How to Do Body Rows Exercises

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Dr. Garrett Smith for Expert Village. We're going to go over an exercise called body rows right now, which falls into the pulls category and specifically pulls from the front of the body in. You need a bar set to about a height that, when your arms are straight and your body when your arms are fully extended, you're just off the floor. Body rows are, basically, the opposite of a push up. They do almost exactly the opposite movement of a push up. Whereas, a push is a push, body rows are a pull. Grab the bar. You're going to make the body straight like you would on a push up. Legs go straight, body goes straight, and then we pull the chest up to the bar. We want to touch the chest to the bar. That is a goal of this exercise. We can do different grips like we would on pull ups. This is an underhand grip. Goal is still the same, pull the chest to the bar. Getting your chest to the bar will not happen if you're not at the right position for and aft. Common mistake is that people are too far underneath the bar like they were doing a bench press. What we want, well, if you're too far forward what happens is you pull your neck to the bar and you never quite get high enough. Really, what you want is, scoot back a bit pull the chest, the bottom of the chest, to the bar. It can help to think if you're pulling the elbows back. Like, if you're driving the elbows back. The body row is a great, what we call horizontal pull, on it's own for those of you who are really working up to pull ups this can be a great stepping stone as well. That's called the basic normal body row. The body row done with the feet on the flow is easier because you're not lifting your lower leg and your whole center of mass, the heavy part that you have to lift, is closer to the bar. It's an easier exercise so people can start there and then work up to the normal body row which is legs extended. Legs fully extended straight like a real push up. It's the difference is very similar to a normal push up versus a push up with the knees on the floor."