How many sets and reps of the batwing row should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Three sets of 6 to 8 reps with a three-second hold at the top of each one. Pick a weight you could row for 15 normal reps; it will feel light until about the third rep. Progress by stretching the hold to five seconds before you move up a dumbbell size, since the hold is the entire point of the exercise.

What can I use instead of a bench and dumbbells for the batwing row?

Kettlebells or a pair of loaded backpacks stand in for dumbbells without any change to the movement. With no incline bench, lie face-down on a stack of couch cushions or a high step. In a gym, a seated cable row held at the top for the same count trains the same ability to keep the shoulder blades together.

What is the batwing row good for?

It teaches you to hold the shoulder blades together under load, which is the first thing most people lose on rows, pull-ups, and pressing, so it suits anyone whose upper back rounds when they tire. It is not a heavy strength lift and it adds size slowly. Skip it if lying face-down on an incline makes your neck ache.

Intermediate

Batwing Row

The batwing row parks two dumbbells at the fully retracted top position and asks you to hold there for a count before lowering, so the mid-traps and rhomboids grind through long time under tension. Lying face-down on an incline bench removes momentum and the lower back, making it a purely positional exercise. It's a favorite for building the ability to actually hold scapular retraction, which carries over to every pull.

Equipment: Bench, Dumbbell
Body part: Back, Lats
Type: Strength
Browse by muscle: Trapezius Middle, Latissimus Dorsi
Browse by movement: Horizontal Pull

How to do it

1
Set an incline bench to about 30 to 45 degrees and lie face-down with your chest on the pad.
2
Hold a dumbbell in each hand hanging straight down with the shoulder blades spread.
3
Row both dumbbells up beside your lower ribs and pull the shoulder blades all the way together.
4
Hold the top position, squeezing the mid-back, for a two- to five-second count.
5
Lower under control to a full stretch after the hold.
6
Keep your chest glued to the pad for every rep.

Tips

Choose a load you can hold retracted, not just lift for a split second.
Think about pinching a coin between your shoulder blades at the top.
Keep the neck neutral and the chin off the pad throughout.
Breathe steadily during the hold rather than bracing to failure.

Variations

Common mistakes

The elbows finish out wide at shoulder height, so the top is a rear-delt raise and the mid-back never gets the retraction the hold exists to train.
The bench angle is set too steep, so the dumbbells hang behind the shoulder line and the pull starts from a place the mid-back cannot row from.
Hips press down into the pad and the chest lifts off it during the hold, trading mid-back tension for a small back extension.
The count starts before the shoulder blades finish coming together, so five seconds get logged while the blades are still drifting apart.
Reps get rushed once the arms tire, so the lowering turns into a drop and the long stretch at the bottom, which sets up the next pull, is skipped.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the batwing row should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Three sets of 6 to 8 reps with a three-second hold at the top of each one. Pick a weight you could row for 15 normal reps; it will feel light until about the third rep. Progress by stretching the hold to five seconds before you move up a dumbbell size, since the hold is the entire point of the exercise.
What can I use instead of a bench and dumbbells for the batwing row?: Kettlebells or a pair of loaded backpacks stand in for dumbbells without any change to the movement. With no incline bench, lie face-down on a stack of couch cushions or a high step. In a gym, a seated cable row held at the top for the same count trains the same ability to keep the shoulder blades together.
What is the batwing row good for?: It teaches you to hold the shoulder blades together under load, which is the first thing most people lose on rows, pull-ups, and pressing, so it suits anyone whose upper back rounds when they tire. It is not a heavy strength lift and it adds size slowly. Skip it if lying face-down on an incline makes your neck ache.

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