TRX Inverted Row (Underhand Grip)
What Is the TRX Inverted Row (Underhand Grip)?
TRX Inverted Row (Underhand Grip) is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back and also engages the biceps, rear shoulders and core. It is an intermediate-level movement that uses a suspension trainer and your own body weight: you hang beneath the handles with your body close to parallel with the floor and row your chest up to your hands with your palms facing up.
The setup is the same as the TRX Inverted Row, and the grip is what changes. Turning the palms up puts the biceps in their strongest position for bending the elbow and lets the elbows travel close to your sides, driving down and back toward the hips rather than out to the sides. That makes the lats and biceps the clear drivers of each rep, and many people find they can manage a few more reps than with an overhand grip at the same body angle.
It is a useful horizontal pull to balance pushing work, and it fits naturally into a chin-up progression. The underhand grip and tucked elbow path match the Chin-Up, so the row lets you build lat and biceps strength in that grip while lifting only part of your body weight, alongside vertical work such as the Negative Chin-Up or the TRX Kneeling Chin-Up. Because the two handles move independently, each arm has to do its share and the shoulders work to keep the handles steady.
Body angle sets the load. Walking your feet back so you stand more upright makes it easier, and the TRX Row is the upright version of the same pull. Bending the knees, as in the TRX Bent-Knee Inverted Row, is another way to shorten the lever while you build strength. Once the near-horizontal position is easy, pausing at the top or raising the feet adds load, and the Barbell Inverted Row (Underhand Grip) trains the same pull on a fixed bar.
The underhand grip makes it tempting to curl yourself up with the arms. Thinking about driving the elbows toward your back pockets keeps the lats leading the movement and the shoulder blades moving back and down, rather than turning the rep into a biceps curl.
Muscles Worked
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Primary
- Biceps Brachii
- High
- Deltoid
- High
- Lower Trapezius
- High
- Rhomboid Major
- High
- Brachialis
- Medium
- Erector Spinae
- Medium
- Teres Major
- Medium
- Upper Trapezius
- Medium
Instructions
- Shorten the TRX straps fully so the handles hang low, and stand facing the anchor point.
- Hold a handle in each hand with an underhand grip, palms facing up.
- Walk your feet forward under the anchor and lean back until your arms are straight and your body is close to parallel with the floor, legs straight and heels on the floor.
- Brace your core and squeeze your glutes so your body forms one straight line from heels to head.
- Draw your shoulder blades back and down, then pull your elbows down and back close to your sides.
- Row until your hands reach the sides of your lower chest, keeping your palms up and your wrists straight.
- Pause briefly at the top with your chest lifted and your neck in line with your spine.
- Lower yourself slowly until your arms are fully straight, keeping the body line.
- Repeat for the planned reps, then walk your feet back to stand up.
Common Mistakes
Curling instead of rowing
Bending the elbows while the shoulder blades stay put turns the rep into a biceps curl, so drive the elbows down and back toward your hips.
Sagging hips
Letting the hips drop toward the floor breaks the straight line from heels to head and shifts strain onto the lower back.
Poking the chin toward the handles
Reaching the chin up to the handles shortens the pull at the back, so bring your chest to your hands and keep your neck in line with your spine.
Bending the wrists
Letting the wrists bend back or forcing the palms past a comfortable angle loads the wrists and elbows, so keep the wrists straight and let the handles turn.
Cutting the range short
Stopping before the arms are straight at the bottom or before the hands reach the lower chest at the top leaves part of each rep untrained.
Dropping on the way down
Falling back into the straps jerks the shoulders and elbows, so lower yourself under control until your arms are fully straight.
Injuries
TRX Inverted Row (Underhand Grip) is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. Your feet stay on the floor, you lift only part of your body weight, and you can make it easier at any time by walking your feet back.
The underhand grip puts more of the work on the biceps, so the front of the elbow and the inner elbow are the usual strain points, especially when volume climbs quickly or every set goes to failure. The wrists can also complain if you bend them back or force the palms to stay turned up past what is comfortable. The TRX handles turn freely, so let them settle where your wrists stay straight. The lower back takes strain when the hips sag, and the front of the shoulder can be irritated if you pull so far that your shoulders roll forward at the top.
Keep the body rigid from heels to head, stop each rep when your hands reach the sides of your lower chest, and build up the number of underhand sets gradually. Mixing in overhand or neutral-grip pulling spreads the load across the elbows. If the near-horizontal position is too hard, stand more upright or use the TRX Bent-Knee Inverted Row. To progress, walk your feet closer to the anchor, pause at the top or raise your feet, as in the Feet Elevated Ring Row.
Stop if you feel sharp pain in the front of the elbow or shoulder, pain in the crook of the elbow that lingers after the session, numbness or tingling in the hands, or pain in the lower back. Elbow pain that persists for weeks is worth having checked by a physical therapist or sports medicine doctor.
- Primary Focus
- Back
- Equipment
- Suspension trainer and body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Is the underhand grip easier than the overhand grip?
Usually a little, because the biceps can help more with the palms facing up. Your body angle changes the difficulty far more than the grip does, so compare the two at the same foot position.
- Q: Does an underhand grip still work the back?
Yes. In a study of 26 adults doing inverted rows on a portable pull-up bar, the underhand grip drove the lats, lower trapezius, rear delts and biceps to very high activity, as the overhand grip did, although lat activity differed between the two grips.
- Q: Will this help me do my first chin-up?
It helps by building lat and biceps strength in the same underhand grip while you lift only part of your body weight. Pair it with vertical pulling such as the Negative Chin-Up or the Band-Assisted Chin-Up, since the row alone does not train hanging and pulling straight up.
- Q: How do I make it harder without changing the grip?
Walk your feet closer to the anchor so your body gets nearer to parallel with the floor, pause for one to three seconds at the top, or lower more slowly. A feet-elevated row on a fixed bar or rings is the next step once the horizontal position is easy.
- Q: Where should my hands finish?
Beside your lower chest, with your elbows tucked and slightly behind your body. Pulling the handles any higher usually means the elbows have flared or the shoulders are rolling forward.