Machine Low Row
What Is the Machine Low Row?
Machine Low Row is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back and also engages the rear shoulders, biceps and forearms. It is a beginner-level movement performed on a plate-loaded lever machine: you sit with your chest against a pad, take a handle in each hand and drive the handles back toward your hips, lifting the weight plates loaded on the two lever arms.
The chest pad is what sets this row apart from free-weight rows. With the torso supported, the lower back does not have to hold a hinged position and momentum is hard to use, so nearly all of the effort goes into the lats and mid-back. That makes it a dependable way to load the back heavily for muscle growth, either as the main row of a back session or as an accessory after deadlifts or barbell rows when the lower back is already tired.
The handles start in front of the chest and travel back and slightly down toward the hips, a path built on shoulder extension with the elbows close to the sides, which puts the latissimus dorsi in the lead with the teres major, rhomboids and lower trapezius driving the shoulder blades back. Letting the elbows drift wider and finishing nearer the lower chest shifts more of the work to the mid-back and rear delts. The Machine High Row pulls from overhead down toward the chest instead, and the Machine Seated Row runs a horizontal pull on a selectorized weight stack. Because each lever arm on this machine moves on its own, a stronger side cannot take over for a weaker one, and you can also row one arm at a time.
The guided path and chest support make it a good first row for beginners and a useful heavy back movement for experienced lifters. The empty lever arms already carry some resistance, so anyone who cannot complete clean reps with them can start with the Machine Seated Row or the Band Seated Row (Straight Back). Starting each rep by drawing the shoulder blades back, rather than bending the elbows first, is the cue that keeps the work in the back instead of the arms.
Muscles Worked
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Primary
- Rhomboid Major
- High
- Teres Major
- High
- Biceps Brachii
- Medium
- Brachialis
- Medium
- Deltoid
- Medium
- Lower Trapezius
- Medium
Instructions
- Load the same weight plates on both lever arms while they rest on their stops.
- Adjust the seat so that, sitting upright with your chest against the pad, the handles are at about chest height and you reach them with straight arms.
- Sit facing the pad with your knees bent and your feet flat on the foot platform, and press your chest into the pad.
- Reach forward and grip the horizontal handles with an overhand grip, arms fully extended and shoulder blades spread.
- Brace your core and set your shoulders down away from your ears.
- Draw your shoulder blades back, then drive your elbows back and slightly down along your sides until your hands reach your hips.
- Pause briefly with your elbows just behind your torso and your chest still on the pad.
- Lower the handles under control until your arms are straight and your shoulder blades spread again, without letting the plates drop.
- Repeat for the desired reps, then return the handles to their resting position before you stand up.
Common Mistakes
Leaning back off the pad
Pulling the chest away from the pad to finish a rep adds momentum and moves the strain onto the lower back instead of the lats and mid-back.
Shrugging toward the ears
Letting the shoulders rise as you pull hands the work to the upper traps and takes it away from the muscles the row is meant to train.
Pulling with the arms only
Bending the elbows hard without drawing the shoulder blades back turns the row into a curl and leaves the back underworked.
Driving the elbows too far back
Pulling the elbows well behind the torso tips the shoulders forward and loads the front of the shoulder joint.
Cutting the stretch short
Stopping before the arms straighten and the shoulder blades spread skips the lengthened part of the rep, where the lats and mid-back work hardest to control the load.
Letting the plates drop
Letting the lever arms fall back between reps wastes the lowering phase and jolts the shoulders and elbows at the bottom.
Injuries
Machine Low Row is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The chest pad holds the torso in place and the levers move on a fixed path, so the lower back carries little load. The points that do take strain are the front of the shoulder, when the elbows are driven far behind the torso and the shoulders roll forward at the finish, the lower back, when the chest comes off the pad and the lifter leans back to finish reps, and the elbows and biceps, when heavy reps are yanked rather than pulled.
Set the seat and chest pad so the handles sit at about chest height and you reach them with straight arms without being pulled off the pad. Stop each rep once the elbows are just behind the torso, keep the shoulders down away from the ears and lower the plates under control rather than letting them drop. Load the same plates on both lever arms while they rest on their stops, and return the handles to that position before standing up or changing weight.
To make the row easier, use lighter plates, row one arm at a time or switch to the Machine Seated Row or Cable Seated Row, whose stacks move in smaller jumps. To progress, add load gradually, use a slower lowering phase, or move to rows that ask more of the trunk, such as the Chest-Supported T-Bar Row and then the Barbell Bent-Over Row.
Stop the set if you feel sharp or pinching pain at the front or top of the shoulder, pain in the lower back, or numbness or tingling running into the hands. Pain that comes back every session is a reason to see a physical therapist or physician before rowing heavy again.
- Primary Focus
- Back
- Equipment
- Machine and weight plate
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Other Names for the Machine Low Row
The Machine Low Row is also known as:
- Iso-Lateral Low Row
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How is this different from the Machine Seated Row and Machine High Row?
This machine uses plate-loaded lever arms that move in an arc back and down toward the hips, with a separate arm for each side. The Machine Seated Row pulls straight back against a selectorized weight stack, and the Machine High Row pulls from overhead down toward the chest, closer to a pulldown.
- Q: Can I row one arm at a time on this machine?
Yes. The two lever arms move independently, so you can row one side at a time or alternate sides, which helps even out a stronger and a weaker side. In a study of resistance-trained men comparing free-weight, cable and machine rows, rowing one arm at a time raised external oblique activity in every version, while rowing with both arms generally produced more lower-back muscle activity.
- Q: How far back should I pull the handles?
Pull until your hands are near your hips and your elbows are just behind your torso, with your chest still on the pad. Going further mostly rolls the shoulders forward rather than working the back harder.
- Q: Is the weight on the plates the weight I am lifting?
Not exactly. The lever arms carry some resistance of their own and their leverage changes how heavy the plates feel, and both vary from one manufacturer to another, so track your progress on the same machine rather than comparing the numbers with a dumbbell or barbell row.
- Q: Should my chest stay on the pad for the whole set?
Yes. Keeping the chest pressed into the pad is what keeps the lower back out of the lift and stops you from rocking the weight up, so if you have to lean back to finish reps, the load is too heavy.