How to do the Seal Row
Step by step
- Set a bench high enough that your arms hang clear, and lie chest-down on it with a dumbbell in each hand.
- Let your arms hang straight down with the shoulder blades reaching toward the floor.
- Row both dumbbells straight up to the sides of the bench, driving the elbows back.
- Squeeze the upper back at the top with no body movement at all.
- Lower under control to a full hanging stretch and repeat.
The thing people get wrong
The chest stays glued to the bench - no swinging or heaving, so every bit of the pull comes from the back.
Coaching cue
Let your shoulder blades drop toward the floor at the bottom, then pull them together at the top.
Stay safe
Make sure the raised bench is stable and cannot tip or slide before you lie on it.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Use one dumbbell and row one arm at a time.
- Harder: Pause two seconds at the top of every rep.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Upper Back, Lats
- Secondary: Biceps, Forearms
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.