint fashion. Sure there are times when My lower back is smoked and I will turn to a chest supported row or the like but the bent over row even cheated has been used for years and proven pretty darn effectively to build a massive back. Look at beasts like Dorian Yates who lived on that move. look at any worker who has to pick up heavy stuff day in day out, sure the other muscles and body parts contribute but even the static load on the upper back is going to play a huge role.

[Christopher Drummond]

they are my favorite lat and upper back movement....plus i can move a ton of weight which is always cool.. seated rows always look whey ghey.

[David Barr]

Originally Posted by Phil

Look at beasts like Dorian Yates who lived on that move.

lol He was the reason I was inculcated about the movement!

I'm glad to see that some people still like it, but the days of it being a "must do" exercise are gone with the 80's.

Great feedback!