The underhand row turbocharges biceps development.
Rows are the ultimate ally for bodybuilders (though you might want to keep this info from your spotter for obvious reasons!) In shaping a competition-ready body, rows contribute to building a more substantial upper and lower physique. They also aid in improving your deadlifts. However, their primary benefit is the focus they place on your biceps.
Rows are excellent for enhancing your stability and power, especially when performed in a hinge position, such as dumbbell bent-over rows. Conversely, underhand rows intensify a typical row, making it a focused isolation exercise that greatly accelerates biceps growth.
These movements are executed using an underhand or supinated grip, which can be applied whether handling a barbell or dumbbell. Here’s everything you need to know about the underhand row, including the execution, benefits, and some variations to invigorate your usual workouts.
Executing the Underhand Row
Underhand rows properly performed engage your traps, lats, biceps, and core (1). The supinated grip allows for heavier loads, leading to increased muscle hypertrophy. Here’s a detailed guide for doing the underhand row with either a barbell or dumbbell:
- From a standing position, hinge at your hips by slightly bending your knees and leaning forward at the waist. Keep your elbows close to your torso.
- Grasp the dumbbells or barbell at knee height using an underhand (supinated) grip, with palms facing upward. If employing a barbell, maintain hand spacing slightly wider than shoulder width.
- Engage your abs and retract your shoulders to stabilize your spine. Ensure your trunk stays engaged and your lower back remains flat.
- Pull the dumbbells or barbell back until your elbow aligns with your body, aiming to draw it towards your abdomen. Keep your shoulders down and back, ensuring your chest remains upright.
- Contract your muscles for a second to achieve maximum tension.
- Gradually lower the weights to the starting position to complete the repetition, maintaining control throughout the reps.
Helpful Hints
Don’t overload the bar or use excessive weight, as it will cause you to rely on momentum, thus not effectively targeting your muscles.
For maximizing biceps strength, a barbell is ideal due to its heavier loading capacity. However, if you have a strength imbalance between sides of your back or biceps, dumbbells can help correct these discrepancies.
Advantages of the Underhand Row
Underhand rows target your biceps, lats, and lower back more than other grip styles. Listed below are key benefits of incorporating this exercise into your regimen.
Enhances Bicep Size
The supinated grip demands substantial engagement from your biceps, leading to greater direct loading compared to other isolation exercises. The outcome is more muscle growth and consequently, larger arms.
Increases Lat Volume
The diagonal alignment of your lats excels in both vertical and horizontal pulling. Underhand rows, involving horizontal pulls, enhance lat thickness.
Engages Lower Traps
The underhand grip emphasizes your biceps and lower back, enhancing scapular depression and working your lower traps. This results in better alignment, stability, and mobility.
Improves Hip Hinge
Perfecting your hip hinge is crucial for deadlifts, kettlebell swings, and various bodybuilding exercises. This grip reinforces the proper hip hinge position while engaging your glutes and hamstrings.
Enhances Deadlift Performance
The hip hinge stance for the underhand row mirrors that of the deadlift, where the area below the knee is a frequent sticking point, often due to the lifter’s lack of strength in this phase.core stability. Underhand rows can enhance your form and maintain your posture even when bearing weight.
Lift Heavier Loads
Using an underhand grip activates your biceps more, enabling you to lift greater weights during underhand rows. This overloads primary muscles such as the biceps, lats, and lower traps, leading to increased strength, hypertrophy, and muscle size.
Underhand Row Variations
Below are different row exercises to target your upper and lower body muscles, plus alternatives for performing at home without equipment.
Overhand Barbell Row
The overhand barbell row utilizes an overhand grip (palms turned downward) to better engage the upper back. However, this reduces the workload on your lats. It also enhances your grip strength, but be wary of forearm and grip fatigue.
Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
The single-arm dumbbell row is an isolation movement focusing on your lats. This involves placing one hand and leg on a bench, bending forward, and rowing with the other arm, emphasizing your back muscles.
Inverted Row
The inverted row incorporates a squat rack, a barbell, and your bodyweight to train muscles. An overhand grip is employed instead of the underhand type. Unlike other rows, the objective is to lift your body towards the bar, not vice versa.
Seated Band Row
A seated band row uses a resistance band and is perfect for those with limited space at home or frequent travel; it’s a beginner-friendly back workout.
Upper and Lower Body Anatomy
Underhand rows target your upper and lower body muscles, making them a comprehensive full-body exercise with an emphasis on your back and biceps. Here are the upper and lower body muscles activated during an underhand row.
Upper Body
- Biceps: the underhand grip brings your biceps into focus to help flex your elbow and support your back as you pull the weight towards you.
- Forearms: assist in gripping the weight and flexing and extending your elbow.
- Rhomboids: involved in the abduction and adduction required to lift and lower the weight.
- Posterior Delts: engage the larger back muscles as you pull the weight towards you.
- Traps: stabilize your posture and maintain a neutral spine while you control the weight.
- Lats: cooperate with the shoulder as you lift and lower the weight.
Lower Body
- Abs: your abs and obliques help you maintain stability and a neutral spine.
- Erector spinae: helps keep your spine neutral and provides a stable base to pull from.
- Hamstrings and glutes: keep your base solid for pulling the dumbbell or barbell. Also, they are crucial in maintaining the proper hinge position.
FAQs
What muscles do underhand rows work?
Underhand rows target your biceps, lats, lower traps, abs, hamstrings, and glutes. This article provides more detailed information.
What are underhand rows good for?
Underhand rows are an excellent method to develop larger biceps and lats due to the supinated grip emphasizing these muscles.
What is the difference between the underhand vs. overhand grip?
In the underhand grip, your palms face upward, while in the overhand grip, your palms face downward. Consequently, the underhand grip engages the biceps more.
Are underhand rows good for the back?
Underhand rows are a fantastic way to build a stronger and more visually appealing back. The advantages are discussed in the benefits section.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for more exercise guides!
References
- Youdas, J. W., Keith, J. M., Nonn, D. E., Squires, A. C., & Hollman, J. H. (2016). Activation of Spinal Stabilizers and Shoulder Complex Muscles During an Inverted Row Using a Portable Pull-up Device and Body Weight Resistance. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 30(7), 1933–1941. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001210