In any training routine full body prescribed by a physical trainer, rowing exercise will surely never be lacking. And, in all its variants, rowing is one of the compound exercises more complete and beneficial to work the body’s musclesespecially that of the upper body. In fact, the rowing machine is one of the most recommended by trainers to burn fat and gain muscle globally.

And this type of exercise is one of the easiest and most complete that exists, although the rowing machine also has its technique. In this case, we suggest you practice the upright rowa variant that you can do anywhere with your favorite resistance material to work the entire upper body effectively.

What is the upright row for?

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The vertical traction required to do this variation of rowing allows you to work the muscles of the back. upper backmore intensely than in other variants. Although in addition to working the back muscles, this type of rowing greatly strengthens the shoulders and the armsso it helps improve posture and tone the entire upper body.

Specifically, the vertical row allows you to work simultaneously, the deltoid and trapezoids, keeping the core activated at the same time, thereby toning abs. Also works biceps, triceps and rhomboid and helps you develop functional strengthwhich is ideal for better performing everyday tasks that require handling weight. Likewise, practicing this type of rowing will help you improve your technique with other exercises such as squats and deadlifts.

How to do upright row

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Unlike traditional machine rowing, the vertical mode, which you can practice anywhere, with just a pair of dumbbells or even resistance bandsthis type of rowing is practiced standing instead of sitting and leaning the body forward. Thus, in this case, the horizontal pulling movement that we perform with our arms towards the chest on the rowing machine is replaced by a vertical pulling movement that involves raising the arms, from bottom to top.

1. Start by standing with your hands in front of the hips and shoulder-width apart or a little more. In this position you must hold the dumbbells, weights, bar or rubber band.
2. Unlock your knees so that they are not completely stretched, and before starting the movement activates the abdomen and gluteus.
3. Without moving your hips, you have to Raise your hands until your elbows are alignedmore or less at shoulder height, like forming a T. You must ensure that your elbows remain open at all times and your shoulders do not rise with the movement.
4. Maintain elevated position one or two seconds before slowly returning the hands in front of the hips.
5. If you choose to do this paddle with dumbbellsyou must hold one in each hand, placing the back facing forward. If you are going to do it with a resistance bandyou must step on it with both legs open shoulder-width apart and hold it with a hand grip of that same width. You can also do this type of upright row with a kettlebell or kettlebell between his hands, holding it.

First of all, keep in mind that if you swing to take advantage of the inertia of the movement, it will be affecting the effectiveness of the exercise. That is why we recommend a controlled execution of the upright row. You should also be careful with raise your elbows too much and exceed the line of the shoulders to avoid injuries, for which we recommend performing the exercise in front of a mirror.

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