Seated Resistance Band Row

beginner · pull_horizontal

Setup

Check the band before you sit down: swap out a band that is nicked, scuffed or faded, because a band that snaps mid-set whips straight back at your face. Sit on the floor with your legs out straight ahead and your back tall. Loop the middle of the band around the middle of both feet, not the toes — a band that slips off the middle of the foot whips straight back at you — then give it one test pull to make sure it holds. If you don't have room to sit with your legs out straight, you can instead anchor the band to a low, solid fixed point (a heavy table leg, a fixed post) at about hip height and sit a stride away facing it — that version trades checking the foot loop for checking the anchor before every set. Knees slightly bent, back upright, one end of the band in each hand.

Execution

Start with your arms straight out in front, the band already lightly tensioned, back staying tall without rounding.
Exhale and draw both elbows back, squeezing your shoulder blades together, with your hands passing close to your ribs.
Pull until your hands reach your hips, chest open, shoulders staying down away from your ears.
Inhale and let your hands travel forward under control over 3 seconds, keeping the back tall the whole way.
Keep the knees softly bent and still for the whole set; don't rock the torso to help the band along.
To end the set, bring your hands forward until the band is completely slack before you slip it off your feet; never free your feet while the band is still under tension.

Breathing

Exhale as you pull the band in, inhale as you let it out. This is loaded pulling work, so don't hold your breath through the effort: if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, a hernia or are pregnant, exhale steadily on every pull and drop to a lighter band if you feel short of breath.

Quick cues

Squeeze the blades, don't shrug.
Hands skim your ribs.
Sit tall, don't slump.
Ease it out like braking, not dropping.
Jab your elbows into the wall behind.

Common faults

Fault: Rounding the back to pull the hands further
Fix: Shorten the pull and keep the chest open for the whole set.
Fault: Pulling with the arms and shoulders while the shoulder blades stay put
Fix: Start every rep by squeezing the shoulder blades before you bend the elbows.
Fault: Looping the band over the toes instead of the middle of the foot
Fix: Reposition the band across the middle of the sole before loading it.
Fault: Leaning the whole torso back for momentum instead of using the back and arms
Fix: Pin the hips to the floor and let only the arms and shoulder blades move.

Equipment

resistance_band

Muscle groups

back, arms