by Dan Hupke, Head Coach, Krave Gym Waukee
On this episode Of the coaches break down, we will be covering the wide grip barbell row. This exercise can very easily be done wrong, and so we are going to break it down for you to ensure perfect execution. To start, you will want to get your grip set. A good landmark is the outer rings on the bar, as the grip for this exercise should be wider than a standard bench width grip.
After your wide grip is set, you will want to set your posture. This is probably the most essential aspect of this exercise, and it is also where I see a lot of athletes doing this exercise wrong. To set your posture, you will want to erect your core and bring your chest up as tall as you can while also rolling your shoulders back and pinching your shoulder blades together.
Now that your grip and posture is set you can bend down into the exercise by “Hinging” at the hips (sticking your butt out) and bending over at the waist, WHILE MAINTAINING YOUR POSTURE. And to maintain your posture while bending over at the waist and hinging at the hips you have to keep your core engaged. The important part about this is that the farther you can bend down into the exercise while maintaining your posture, until you reach parallel with the floor, the more range of motion you will get out of the exercise for the intended muscle group.
*(It is important to note though, that getting down to your torso parallel to the floor with your chest still up and shoulders back and core tight requires significant hamstring/hip flexibility, so perfect execution of this exercise may be something you need to work on over time.)
Now that you are bent over, with posture still set, and you have your wide grip on the bar, we can begin to Row the bar up and back to our abdomen, using the muscles of our back while keeping the core engaged to maintain posture. The bar should move in a controlled manner through the range of motion, while you continue to maintain posture using your core. This will maximize the tension and range of motion you can put the intended muscle group through.
And that’s your coaches breakdown blog! Following all of these instructions will ensure that you are executing this movement perfectly and maximizing safety and effectiveness. Catch you guys next week with another coaches breakdown!