Alternative to barbell row?
whmscll
Posts: 2,254 Member
I find the barbell bow, even when I do it correctly at a lower weight, puts a lot of strain on my back. Is there an alternative lift? Is the barbell row even necessary?
0
Replies
-
Is the barbell row even necessary?
pulling work that engages your back muscles is very useful. i'm not gonna say 'necessary' because i'm not experienced enough to be doctrinaire. but you need a strong back to balance out the strength that you're growing in your abs, pecs, etc. i think it's also really important to keep your back strength in sync with your hamstrings, or deadlifting might get scary.
my trainer sees rows as an 'accessory', not really a lift in its own right, and he says he'll 'accept' pullup/chinup work and/or me just using the cable pulldown when i'm on my own, if i find the rows uncomfortable. but even he makes a Great Big Deal about not neglecting back strength.
0 -
Funny, I was just doing rows last night and wondering if they were doing much good. Ha. But I'd do a million rows if I could avoid the deadlifts. Oh man, I hate deadlifts...0
-
There are also a few different types of rows. When I get flustered with one, I'll just try another type to see how it feels. Though I don't feel the lift much in general, if a program has rows in it then they are what I will do. Agree with Canadian there. It's not a must but back work is quite a good idea.
Interesting on hating deadlifts... To each their own. I'd rather deadlift any day than do rows, but I'm growing fond of OHP oddly enough.
0 -
It might be a good idea to recheck form, and/or video yourlift. It seems most situations/pain go back to form.0
-
You could try an Australian pull up / inverted row as an alternative.0
-
I have just discovered there is something called 10 pound bumper plates, aka plastic training plates. How come my expensive personal trainer never mentioned these? How come I have never seen them mentioned on these forums? They are the same diameter as 45-pound plates but only 10 pounds each. Using them allows beginners, especially women, to adopt proper form for deadlifts...and rows!...with less weight. I do think, as giusa said, that a big part of my dislike of rows has been difficulty with form. According to Starting Strength, which I have just begun reading, when you're a beginner and using small plates on the floor, it's virtually impossible to have the best formbecause you are bending and reaching so far towards the floor.0
-
I dropped barbell rows when I started working with a personal trainer. My form was putting strain on my lower back. I do lots of back accessories including TRX rows, lat pulldowns, negative chins, seated cable rows, face pulls, single arm kettlebell/dumbbell rows, hyperextensions and pull aparts (TRX or resistance band).0
-
I can't imagine hating deadlifts. They are the highlight of my week. I did switch to sumo though and find it much easier to keep my back straight.
Bumper plates are important for rows and deadlifts, although I could never manage Pendlay rows even with bumper plates.0 -
I have just discovered there is something called 10 pound bumper plates, aka plastic training plates.
oh man, if you're been trying to row without these, i totally see your point. and yeah. if theyr'e going to hurt your lower back while 'strengthening' your mid/upper back then it's not like you're gaining much.
if trainer plates aren't available, you can also stack other plates (of anything else) to raise the bar to a more humane height.
0 -
I work out at home and don't have bumper plates. You can use aerobic step supports to hold up the barbell in each side. I have a power cage and I put the safeties as low as they go and put the barbell on them for rows. I lgrew to love rows. As I got stronger they got easier. They have done wonders for my back.0
-
I lift at home and highly recommend bumper plates and fractional plates for home gyms. But as @sumiblue said, there are other ways...
