Seal Row

How to perform the Seal Row

1. Lie face down on a flat bench elevated on blocks high enough that a loaded barbell underneath clears the floor at full arm extension.
2. Reach down and grip the barbell slightly wider than shoulder width, letting the arms hang straight so the lats stretch fully.
3. Because your chest is pinned to the bench, no leg drive or torso swing is possible, isolating the row to the back alone.
4. Row the bar straight up to the underside of the bench by driving the elbows back and retracting the shoulder blades.
5. Touch the bar to the bench or reach the top of the range and squeeze the mid-back hard at the contraction.
6. Lower the bar under control to a dead hang at full extension, letting the shoulder blades spread before the next rep.

Suggested working range: 8–12 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Common mistakes

• •Peeling the chest off the bench to sneak in body English on a movement whose whole point is torso support.
• •Using such a short range that the bar never reaches a full dead hang stretch at the bottom.
• •Pulling with the arms first rather than retracting the shoulder blades to start the row.
• •Shrugging the shoulders up at the top instead of squeezing the blades together and down.

Variations & alternatives

Swap in a related movement if equipment, recovery, or progression demands it.