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Chest Supported Row Machine

beginner · pull_horizontal

Setup

Set the seat height so the chest pad sits against your upper chest once you grip the handles, with the top edge clear of your throat. Adjust the handle distance to your arm length if the machine allows it. Load the plates evenly on both sides of the lever arm and lock them with collars before you sit in.

Execution

  1. Sit into the machine with your chest pressed against the pad and your arms extended to the handles at the starting position.
  2. Exhale, retract your shoulder blades down and back first, then pull the handles toward your torso.
  3. Pull until your elbows pass your torso, hold for a beat and squeeze the muscles between your shoulder blades.
  4. Inhale and extend your arms back to the start under control, keeping your chest against the pad the whole time.
  5. Do not arch your lower back off the seat to pull more weight; if you run out of strength, end the set instead of yanking with body english.
  6. To finish the set, let the handles travel all the way forward, wait until the lever arm settles onto its stops, then let go and stand up out of the machine.

Breathing

Exhale as you pull in, inhale as you extend out. Do not hold your breath to move a heavier weight; if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, a hernia or you are pregnant, never hold it at all, lighten the load and exhale on the pull.

Quick cues

  • Keep the chest pinned to the pad.
  • Drop the shoulder blades before you pull.
  • Pull with your elbows, not your hands.
  • Don't arch the back for extra range.

Common faults

  • Fault: Arching the lower back off the pad to move more weight

    Fix: Drop one plate increment and keep the chest pinned to the pad the whole set; arching means the load is too heavy.

  • Fault: Curling with the forearms while the back stays passive

    Fix: Start by depressing and retracting the shoulder blades first, then bend the elbows to pull.

  • Fault: Jerking the pull, using momentum instead of back strength

    Fix: Slow down, take about 2 seconds on the pull and hold a beat at the end before releasing.

  • Fault: Releasing too fast, the plates banging together

    Fix: Extend the arms over 2-3 seconds, keeping tension on the back through the full range.

Equipment

machine

Muscle groups

back, arms