Barbell Inverted Row (Underhand Grip)
What Is the Barbell Inverted Row (Underhand Grip)?
Barbell Inverted Row (Underhand Grip) is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back, especially the latissimus dorsi, and also engages the biceps, rear deltoids and the muscles between the shoulder blades. It is an intermediate-level movement performed hanging under a barbell set low in a power rack, with the heels on the floor and the body held in a straight line while you pull your chest up to the bar with your palms facing you.
The exercise is a horizontal pull that uses your own body as the load, which makes it one of the easiest rows to scale. Raising the bar makes each rep lighter and lowering it makes each rep heavier, so the same setup works for a beginner and for a trained lifter. It fits as the main pulling movement in a beginner session, as an accessory after heavier pulling, or as a way to balance a program built around push-ups and presses.
What sets this version apart from the overhand Barbell Inverted Row is the grip. With the palms turned toward you, the elbows naturally stay close to the sides and travel back along the ribs, and the biceps help bend the elbows from their strongest position. Many coaches find the underhand grip a little easier than the overhand one for that reason, which makes it a useful starting point or a way to finish a set once the overhand grip has tired. The lats and upper back still do most of the work, so it remains a back exercise rather than an arm exercise.
This variation suits beginners, people returning to training, and anyone working toward their first Chin-Up who wants to practice pulling in the same grip with a lighter load. If it is too hard, raise the bar or bend your knees with the Bent-Knee Inverted Row, and if you have no rack, the TRX Inverted Row (Underhand Grip) trains the same pattern on straps. Thinking about driving the elbows toward the hips, rather than curling the bar toward you, helps keep the work in the back.
Muscles Worked
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Primary
- Biceps Brachii
- High
- Brachialis
- High
- Deltoid
- High
- Lower Trapezius
- High
- Rhomboid Major
- High
- Brachioradialis
- Medium
- Gluteus Maximus
- Medium
- Teres Major
- Medium
- Upper Trapezius
- Medium
Instructions
- Set a barbell in a power rack at about hip height, seated fully in the hooks and centered between the uprights.
- Lie on your back under the bar with your chest directly below it and your legs straight.
- Grab the bar with an underhand grip, palms facing you, with your hands about shoulder width apart and your wrists straight.
- Lift your hips so only your heels touch the floor, and brace your core and glutes so your body forms a straight line from heels to shoulders.
- Start with your arms fully straight, then draw your shoulder blades back and down.
- Pull your chest up to the bar, keeping your elbows close to your sides, until the bar touches your lower chest.
- Pause briefly at the top without pushing your chin toward the bar.
- Lower with control until your arms are straight again, keeping your hips up the whole time.
- After the last rep, lower your hips to the floor before letting go of the bar.
Common Mistakes
Letting the hips sag
Dropping the hips breaks the straight line from heels to shoulders and shifts strain onto the lower back, so squeeze your glutes and brace your core for the whole set.
Craning the chin toward the bar
Poking the head forward to reach the bar fakes the top position and strains the neck, so keep the neck relaxed and bring the chest to the bar instead.
Pulling with the arms only
Bending the elbows without moving the shoulder blades turns the row into a curl, so draw the shoulder blades back first and drive the elbows toward the hips.
Shrugging at the start
Pulling with the shoulders up by the ears shifts stress onto the neck and the front of the shoulder, so keep the shoulders down and away from the ears.
Cutting the range short
Stopping before the arms are straight at the bottom or before the chest reaches the bar trains only part of the movement, so lower the bar height until full reps are possible.
Bending the wrists to fit the grip
A grip that is too narrow forces the wrists to bend sideways under load, so set your hands about shoulder width apart with the wrists straight.
Injuries
Barbell Inverted Row (Underhand Grip) is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. Your heels stay on the floor, the load is only part of your body weight, and the bar sits low enough that there is little to fall from. In a lab comparison of three rows in seven healthy men, the inverted row placed the lowest load on the lower back, while the standing bent-over row placed the highest.
The main strain points are the inner elbows, forearms and wrists. Holding a straight bar with the palms fully turned toward you loads the forearm muscles that attach at the inner elbow, and a grip that is too narrow can bend the wrists sideways. If you feel this, widen your grip until the wrists stay straight or switch to the overhand Barbell Inverted Row. The shoulders are most exposed at the bottom, so keep them drawn slightly back and down rather than hanging loose, and keep the hips lifted so the lower back does not sag. Before the first rep, check that the bar sits fully in the rack hooks and is centered between the uprights.
To make it easier, raise the bar or bend your knees with the Bent-Knee Inverted Row. To progress, lower the bar, add a pause at the top, slow the lowering, or put your feet up on a bench, then build toward the Chin-Up.
Stop if you feel sharp pain in the elbow, wrist or shoulder, inner-elbow soreness that lingers into the next day, a pinching sensation at the front of the shoulder, or numbness or tingling in the hands.
- Primary Focus
- Back
- Equipment
- Barbell and body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Alternative Exercises
Other Names for the Barbell Inverted Row (Underhand Grip)
The Barbell Inverted Row (Underhand Grip) is also known as:
- Australian Chin-Up
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How is this different from the regular Barbell Inverted Row?
Only the grip changes. In the Barbell Inverted Row the palms face away from you, while here they face you, so the elbows stay closer to your sides. Many people find the underhand grip a little easier, and the setup, body position and range of motion stay the same.
- Q: Does the underhand grip work the biceps harder?
Less than most people expect. In an EMG study of 26 healthy adults doing inverted rows on a low bar, biceps activity was very high with both an overhand and an underhand grip, and the significant grip difference the study reported was in the lats, not the biceps. Choose the underhand grip because it suits your shoulders and elbows or to prepare for chin-ups, not as a biceps exercise.
- Q: How do I make it easier or harder?
Raise the bar or bend your knees to make it easier, since a more upright body lifts less of your weight. Lower the bar, put your feet up on a bench, pause for a second at the top or take 3 to 4 seconds to lower to make it harder.
- Q: Can I do it on a Smith machine?
Yes. Lock the Smith machine bar at about hip height and set the safety stops just below it, then avoid twisting the bar during the set, since rotating it can unhook it.
- Q: Will it help me do my first chin-up?
It builds the same pulling muscles in the same underhand grip, but it does not replace practicing the vertical pull. Pair it with chin-up regressions such as the Leg-Assisted Chin-Up (Close Grip) and the Negative Chin-Up before trying the full Chin-Up.