How to do the Chest-Supported Row
Step by step
- Set an incline bench and lie face down with a dumbbell in each hand hanging down.
- Keep your chest glued to the pad and let your arms hang straight.
- Row the dumbbells up toward your hips, driving your elbows back.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades at the top, then lower under control.
The thing people get wrong
Keep your chest pinned to the bench the whole set - if you start heaving your torso up to move the weight, it is too heavy.
Coaching cue
Let your arms hang all the way down between reps so the shoulder blades reach forward first.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Rest your forehead on the pad and row one arm at a time.
- Harder: Pause for two seconds with the dumbbells at your hips.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Upper Back, Lats
- Secondary: Biceps, Forearms
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
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.