What you'll gain

• Fixed bar path removes the balance task and keeps rowing lines consistent.

• Trains upper back and lats together in one loaded horizontal pull.

• Easy to load in small steps for progression on machine-only floors.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Set the Smith machine bar to the lowest catch height and load it.

2. 2

   Face the bar and take an overhand grip a little wider than your shoulders.

3. 3

   Unlock the bar, push your hips back with soft knees, and set a flat back.

4. 4

   Let the bar hang just below your knees, then pull it up to your lower ribs.

5. 5

   Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top and keep the torso still.

6. 6

   Lower the bar along the rails to straight arms and repeat.

Common Mistakes

• Standing up as you row, which shortens the range and moves the lift to the hips.

• Letting the lower back round under load, which concentrates stress on the lumbar spine.

• Bouncing the bar at the bottom, which replaces back tension with momentum.

• Pulling high to the chest with flared elbows, which drops the lats out of the movement.

About This Exercise

The Smith machine bent-over row keeps the barbell on rails, so the bar path is decided for you and the work goes into pulling rather than balancing. You hold a hip hinge with a flat back and row the bar to the lower ribs, which loads the upper back and lats with the biceps and rear deltoids assisting. The hinge itself is not free: the lumbar erectors and abs hold the trunk against the load, and free bent-over rowing was measured as the highest lumbar spine load among common rowing variations, so back position stays the limiting factor even on a machine. As an asset this clip fills the machine row slot in a library. It reads well in gym-floor app content where a Smith machine is available, in pull-day templates, and in technique explainers about holding a hinge under load.

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