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Hey what’s up I hope you’re doin’ swell.
Now before I go on, I want to quickly say that yes I have a new pup and you’ll meet her in a minute. But right now I want you to focus on the inverted rows and then will get to the puppy. Cool?
Great.
Inverted Rows
So the last few weeks we’ve been doing inverted rows at my gym. I absolutely love them and think they are a great exercise no matter what the goal…
- muscle building
- fat burning
- strength
They are also a great ‘posture correcting’ exercise and are an awesome progression to use to build up to your first chin up.
However I notice two really big mistakes when people perform them…
Inverted Row Mistakes and Corrections
Problem #1 – Dropping The Hips:
The first common mistake I see is a dropping of the hips. Many will do this to create momentum to help them start the lift.
I don’t like it and consider this cheating.
How to Fix it:
The first thing you need to focus on is to keep your “hips high” during the entire exercise.
Essentially what you’re doing is using your glutes and quads to form a straight line just like a push up, because that’s what an inverted row is – and upside down push up.
If that doesn’t work you’re just simply too weak in this position. So walk a couple steps back, cue yourself again to keep your “hips high” and then start your row.
Problem #2 – Collapsed Chest:
The next common problem I see is a collapsing of the chest and the shoulders shrugging up in the bottom or hang position of the row.
Since most people already spend majority of their day in this position, I want to get them away from it. This also generates a little bit of momentum to start your row (we don’t want that) and it’s also a really weak position.
How to Fix it:
In the hang position of the row think “big chest” and “shoulders down” away from your ears.
This will create a rock solid upper body (as you can see when I demonstrate it in the video below, all my muscles immediately switch on in my upper body).
2 Inverted Row Tips
These two tips are from Pavel in Beyond Body Building which he applies to pull ups, but they can also be used for your inverted rows – or any other row for that matter.
Tip #1 – No Thumbs:
When you wrap your thumbs around the bar you tend to curl yourself up rather than pulling and leading with the elbows. I talk about this more here >> How To Feel Your Back When Rowing <<
In other words… you use more bicep and less back. Now that sort of defeats the purpose of the row.
If you want to target your biceps go do some curls. You big sissy.
Instead you want to wrap your thumbs under the bar or have them on the same side as your fingers and pretend your hands are hooks.
You’ll also notice that you won’t be as ‘locked in’ which will ease wrist pain.
Tip #2 – Keep More Weight On Your Pinky Finger.
Once you’ve got more weight on your pink finger, think of pulling through (rowing up) with just your pinky. You will immediately notice your back turn on. It’s pretty cool.
Here’s a video for you if you would like to see me demo the mistakes and tips.
Oh yeah I forgot…
The puppy!
So I’m not sure what to name my dog. I’ve narrowed it down to Gem and Sky. Can you do me a favor and post a comment below with which name you like for her? That would be super of you.
Thanks Kirk. You’re welcome.
Been doing these to build up to pull-ups and chin-ups for quite some time. Thanks for the tips!
Hey thanks Tony, hahaha yeah I know what ya mean.
That’s very well thought of Narell Louise Potter
great demonstration of the flaws and clear correction. Thanks.
Naming my own kids was enough trauma for me, I’m afraid you’re on your own with the puppy… and later you will discover that it doesn’t even have grandparents for emergency baby sitting! Sorry about that.
hi ya
if she was born 8 weeks ago her birthstone is a topaz which is Blue & the SKY is blue.
http://www.americangemsociety.org/december-birthstones
I like Sky if theses are the choices Grant.
Thanks Brad.
Gem – apart from sounding nice, much easier to give commands (with feeling) when you end on an short consonant like n, m, d, etc. She’s a real cutie
Thanks Marianne, yeah you’re right. So true.
Gem……for sure
Awwww she is a littel Gem
Gem
gongrats on your new friend! Great post, thanks.
Thanks LIvi
Grant I do inverted rows with a straight bar. Is this still ok and how do I make them easier because I do have the sagging hips thing going on.
Also, I think Gem would suit her.
Thanks for your help.
Yeah you just gotta work with what you’ve got. Use an over hand grip.
To make them easier adjust the bar height higher.
Go with Gem dude.
Thanks for the tips too. I’ll give them a go.
NH
Thanks Nathan
Hey Grant, thanks for the tips
She is sooooo cute. Go with Gem
Sam
No worries Sam, thank you