Machine high rows target your back from a diagonal angle to enhance back musculature.
Your back muscles play a crucial role in protecting your spine and maintaining proper posture. A strong, well-developed back not only improves mobility but also enables you to lift heavy weights and reduces the risk of injury during various movements (1).
One of the most effective exercises for engaging your back muscles is the row, which comes in many variations. Among these, the machine high row stands out as a powerful addition to your upper-body routine, offering unique muscle engagement and impressive benefits. In this guide, we’ll explore how to perform the machine high row, how it targets your muscles differently, and why it deserves a spot in your training program.
Overview — Machine High Row
The machine high row is a compound exercise that isolates your upper body muscles and builds muscularity and strength. One can regard this workout as a diagonal pulling routine, which means it combines both vertical and horizontal movements. Looking deep into this routine, it’s a merge of both the pulldowns and a row, giving you the best of both movements and targeting your muscles effectively.
A bonus addition to the machine high row exercise is that you can train unilaterally to address muscle-strength imbalances. It also builds a better mind-muscle connection, which is an effective factor for muscle growth.
Machine High Row — Muscles Worked
As stated earlier, the machine high row works your upper body muscles. These muscles include:
Back
Under the back, the machine high row works:
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Traps
- Rhomboids
- Erector Spinae
Shoulders
The shoulders’ division consists of three heads, and this exercise effectively targets the often-overlooked third head:
- Posterior Delts
Arms
This exercise isn’t just a back-building routine; it also works your arms. These muscles include:
How to Do Machine High Rows
The machine high row is a compound exercise that can be done on a Hammer Strength machine. You can find this equipment in most commercial gyms, or you could just acquire one and perform from the comfort of your home.
Remember, when performing this exercise, it is important to maintain a good posture by keeping your back straight. To help with keeping your back straight, engage your core muscles. Also, when pulling, focus on pulling with your back and not the arms. This builds a better mind-muscle connection, engaging the back for better results.
Here is a detailed guide on how to perform this exercise correctly:
- Sit on the machine and adjust the seat, handles, and leg support pads to your preferred height.
- Extend your arms and grab the handles while you engage your core muscles and keep your back straight. This is your starting position.
- Next, slowly pull the handles towards you until your elbows are entirely behind you.
- Ensure you fully contract your back muscles and hold in this position for about two to three seconds.
- Finally, slowly allow the handles to return to the starting position while you exhale to complete a rep.
Benefits
Machine high rows are strength training exercises that offer numerous benefits. Let’s take a look at some below.
Great for the Back & Arms
Primarily, the machine high row focuses on your back and arms. So, if you are looking for a muscle-mass-building exercise that improves your back and arm development, this exercise easily fits the bill. It hits the lats, traps, posterior delts, rhomboids, erector spinae, biceps, and forearms.
Activates the Core
During this exercise, the core muscles are activated and help keep proper form. Doing the machine high row regularly will therefore strengthen your core. A strong core can prevent injuries, enhance appropriate posture, and improve lifting performance.
Addresses Muscle & Strength Imbalances
One benefit of performing the machine high rows is the ability to identify lagging muscles. This routine offers you a unilateral movement, which you can use to address muscle and strength imbalances. With this, you can better understand your body and even build a better mind-muscle connection, which is a good factor for growth (2).
Movement Variety
Depending on your preferences and exercise goals, you can perform this exercise either bilaterally or unilaterally. Performing it unilaterally allows you to focus better on each side of your body for more gains. However, if you’re looking to save time while building strength and muscle, you can perform this routine bilaterally.
Some Alternatives You Can Try
Alternatives are beneficial because they enable you to engage similar muscles differently. The goal is to maximize gains during your exercise sessions. So, to prevent training monotony and plateau, you can incorporate other workouts into your arsenal. Here are some excellent alternatives to try below.
Omni Grip Lat Pulldowns
Omni grip lat pulldowns are effective workouts that will work your back to exhaustion and build serious muscle and strength gains. This exercise is similar to the regular lat pulldowns, but is more intense, utilizing three different grip movements. By the time you’re done with this routine, you’ll have your back and arms burning.
Pull-Ups
Pull-ups are bodyweight exercises that work similar muscles to the machine high row. However, to boost engagement, consider doing wide-grip pull-ups. You can also step up this exercise by adding more resistance, like a weight vest or weight plates.
Face Pulls
Face pulls are strength training routines that isolate your back muscles and work them to exhaustion. Depending on your preference, you can perform this exercise using a variety of weights like barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, cable machines, or even a resistance band.
FAQs
What does the machine high row work?
The machine high row works upper body muscles like the back and arms. It also builds back muscularity effectively by targeting the lats, traps, posterior delts, rhomboids, and erector spinae. It also works the biceps and the forearms.
Is a high row the same as a lat pulldown?
No, the machine high row isn’t the same as the lat pulldown. The machine high row is considered a diagonal pulling exercise, and sits between the lat pulldown and a row. At the same time, the lat pulldown is primarily a vertical pulling routine.
What to do instead of a high row machine?
Lat pulldowns, pull-ups, deadlifts, and face pulls work similar muscles to the machine high row. For more details on these alternative exercises, check out the article above.
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References
- Gordon, R., & Bloxham, S. (2016). A Systematic Review of the Effects of Exercise and Physical Activity on Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 4(2), 22. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare4020022
- Calatayud, J., Vinstrup, J., Jakobsen, M. D., Sundstrup, E., Brandt, M., Jay, K., Colado, J. C., & Andersen, L. L. (2016). Importance of mind-muscle connection during progressive resistance training. European journal of applied physiology, 116(3), 527–533. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3305-7
