Dumbbell Incline RowMuscles Worked
The dumbbell incline row works your upper back, with your lats, biceps, rear delts and forearms helping as you row and grip. Lying chest-down on an incline bench takes your lower back out of the lift, so the set ends when your upper back tires, not your hinge.
PrimaryUpper Back
- Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Level
- Beginner
- Type
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
How to do it
- Set an adjustable bench to a low incline and lie face down on it with your chest on the pad and your feet on the floor.
- Hold one dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other, and let your arms hang straight down.
- Pull your shoulder blades back and row the dumbbells toward your sides, driving your elbows up and back.
- Pause at the top with your chest still on the pad.
- Lower the dumbbells slowly until your arms are straight and your shoulder blades spread apart.
Form tips
- Keep your chest pressed into the pad, because lifting it to finish the rep defeats the point of the support.
- Let your shoulder blades move fully, reaching down at the bottom and squeezing together at the top.
- Keep your chin tucked slightly instead of craning your neck up to look forward.
Why it made the list
No. 8 of 12
Best Upper Back Exercises
Chest-supported rowing eliminates lower back involvement. Allows pure mid-back focus without fatigue limiting the set.
More upper back exercises
See it on your own body map
Log your Dumbbell Incline Row sets in KasMaker and watch your upper back, biceps, forearms, lats, and shoulders fill in on the map, weighted by how much you did. Logging and the body map are free on iPhone.
