Exercise guide · Beginner · Compound

Inverted Row: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The inverted row is a bodyweight exercise that targets the upper back and also works the biceps and forearms. It involves pulling your chest up to a bar or suspension trainer while keeping your body straight, making it an effective movement for building upper body strength and improving posture.

Primary muscles
Traps
Secondary muscles
Forearms , Biceps
Equipment
Body Weight
Level · type
Beginner · Compound
Demonstration of the inverted row
Front view: muscles worked by the inverted row. Primary: traps. Secondary: forearms and biceps.
Back view: muscles worked by the inverted row. Primary: traps. Secondary: forearms and biceps.
Primary Secondary

How to do the inverted row

  1. Step 1: Set up a bar at waist height or use a suspension trainer.
  2. Step 2: Stand facing the bar or suspension trainer, with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  3. Step 3: Grab the bar or handles with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  4. Step 4: Lean back, keeping your body straight and your heels on the ground.
  5. Step 5: Pull your chest towards the bar or handles, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
  6. Step 6: Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower yourself back to the starting position.
  7. Step 7: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Sets, reps and programming

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the inverted row by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Inverted Row alternatives

More exercises that train the traps as their main target:

More traps exercises

See the best trap exercises, ranked →

Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.