DB Bent-Over Row
Posterior chain + back health
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and hinge at the hips until the torso is at about 45° or lower, knees soft, back flat, arms hanging straight below the shoulders with the palms facing in.
The rep
Row both dumbbells to the sides of the lower ribs, driving the elbows back close to the body. Squeeze the shoulder blades together at the top for a moment, then lower slowly to straight arms. Hold the same hinge and a flat back for the whole set.
On the exercise card
- Flat back
- Squeeze at top
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| Standing up during the set | Hold the hinge. If the torso keeps rising, the dumbbells are too heavy. |
| Rounding the back | Brace and set the chest before every rep. |
| Elbows flaring wide | Keep them close and row towards the hips. Flared elbows move the work into the rear shoulders. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- A single-arm row with one hand and knee on a bench, or a chest-supported row.
- Harder
- Heavier dumbbells, or a pause at the top of every rep.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
In AFL it is in the strength block of the upper-body session alongside the bench press, four sets of eight with a heavy dumbbell. The pull balances the pressing, and holding the hinge trains the posterior chain at the same time, which is why the app lists it for back health as well as back strength.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFL | Upper Power | 4 × 8 | 35kg DB |
If you cannot do this one
Rack taken, kit missing, or it does not suit you. These are the swaps the app offers, matched by movement pattern and body region — each with the reason it is a fair substitute.
| Alternative | Why it works as a swap |
|---|---|
| Single-Arm DB Row | Unilateral back strength, even sides |
| Barbell Row | Heavy horizontal pull for the whole back |
| Pendlay Row | Dead-stop bar row from the floor — explosive pulling power |
| Yates Row | Underhand grip — lat-bias mid-back |
| Meadows Row | Landmine single-arm row — back thickness with shoulder safety |
| Kroc Row | High-rep heavy DB row — back endurance + grip |
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
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