Band Seated Row
Sitting with a band around your feet gives you a clean, low-setup back row that builds the lats and mid-traps with a strong squeeze at the finish. The band's rising tension makes the contracted position hardest, which is exactly where you want to feel the mid-back work. It is a great home or warm-up rowing option for lifters of any level.
- Equipment
- Band
- Type
- Strength
- Browse by muscle
- Latissimus Dorsi, Trapezius Middle
- Browse by movement
- Horizontal Pull
- Target
- Latissimus Dorsi, Trapezius Middle
- Secondary
- Trapezius Lower, Deltoid Posterior, Biceps Brachii Long Head, Biceps Brachii Short Head, Brachioradialis
- Tertiary
- Infraspinatus, Erector Spinae
How to do it
- 1
Sit on the floor with legs extended and loop the band around both feet.
- 2
Hold an end in each hand with arms straight and the torso tall.
- 3
Brace the core and set the shoulders down and back.
- 4
Row the band toward your waist by driving the elbows straight back.
- 5
Squeeze the shoulder blades together at the finish.
- 6
Extend the arms slowly back to the start, keeping the torso upright.
Tips
- Keep the chest tall; do not round the back to reach forward.
- Pull to the waistline and keep the elbows close to the body.
- Lead with the elbows to bias the back over the arms.
- Cross the band or shorten your grip for more tension.
Variations
Common mistakes
- Looping the band over your toes, where it slides off under tension and snaps back at you. Hook it around the arches with the toes pulled back toward your shins.
- Rocking the torso back past vertical to finish each pull. The hips end up doing the rowing; keep the chest stacked over the hips and let the elbows do the traveling.
- Letting the band pull your arms forward at speed on the way back. The return should take about two seconds, and that is where most of this exercise's value sits.
- Sitting on your tailbone with the pelvis tucked because your hamstrings are tight. Sit on a folded towel or put a small bend in the knees so you can sit tall and stop rounding.
Frequently asked
- How many sets and reps of the band seated row should I do?
- Bands give you no number to chase, so work off reps and quality: two or three sets of 15 to 20 with a one-second squeeze at the waist. When 20 reps stop being hard, shorten your grip, cross the band ends over, or move to a thicker band rather than pushing the count into the thirties. It is gentle enough to run three times a week, and a light set makes a good primer for the mid-back before heavier pulling.
- What can I do instead of the band seated row if I do not have a band?
- A seated cable row at a gym is the same movement with a load you can measure. At home, sit on the floor with a towel looped around a table leg, or do an inverted row under a sturdy table, which turns the same pull into a bodyweight exercise. A bent-over row with a loaded backpack also works, though it asks the lower back to hold position, which the seated version does not.
- What is the band seated row good for, and when is it not enough?
- It is a low-setup way to train the mid-traps and lats with a strong contraction, which makes it useful for home training, for travel, and for waking the back up before heavier pulls. Beginners can learn what a row should feel like with almost no equipment risk. It is not enough on its own for building strength: band tension is lowest exactly where the muscle is stretched, so the lengthened part of the row, which a cable row keeps loaded, gets very little work here. Pair it with a dumbbell or cable row when you have access.
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