Fitafter50
Search

Exercise library / Inverted Row with Straps

Inverted Row with Straps

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 more challenging exercise. Make it a goal if you like. “Show alternatives” below lists easier steps toward it.

An inverted row with straps or rings. The moving handles make it more demanding for your shoulders and trunk.

Main focus
Strength
Level
Building
Equipment
Other specialty equipment
Load
Free 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

  1. Hang straps or rings from a secure anchor at about waist height. Hold the handles and lean back with straight arms, body in a straight line.
  2. Pull your chest to your hands, bringing your elbows past your sides.
  3. Lower slowly until your arms are straight.
  4. Keep your body rigid, with no sagging hips.

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

  • Stand more upright.

Make it harder

  • Walk your feet forward so your body is flatter.
  • Raise your feet onto a step.

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.
  • Check that your equipment is in good condition and set up as it was made to be used.
More safety notes
  • Start much lighter or easier than you think you need to, and learn the movement first.
  • Keep your back long and neutral. Do not round your lower back under load.
  • Brace your abdominal muscles gently before you lift and keep the load close to your body.
  • Use a lighter load until your form is steady, and add weight slowly.

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.
  • The equipment shifts, slips or does not feel secure.
  • You feel pain in your lower back, or your back rounds and you cannot correct it.
  • You feel pain, tingling or numbness that spreads into a leg.

Other ways to do this movement

Sign in and we will show other ways to do this, with other equipment or at a different level, chosen from your own answers. Sign in

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.

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.