How to do the Cable Upright Row
Step by step
- Attach a bar or rope to a low pulley and stand facing the stack.
- Hold the bar in front of your thighs with a grip about shoulder-width or wider.
- Pull the bar straight up the front of your body, leading with your elbows.
- Keep the bar close and stop when your hands reach around mid-chest.
- Lower the bar back down slowly to the start.
The thing people get wrong
A wider grip and moderate height keep the shoulders happy. If you feel a pinch, do not pull the bar as high.
Coaching cue
Stand close enough that the cable runs straight up your body instead of pulling your hands forward.
Stay safe
Keep your wrists in line with your forearms; letting them bend hard at the top strains the wrist joint.
Make it easier or harder
- Harder: Pause for two seconds at the top of each pull.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Side delts, Traps
- Secondary: Biceps
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.