Intermediate

Wide-Grip Seated Cable Row

Swapping to a wide overhand bar and pulling toward the upper abdomen or sternum flares the elbows out, shifting emphasis onto the mid-traps, rhomboids, and rear delts more than the lats. It's a great tool for upper-back detail and posture, complementing the lat-dominant close-grip row. Use it when you want to round out horizontal-pulling volume.

Equipment
Cables, Machine
Body part
Back, Lats
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Horizontal Pull
Muscles worked
Target
Trapezius Middle, Deltoid Posterior
Secondary
Latissimus Dorsi, Trapezius Lower, Infraspinatus, Biceps Brachii Long Head, Biceps Brachii Short Head
Tertiary
Erector Spinae

How to do it

  1. 1

    Attach a long straight bar to the low cable and sit facing the machine with feet planted.

  2. 2

    Take a wide overhand grip, sit tall, and extend the arms to feel the upper back stretch.

  3. 3

    Pull the bar toward your upper abdomen with the elbows flaring out and back.

  4. 4

    Squeeze the shoulder blades together hard at the top.

  5. 5

    Return the bar under control until the arms are fully extended.

  6. 6

    Keep the chest up and the torso steady throughout.

Tips

  • Let the elbows travel out wide to target the mid-traps and rear delts.
  • Keep the wrists neutral and pull with the elbows, not the hands.
  • Resist the urge to lean way back; keep the pull horizontal.
  • Pause and squeeze at the top rather than rushing the contraction.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • The bar is dragged low into the navel out of habit from close-grip rows, which drops the elbows to your sides and hands the work back to the lats; keep it heading for the upper abdomen.
  • Shoulders climb toward the ears as the elbows flare, so the upper traps finish the pull the mid-traps were meant to do; think of the blades sliding together and down.
  • Loading it like a close-grip row leaves the bar stalling six inches short of the body on every rep, because a flared-elbow pull gives you less leverage.
  • The hips slide toward the pulley at the stretch, so the stack never fully leaves the stops and the front half of each rep costs nothing.
  • The bar is sent back in a rush and the plates clack at the front, which makes the next rep a rebound rather than a pull.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the wide-grip seated cable row should I do?
Three sets of 12 to 15 with a one-second pause at the top of every pull. The muscles this version targets, the mid-traps, rhomboids and rear delts, respond better to a controlled squeeze than to a grind, so pick a weight where that pause survives the last rep. Progress by holding the pause longer, then by adding the smallest plate. It fits well as a second row after a heavier close-grip or barbell row, once or twice a week.
What can I do instead of the wide-grip seated cable row with no cable machine?
A chest-supported dumbbell row on an incline bench with the elbows flared wide trains the same upper-back muscles and takes the lower back out of the job. A wide-grip inverted row under a bar or a table gives the flared-elbow pull with bodyweight. With only a band, sit on the floor, loop it around your feet, take a wide hold and row with the elbows high. Face pulls and band pull-aparts reach the same area when you have nothing else.
What is the wide-grip seated cable row good for, and when should I pick a different row?
Pulling a wide bar to the upper abdomen with the elbows out biases the mid-traps, rhomboids and rear delts rather than the lats, which makes it useful for upper-back detail and for balancing out a lot of pressing, and it is easy on the lower back and easy to load in small steps. Pick a different row when you want the lats, where a close or neutral grip pulled to the navel does more, and when your shoulders dislike a flared-elbow finish. It is also no substitute for vertical pulling, so keep a pulldown or pull-up in the week.

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