How is this different from a regular ring row?

In a regular ring row the feet stay on the floor and the body leans back at an angle, so the legs carry part of your weight. Resting the heels on a bench brings the body close to horizontal, which puts more of your body weight on the arms and makes each rep harder.

How high should the rings be?

Set them so that with your arms fully straight and your heels on the bench, your back hangs just clear of the floor and your body is close to parallel with it. Rings set higher make the row easier, and rings set lower make it harder.

Is it harder than a barbell inverted row?

At the same body angle the load on the arms is similar, but the rings swing and rotate, so each arm has to steady its own ring. Many people find the rings a little harder at first and easier on the wrists and elbows once they get used to them, because the hands can turn freely. The Barbell Inverted Row is a good way to build up if the rings feel unstable.

Will this help me do pull-ups?

It builds the lats, upper back and biceps that pull-ups also rely on, so it is a useful support exercise, but it does not replace vertical pulling. Pair it with a vertical pull such as the Leg-Assisted Ring Pull-Up or the Pull-Up.

How can I make it harder once it gets easy?

Pause for 2 to 3 seconds with the rings at your chest, take 3 to 5 seconds to lower yourself, rest your feet on a box taller than the bench, or wear a weighted vest. Add one change at a time and keep your body straight on every rep.

Feet Elevated Ring Row

What Is the Feet Elevated Ring Row?

Feet Elevated Ring Row is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back and also engages the biceps, rear delts and the muscles that hold the trunk rigid. It is an intermediate-level movement in which you hang beneath a pair of gymnastic rings with your heels resting on a flat bench and pull your chest up to the rings while your body stays in one straight line.

The main purpose is horizontal pulling strength with nothing but body weight. Resting the feet on a bench brings the body close to parallel with the floor, so the arms move a larger share of body weight than in a ring row with the feet on the ground and the body leaning back at an angle. That makes it one of the harder two-arm bodyweight rows, a useful counterweight to push-ups and presses, and a common step in calisthenics and gymnastics programs on the way to stronger pull-ups.

The lats do most of the work of drawing the elbows back, while the rhomboids and trapezius squeeze the shoulder blades together and the rear delts and biceps help finish the pull. In an EMG study of a bodyweight inverted row on a portable pull-up device, the lats, biceps, lower trapezius and rear delts all reached very high activation levels. That study did not use rings, but the ring version is the same horizontal pull. Because the rings hang free, each hand can turn into the angle that suits its shoulder and elbow, and each arm has to steady its own ring. Keeping the elbows close to the sides, as shown here, keeps the lats in charge, while a wider, higher elbow path like the one in the Ring High Row shifts more of the work to the upper back and rear delts.

The glutes, hamstrings and abs work throughout to stop the hips from sagging, so the exercise also trains full-body tension. It suits anyone who can already do about 10 controlled rows with the feet on the floor. If it is too hard, build up with the Bent-Knee Inverted Row or the Barbell Inverted Row with the feet on the floor first.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Latissimus Dorsi: Primary
Biceps Brachii: High
Deltoid: High
Rhomboid Major: High
Teres Major: High
Brachialis: Medium
Lower Trapezius: Medium
Upper Trapezius: Medium
Gluteus Maximus: Low
Rectus Abdominis: Low

Instructions

Place a flat bench on a stable floor and set the rings at a height where your back will hang just clear of the floor with your arms straight.
Lie on your back beneath the rings and take one in each hand with your palms facing each other.
Rest your heels on the bench with your legs straight.
Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from head to heels, hanging from straight arms.
Draw your shoulder blades back and down to start the pull.
Drive your elbows back close to your sides and pull the rings to your chest, letting your hands turn in naturally.
Pause briefly at the top with your chest up and your shoulders pulled back.
Lower yourself under control until your arms are fully straight again, keeping your hips in line.
Repeat for the planned reps, then lower your hips to the floor before taking your feet off the bench.

Common Mistakes

Sagging hips
Letting the hips drop below the line from shoulders to heels shortens the pull and puts strain on the lower back.
Pulling with the arms only
Bending the elbows without first drawing the shoulder blades back turns the row into a biceps pull and leaves the back underworked.
Shortened range of motion
Stopping with the rings well short of the chest or never straightening the arms at the bottom cuts out the hardest part of each rep.
Elbows flaring out
Letting the elbows drift wide away from the sides changes the row into a different movement and shifts the work away from the lats.
Shoulders rolling forward at the top
Finishing with the shoulders tipped forward instead of pulled back puts the front of the shoulder in a loaded, pinched position.
Dropping into the bottom
Falling back to straight arms instead of lowering under control jolts the elbows and shoulders and wastes the lowering phase.

Injuries

Feet Elevated Ring Row is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. A lab comparison of the inverted row, the bent-over row and a one-arm cable row found the inverted row placed the lowest load on the lower spine, and this ring version keeps the same supported, horizontal body position. The most common strain points are the lower back when the hips sag, the front of the shoulder when the shoulders roll forward at the top of the pull, and the elbows and biceps when reps are jerked up instead of pulled smoothly.

Set the bench on a flat floor so it cannot slide, check that both rings hang at the same height, and set them high enough that your back stays clear of the floor with your arms straight. Start each rep by drawing the shoulder blades back and down, keep the glutes and abs tight so the body stays straight, and lower yourself under control rather than dropping into the bottom.

To make it easier, put the feet on the floor, bend the knees as in the Bent-Knee Inverted Row, or use a fixed bar with the Barbell Inverted Row. To progress, add a pause at the top, slow the lowering phase, or wear a weighted vest. Stop the set if you feel sharp pain in the front of the shoulder or the elbow, pain in the lower back, or if your grip starts to slip, and lower your hips to the floor before taking your feet off the bench.

Overview

Primary Focus: Back
Equipment: Rings, bench, and body weight
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How is this different from a regular ring row?: In a regular ring row the feet stay on the floor and the body leans back at an angle, so the legs carry part of your weight. Resting the heels on a bench brings the body close to horizontal, which puts more of your body weight on the arms and makes each rep harder.
Q: How high should the rings be?: Set them so that with your arms fully straight and your heels on the bench, your back hangs just clear of the floor and your body is close to parallel with it. Rings set higher make the row easier, and rings set lower make it harder.
Q: Is it harder than a barbell inverted row?: At the same body angle the load on the arms is similar, but the rings swing and rotate, so each arm has to steady its own ring. Many people find the rings a little harder at first and easier on the wrists and elbows once they get used to them, because the hands can turn freely. The Barbell Inverted Row is a good way to build up if the rings feel unstable.
Q: Will this help me do pull-ups?: It builds the lats, upper back and biceps that pull-ups also rely on, so it is a useful support exercise, but it does not replace vertical pulling. Pair it with a vertical pull such as the Leg-Assisted Ring Pull-Up or the Pull-Up.
Q: How can I make it harder once it gets easy?: Pause for 2 to 3 seconds with the rings at your chest, take 3 to 5 seconds to lower yourself, rest your feet on a box taller than the bench, or wear a weighted vest. Add one change at a time and keep your body straight on every rep.