Inverted row
A horizontal pulling exercise where you pull your chest to a fixed bar while lying back beneath it.
Overview
The inverted row is a horizontal bodyweight pulling exercise. You lie back underneath a fixed bar set around waist height, grip it, and pull your chest up to meet it while keeping your body in a straight line, then lower back down. It is often described as an upside-down row.
The angle of your body sets the difficulty, so it scales from nearly upright and easy to almost horizontal and hard. This makes the inverted row a popular building block toward the pull-up and a friendly introduction to pulling movements.
The movement
- 1Set a bar around waist height and lie back underneath it.
- 2Grip the bar and hang with your body straight and heels on the floor.
- 3Pull your chest up toward the bar, squeezing your shoulder blades.
- 4Lower back down until your arms are straight.
Beginner notes
- The more upright your body, the easier the row starts out.
- A great building block on the way to a pull-up.
- The body stays in a straight line, like a moving plank.
A note on training information
Where it’s used
Sports this relates to:
Calisthenics
Bodyweight strength training — push-ups, pull-ups, dips and progressions you can do almost anywhere.
Fitness
Strength and general fitness training — the foundation that supports every other sport.
Functional Fitness
Varied, whole-body training built around everyday movement patterns like squatting, lifting and carrying.
Related exercises
Squat
A foundational lower-body movement where you bend at the hips and knees to lower down and stand back up.
Goblet squat
A squat variation where you hold a single weight close to your chest for balance and control.
Jump squat
An explosive squat variation where you spring off the floor at the top of the movement.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Inverted row to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Movement patterns
- PullDrawing a load or your own body toward the torso — horizontal rows and vertical pull-ups — building the lats, mid-back and biceps and balancing the push.
- PushPressing a load or the body away from the torso — horizontally or overhead — by extending the shoulders and elbows, developing the chest, shoulders and triceps.
- SquatA knee-dominant pattern: bending the hips, knees and ankles to lower and rise while keeping the torso upright — the foundation of lower-body strength.
- LungeA split-stance, single-leg-emphasis pattern: stepping or dropping into a staggered stance and pushing back up to build single-leg strength, balance and stability.
- CarryHolding and transporting a load while keeping the trunk braced and stable — an anti-movement pattern that builds grip, core stability and full-body strength.
Techniques
- Push-UpA bodyweight exercise that lowers and raises the body by bending and straightening the arms while holding a rigid plank line.
- Bodyweight SquatA foundational lower-body exercise that lowers the hips by bending the knees and hips, then stands back up, using only body weight.
- Flip TurnA fast turn in freestyle where the swimmer somersaults at the wall, pushes off on their back and rotates to continue swimming.
- PlankA static core exercise that holds the body in a straight line supported on the forearms and toes.
- DeadliftA strength exercise that lifts a loaded barbell from the floor to a standing position by extending the hips and knees together.
Goals
- Reduce alcoholHow activity and a fuller routine can support cutting back on alcohol — with professional support where needed.
- Quit smokingHow sport and activity can support a smoke-free routine — alongside proper professional support.
- Sports for seniorsGentle, enjoyable ways for older adults to stay active, with guidance where sensible.
- Return to sportEasing back into activity after time away, a long break or a period off through injury.
- Sports for beginnersHow to start playing sport from scratch — choosing a first activity and building up gently.
Disciplines
- BackstrokeBackstroke is swum face-up with an alternating arm pull and flutter kick — the one competitive stroke where you breathe freely because your face stays out of the water.
- Top-Rope ClimbingA roped format where the rope runs up to an anchor at the top of the route and back down, so the climber is held from above throughout the ascent.
- Lead & Sport ClimbingA roped format where the climber ascends from the ground, clipping the rope into protection along the way while a belayer manages it below.
- Traditional (Trad) ClimbingA lead format in which the climber places removable protection into the rock while ascending, and a partner removes it afterward, leaving no fixed gear behind.
Barriers
- Always travellingWhen you are often away from home, sport has to travel with you — bodyweight options, hotel-room routines and activity that needs no local club.
- An unpredictable scheduleWhen no two weeks look the same, sport needs to be flexible and portable rather than tied to a fixed class time.
- Worried about costWhen money is tight, free and low-cost activity — walking, running, bodyweight training — proves that sport does not have to be expensive.