Seated Cable Row: How to Do It, Muscles Worked and Best Grips

The seated cable row trains your lats and upper back by pulling a handle from a low pulley toward your stomach while you sit tall. Keep your chest up, drive your elbows back and control the return, and it's one of the easiest back exercises to learn and load.

How to do a seated cable row

1. Set up. Attach a handle to the low pulley, sit facing the machine and put your feet on the foot plate with your knees slightly bent.
2. Start tall. Grab the handle and sit back until your arms are straight and the weight lifts off the stack. Sit upright with your chest up.
3. Get a stretch. Let your shoulder blades reach forward slightly so you feel your back stretch, without rounding your lower back.
4. Pull. Drive your elbows back and pull the handle toward your stomach, just below your ribs.
5. Squeeze. Pause for a moment with your shoulder blades pulled together and your chest still up.
6. Return slowly. Straighten your arms under control until you're back in the stretch, then start the next rep.

Think about moving your elbows, not your hands; your hands just hold on. Keep your shoulders down and away from your ears for the whole set.

Seated cable row muscles worked

The seated cable row mainly works your lats and the muscles between your shoulder blades. Your arms help pull, and your core keeps you upright.

Muscle	What it does in the row
Latissimus dorsi (lats)	Pulls your upper arms back; the main mover
Rhomboids and middle trapezius	Pull your shoulder blades together at the end of each rep
Rear deltoids	Help pull your upper arms back
Teres major	Works alongside the lats
Biceps and forearms	Bend your elbows and hold the handle
Lower back and core	Keep your torso upright and steady

Keeping your elbows close to your sides puts more of the work on your lats. Letting them flare out shifts more of it to your upper back and rear delts.

Should you lean back during seated cable rows?

A little, but don't rock. Leaning forward slightly into the stretch and coming back to upright as you pull is fine, as long as your back stays straight and you stay in control.

Swinging back past upright to move the weight turns the row into a lower-back exercise and takes work away from your lats. If you can't finish a rep without rocking, lower the weight.

Best grips and attachments for seated cable rows

The handle you use sets your grip and your elbow path. Every option trains your back, so pick the one that feels best and lets you keep clean form.

Close grip: the V-bar

The V-bar puts your hands close together with your palms facing each other. It's the classic seated row handle: your elbows stay close to your sides, which puts more of the work on your lats and gives you a long stretch.

Wide grip: a straight bar

A wide overhand grip on a straight or lat bar lets your elbows flare out. That shifts more of the work to your upper back and rear delts, and most people use a little less weight.

Neutral grip: a multi-grip bar

A neutral-grip bar keeps your palms facing each other at shoulder width or wider, which many lifters find easiest on their joints. We explain why in Why Neutral Grip Training Is Easier and Safer on Your Joints. The Andreoni Bar gives you several neutral-grip widths on one attachment.

For a side-by-side look at every bar and handle, see our lat pulldown attachments guide.

Seated cable rows on a functional trainer

Most home functional trainers have no row seat or foot plate, but you can still do seated rows.

• Set the pulleys low. Use a bar that connects to both low pulleys, or clip one handle to a single pulley.
• Sit on a bench or the floor facing the machine, far enough back that the weight lifts off the stack with your arms straight.
• Brace your feet against the machine's base or a heavy plate so you don't slide forward.

Using both cables spreads the load across both weight stacks, which helps when one stack feels light for heavy rows. The Andreoni Bar connects to both cables for exactly this setup.

Common seated cable row mistakes

• Rocking to move the weight. If your torso swings to finish the rep, the load is too heavy.
• Pulling with your arms. Drive your elbows back and let your hands just hold on.
• Shrugging. Keep your shoulders down, away from your ears.
• Skipping the stretch. Let your arms straighten and your shoulder blades reach forward on every rep.
• Rounding your lower back. Lean from your hips with a straight back instead of slumping.
• Letting the stack pull you forward. Control the weight on the way back, too.

Seated cable row sets, reps and weight

For muscle growth, 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 15 reps is a good starting point. Pick a weight where the last two or three reps are hard but your form stays clean. Add weight once you can hit the top of your rep range on every set.

Seated rows pair well with a vertical pull. Do them on the same day as the lat pulldown to train your back from both directions.

Seated cable row alternatives

No seat, or want some variety? These train the same muscles:

• Single-arm cable row: one handle, one side at a time, for a longer range of motion and a chance to even out a weaker side.
• Standing cable row: set the pulley around stomach height; your legs and core work harder to keep you steady.
• Chest-supported cable row: lie face down on an incline bench so your lower back gets a break.
• Dumbbell row: brace one hand on a bench and row a dumbbell toward your hip.

For every cable version, including bent-over and neutral-grip rows, see our cable row variations guide.

Seated cable row FAQ

What muscles does the seated cable row work? Mainly your lats and the muscles between your shoulder blades, the rhomboids and middle traps. Your rear delts, biceps and forearms help, and your core keeps you upright.

Is the seated cable row worth doing? Yes. It's easy to learn, easy to load, and the cable keeps tension on your back through the whole rep, which makes it one of the best rows for building a thicker back.

Is a close or wide grip better for seated cable rows? Neither is better overall. A close grip puts more of the work on your lats, while a wide grip shifts more to your upper back and rear delts.

What's the difference between a seated cable row and a lat pulldown? The row pulls toward your stomach, while the pulldown pulls down from overhead. Doing both trains your back from two directions.

Can you do seated cable rows at home? Yes, on a functional trainer. Set the pulleys low, sit on a bench or the floor, and brace your feet against the machine's base.