Inverted Row
Suggestions, not prescriptions. Exercises here pass automated checks. They have not been clinically reviewed, and no exercise is right for everyone. Adjust to your comfort and ability.
A bodyweight row hanging under a bar. You pull your chest to the bar with your body held straight.
- Main focus
- Strength
- Level
- Starting
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Load
- Your body weight
- Stability
- Free: you control the whole movement
Before you start
- Warm up first with a minute or two of easy walking or marching in place, and cool down the same way after.
- Wear flat, closed shoes with a good grip, or go barefoot on a non-slip floor if that feels steady to you.
- Clear the floor around you. Keep a sturdy chair, counter or wall within reach for any move you do standing.
- Build up slowly. Add repetitions or minutes over weeks, not days. If you take a break, work back up gradually.
Talk with a doctor or physical therapist before you start if you have not been active for some time, if you have a health condition or a worry about exercise, if you have fallen or fear falling, or if a clinician has told you to limit activity. This library is general information, not medical advice.
What you need
No special equipment. A clear space and shoes or bare feet with a good grip.
How to do it
- Set a bar at about waist height in a rack. Lie on your back under it and grip it just wider than your shoulders. Your heels stay on the floor and your body makes a straight line.
- Pull your chest toward the bar, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
- Lower slowly until your arms are straight.
How much
To start: 1 to 2 sets of 8 to 12 slow repetitions, resting 1 to 2 minutes between sets.
As it gets easier: 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 12 repetitions with good form, resting 1 to 3 minutes. Add load or repetitions gradually, no more than about once a week.
How it should feel: The muscles you are working should feel the effort. The last repetitions should be hard but controlled, never shaky or painful.
Make it easier
- Raise the bar higher, or bend your knees and put your feet flat.
- Use a suspension trainer set high.
Make it harder
- Lower the bar, or put your feet on a step.
- Pause at the top for two seconds.
Safety
- Warm up first, and keep your breathing steady. Breathe out on the effort and in as you ease off. Do not hold your breath.
- Move with control. Do not lock your joints straight at the end of a movement.
- Choose a version, load and number of repetitions you can finish with good form. The last few should feel hard but not shaky.
When to stop
- Stop and rest if you feel dizzy or lightheaded, sick to your stomach, or unusually short of breath.
- Stop if you feel sharp, sudden or joint pain. Muscles working hard is expected. Pain is a signal to stop.
- Stop and sit down if you feel unsteady and cannot settle yourself right away.
- Call your local emergency number for chest pain or pressure, fainting, or sudden weakness, numbness or trouble speaking.
- After any of these, do not repeat the exercise until you have talked with a doctor or physical therapist.
Other ways to do this movement
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Where this comes from
General guidance on build-up, warm-up, breathing and listening to your body is from the NIA and the CDC. The steps were written by Fitafter50; the equipment and safety notes are Fitafter50's general practice and are approved as a set by the reviewer.
- Three Types of Exercise Can Improve Your Health and Physical Ability, National Institute on Aging, NIH (Content reviewed Jan. 14, 2025).
- Older Adult Activity: An Overview, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Dec. 4, 2025).
This is general information, not medical advice. It does not diagnose anything or tell you whether an exercise is right for you. Adjust to your comfort and ability.