Inverted Row — Pull-Up Alternative
The inverted row is a bodyweight pulling exercise performed under a bar or with suspension straps. Lying face-up with your body at an angle, you pull your chest toward the bar. It builds the same back muscles as pull-ups but in a horizontal plane, making it far more accessible while still challenging.
How to Perform
- Set a barbell in a rack at waist height, or grab the handles of a TRX or suspension trainer.
- Hang underneath with arms extended, body straight from head to heels, heels on the ground.
- Pull your chest toward the bar by squeezing your shoulder blades together and driving your elbows back.
- Lower yourself with control until your arms are fully extended, then repeat.
How It Compares to Pull-Up
Inverted rows use a horizontal pull instead of the vertical pull of a pull-up, so they emphasize the mid-back and rhomboids slightly more than the lats. The exercise is much easier to scale — simply walk your feet closer to or further from the bar to adjust difficulty. While inverted rows won't directly translate to pull-up strength as efficiently as lat pulldowns or assisted pull-ups, they're unbeatable for at-home training with minimal equipment.
Equipment & Muscles
- + No equipment needed (just a bar)
- + Easier to perform high reps
- + Great for scapular retraction
- + Lower skill floor
- - Horizontal not vertical pull
- - Less lat stretch
- - Harder to progress than weighted exercises