I've asked personal trainers myself, from my understanding they have their own routines, Pendlay rows and compound lifts are considered old school lifts and not frequently used or known by younger trainers.I have just discovered there is something called 10 pound bumper plates, aka plastic training plates. How come my expensive personal trainer never mentioned these? How come I have never seen them mentioned on these forums? They are the same diameter as 45-pound plates but only 10 pounds each. Using them allows beginners, especially women, to adopt proper form for deadlifts...and rows!...with less weight. I do think, as giusa said, that a big part of my dislike of rows has been difficulty with form. According to Starting Strength, which I have just begun reading, when you're a beginner and using small plates on the floor, it's virtually impossible to have the best formbecause you are bending and reaching so far towards the floor.0 -
Training plates and bumper plates are different. Training plates have no weight while bumper plates typically come in 10, 15, 25, 35, and 45lbs. They're mentioned quite a bit in here along with using stacks of 45s if bumper plates aren't available to position the bar in the correct position for rows and deadlifts. No one is keeping this a secret.0
-
Interestingly, I just went back to StrongLifts.com and re-read the section on deadlifting. I think it assumes you are a guy and can start out deadlifting with 95 pounds on the bar. Anyway, no mention in there of using bumper plates or assistive devices to position the bar at the correct height if you are starting at a lower weight. Huge omission, IMO.0
-
Mehdi always assumes that his target audience is male. When I first started SL 5x5 I read the Program Summary sticky for this group and it covered what to do if you couldn't start with the program's beginning weights. I couldn't OHP the empty bar so used a 30 lb fixed weight bar at my gym. Lots of good info in the stickies.0
-
You know, I read the summary stickie when I began several weeks ago, but I must not have understood that part, as I was learning so much all at once. Re-reading the stickies now! Thanks!0
-
I find dumbbell rows are much less strain on the back. If you got access to some heavy dumbbells I'd give it a shot. The form for them is much easier too.
I find Pendlay row form to be really wacky and hard to relate to from what Mehdi and other males show. I'm too short legged so nothing lines up quite right with all the form check marks.
I also treat rows like an accessory work to bench press. I don't go crazy on them anymore, and go pretty easy on the weight for them.0 -
I was doing the rows where my back was almost parallel to the floor.
I thought I was going quite well...
But this really built guy came up to me and recommended doing the yates row - as the weight get's heavier with the bent over row, the lower back becomes more unstable. He spent some time helping me get the form right (with an empty bar). I looked up what he said on youtube and other websites - just to make sure it wasn't bro-science.
I've been following his advice for the last week, and I like it.
Maybe look at the different rows and find one that fits your physique.0 -
Again... hating deadlifts? That's crazy talk.
Rows are hard if your back is weak. If your back is weak, you'll need to strengthen it to progress in many other lifts.
If a barbell row is too hard, I also recommend bent over dumbbell rows - single arm. You can google the form.
But seriously, rows can be so helpful to strengthen for deadlifts, provide a complementary exercise for bench, aid back position in squats etc. It may not seem beneficial now but weakness is sure to flare up once those weights get heavier0 -
I nearly pulled something doing rows the first time and had to take a week and a half off before I tried again. I think because I started with the silly recommended starting weights on the SL website. I have since notched everything down quite a bit and I don't care. I'm willing to make really slow progress so long as I feel confident I am lifting with good form and safe.
I already have a lot of off-program exceptions going on. I lift at home but don't have a rack so I've been doing like 2-handed dumbbell goblet squats (without a rack I can't get a bar with any weight on it over my head). That means my starting squat weight is only 30 lb total between the two dumbbells, but that's fine, I'll keep working on it. Also do bench press and overheads with the dumbbells. Rows and deadlifts I use my bar but it's some off-brand cheapo thing from Amazon so it's not even Olympic weight by itself (I think it weighs 10 lbs) and involves a lot of annoying screwing on/off weights instead of using clips. I may upgrade once we get our garage cleaned out, at that point I intend to buy a real rack. Hopefully I'm not spinning my wheels here with all these exceptions.0 -
I struggle with bent over rows with form so I either do single arm bench rows or seated rows. Sometimes with a programme you need to take a step back to be able to go forward. I spent the first few months of SL using dumbbells before I could move up to bar and rack work.0
-
Just did my first workout using 10 pound bumper plates. Worked very well. I was able to do rows with perfect form! (I think)0
-
Yay!!!!0
-
I had the same issue when starting to lift. I couldn't get the plates high enough for good form. So I grabbed those aerobic steps and placed the barbell with one step on each side of the plate. Worked really well for the height for me.
I think someone mentioned Starting Strength. Awesome book to check form. I found/find it extremely helpful with the lifts.0
