T-bar Row

Plant your feet firmly on the platform, grip the handle, and hinge forward by sending your hips back. Keep your chest open and brace your core; create the torso angle from your hips, not your lower back.

Drive your elbows back and pull the handle toward your navel or lower chest. The closer the bar stays to your body, the more tension you can keep in your mid-back.

Squeeze your back briefly at the top, then lower the handle slowly. Resist your shoulders shooting forward so you can keep the same tension on the next rep.

Keep your chest open and feel your shoulder blades come together as your elbows travel back. If you feel only your arms pulling, lower the weight and practice driving your elbows farther back.

Using torso momentum or pulling the handle too high and shrugging increases stress on your neck and lower back. Heavier weight often makes the lowering phase too fast, so control it as carefully as the pull.

Inhale before pulling to brace your torso, then exhale slowly as you row. Inhale as you lower to help maintain your core brace and torso angle each rep.

First find where your back squeezes best when you pull the handle; the ideal point varies from just below the sternum to above the navel. Once you find it, repeating to the same height will build back tension faster than simply adding weight.