Yates Row

How to perform the Yates Row

1. Stand holding a barbell with a supinated underhand grip at about shoulder width, feet hip-width and knees slightly bent.
2. Hinge to a more upright torso angle of roughly forty-five to seventy degrees, more vertical than a strict bent-over row.
3. Brace the core and keep the back flat, letting the bar hang at arm length in front of the thighs.
4. Row the bar up toward the lower abdomen and belt line by driving the elbows back and down close to the body.
5. The underhand grip and upright angle bias the lower lats and let you handle heavier loads with a touch of controlled body English.
6. Lower the bar under control to full extension, keeping the lumbar spine neutral rather than rounding to chase heavier weight.

Suggested working range: 6–10 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Common mistakes

• •Standing nearly upright and reducing the row to a shrug rather than holding the forty-five to seventy degree angle.
• •Rounding the lower back to chase heavier weight, exposing the lumbar spine under load.
• •Using so much body English that the legs and hips throw the weight up instead of the back pulling it.
• •Pulling the bar to the upper chest instead of down to the belt line where the underhand grip belongs.

Variations & alternatives

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