Ring High Row
What Is the Ring High Row?
Ring High Row is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back and also engages the rear delts, biceps and the muscles that hold the trunk rigid. It is a beginner-level movement in which you hold a pair of gymnastic rings, lean back with your heels on the floor and pull your chest up toward the rings with your elbows flared out to shoulder height.
The main purpose is to strengthen the muscles between and across the shoulder blades. A regular row keeps the elbows close to the sides and drives them back past the ribs, which makes the lats the main mover. Here the upper arms stay out at shoulder height and travel backward, so the trapezius, rhomboids and rear delts do most of the work of squeezing the shoulder blades together and pulling the arms back. In a study of 28 healthy adults on suspension straps, a high row like this one recruited the upper, middle and lower trapezius and the rear delts far more than a low row with the elbows kept by the sides, while the low row worked the lats much harder. That study used straps rather than rings, but the arm path is the same.
Because you lean back from the floor instead of hanging beneath the rings, your feet carry part of your weight, which makes this one of the easiest ring pulls to start with. The load changes with a single step: walking the feet toward the point under the rings lowers the body and makes each rep harder, while stepping back makes it easier. The rings also turn freely, so each hand can settle into the angle that suits its shoulder and elbow, and each arm has to steady its own ring.
It suits beginners who want an upper back exercise that needs only rings, lifters who press a lot and want more pulling work for the upper back, and anyone building toward harder bodyweight rows such as the Feet Elevated Ring Row. The Ring Face Pull and the Ring Reverse Fly train similar muscles with a different arm path. If the rings feel too unsteady at first, stand more upright until you can keep both rings level through every rep.
The mind-muscle connection matters here more than in most rows. Thinking about pulling the shoulder blades together and moving the elbows back, rather than pulling the rings with the hands, keeps the work in the upper back instead of the biceps and stops the shoulders from creeping up toward the ears.
Muscles Worked
- Rhomboid Major
- Primary
- Upper Trapezius
- Primary
- Deltoid
- High
- Lower Trapezius
- High
- Biceps Brachii
- Medium
- Brachialis
- Medium
- Erector Spinae
- Medium
- Infraspinatus
- Medium
Instructions
- Set the rings at about shoulder height and check that both hang at the same height.
- Take one ring in each hand with your palms facing each other.
- Walk your feet forward and lean back on straight arms until your body forms a straight line from head to heels, with your heels on the floor.
- Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs to keep your hips in line.
- Draw your shoulder blades back and down without shrugging to start the pull.
- Pull your chest up toward the rings, driving your elbows out to the sides and back at shoulder height and letting your hands turn as your elbows spread.
- Finish with your elbows level with your shoulders and bent to about a right angle, the rings beside the front of your shoulders and your shoulder blades squeezed together.
- Pause briefly, then lower yourself under control until your arms are straight and your shoulder blades spread apart.
- Repeat for the planned reps, then walk your feet back under the rings to stand up.
Common Mistakes
Shrugging the shoulders
Letting the shoulders rise toward the ears hands the pull to the upper traps and crowds the top of the shoulder instead of squeezing the shoulder blades together.
Elbows dropping to the sides
Tucking the elbows in during the pull turns the exercise into a regular row and moves the work from the upper back to the lats.
Elbows rising above the shoulders
Lifting the elbows higher than the shoulders at the top adds no upper back work and puts the shoulder in a pinched position.
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 upper back underworked.
Sagging hips
Letting the hips drop or bend out of line with the shoulders and heels shortens the pull and puts strain on the lower back.
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
Ring High Row is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. Your feet stay on the floor and carry part of your body weight, so the load on the arms is modest and easy to adjust. The most common strain points are the top and front of the shoulder when the shoulders shrug toward the ears or the elbows rise above shoulder height, the lower back when the hips sag, and the elbows and biceps when reps are jerked up instead of pulled smoothly.
Check that the straps are secure and that both rings hang at the same height before you lean back. Start each rep by drawing the shoulder blades back and down, stop the elbows at shoulder height rather than lifting them higher, and keep the glutes and abs tight so the body moves in one straight line. Lower yourself under control instead of dropping back to straight arms.
To make it easier, step your feet back so you stand more upright, or shorten the range until you can control the full rep. To progress, walk your feet closer to the point under the rings, add a pause with the rings at your chest, or slow the lowering phase. Once the high row feels easy, the Feet Elevated Ring Row is a harder bodyweight pull. Stop the set if you feel sharp or pinching pain in the front or top of the shoulder, pain in the elbow or lower back, or if your grip starts to slip.
- Primary Focus
- Back
- Equipment
- Rings and body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Other Names for the Ring High Row
The Ring High Row is also known as:
- Wide Ring Row
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How is this different from a regular ring row?
In a regular ring row the elbows stay close to the sides and finish beside the ribs, which puts the lats in charge. In the high row the elbows flare out to shoulder height and travel straight back, which shifts the work to the upper back and rear delts.
- Q: How is it different from a ring face pull?
The high row brings the rings to the upper chest with the elbows bent to about a right angle, so it stays a rowing movement for the upper back. The Ring Face Pull draws the hands higher, finishing beside the head with the forearms pointing up, which adds more rotator cuff and rear delt work.
- Q: How do I make it easier or harder?
Change your foot position. Stepping your feet back so you stand more upright makes it easier, and walking them toward the point under the rings lowers your body and puts more of your weight on your arms. A pause at the top or a slower lowering phase also makes each rep harder without changing the setup.
- Q: How high should my elbows go?
Bring them level with your shoulders and stop there. Lifting the elbows higher does not add upper back work and puts the front and top of the shoulder in a more pinched position.
- Q: Where does it fit in a workout?
It works well as a second pulling exercise after a heavier row or pull-up, or paired with push-ups or presses to balance the pushing work. Most people use 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 15 controlled reps.