6 Best Horizontal Pulling Exercises to Build Back/Lats

Rows.

Horizontal pulling exercises are always known as rows.

It doesn’t matter if you’re using a dumbbell, kettlebell, barbell, cables, or a machine.

Rows are rows.

And below are the 6 best horizontal pulling exercises.

Why you Must Pull Horizontally

Pulling horizontally, that is pulling weight toward your chest in the same path as a bench press, does wonders for your body.

It hits the biceps, lats, rear delts, lower traps, rhomboids, teres major & minor, and other a lot of other muscles through the mid back.

Horizontal pulling is critical not only for muscular development of those muscles but also for supporting your other compound lifts like the squat and deadlift.

These muscles are critical for good posture and balance horizontal pushing movements.

1. Chest supported Dumbbell Rows

This exercise is the best upper back builder out there.

Grab an incline bench, a pair of dumbbells, and another bench or box.

Set the incline to 30 degrees, place the bench or box under the headrest of the bench and place your dumbbells on it.

Straddle the bench with your chest and your legs long behind you.

Grab the dumbbells and let your arms hang as low as possible.

Pull the dumbbells up to your hips in a backward arc and slightly lift your chest off the bench at the end of motion.

2. Single ARm CAble Rows

These can be done on the normal seated cable row at your gym, but I like it better using an incline bench.

The setup is similar to the chest supported dumbbell rows. The key difference is that these are done one arm at a time using a cable.

The bench provides a point for you to brace with one arm while letting the working arm stretch to max ROM.

Start the exercise with the handle as far forward as possible.

Set your shoulder then pull the handle towards your body. Be sure to keep your shoulder down & back throughout this portion of the lift.

Your body should twist just a little away from the handle to ensure you are squeezing the muscles of the back completely.

 

3. Standing Dumbbell Rows

I used to teach these on a bench until I realized how well they work the core when standing.

These are done one hand at a time so grab a dumbbell and find a wall, squat rack, or other solid upright to brace yourself against.

Place your left arm on the upright about waist height then slide your right foot back. Hinge until your torso is close to parallel.

With the dumbbell in your right hand and your shoulder far away from your ear begin the motion by setting the shoulder.

Now pull the dumbbell up so it touches your hip bone.

This exercise provides a lot of rotational forces on the core so expect sore obliques.

 

4. Bent over Barbell Rows

Barbell rows will be the heaviest back exercise you do.

The main reason is that it is a two-handed exercise with a limited range of motion when compared to the single arm exercises.

Big range of motions are good for growing muscles.

Using big weights are good for tuning the nervous system.

 

5. TRX Rows

TRX rows are a great bodyweight exercise.

The beauty of these is that you can adjust the difficulty by changing the angle of your body.

It is key to keep your body in a rigid plank and put the shoulders through a large range of motion.

The more upright you stand when doing this exercise the easier it will be.

Increase difficulty by bringing yourself closer to parallel with the ground.

 

6. Low Row MAchine

If you’re in a commercial gym like Planet Fitness you probably have access to a low row machine.

It’s a great substitute for single arm cable rows and my go to back exercise when at the commercial gym.

You can do both arms at once but I highly recommend doing one arm at a time to maximize your ROM.

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