People after 50 years of age feel issues with their fitness and it’s just because of their weak muscular power. So, you must take good care of your every muscle group especially your core and back. If you are a gym-going guy and looking for some valuable exercises that target your back muscles. No worries because in this article, we will find interesting information about one of the award-winning back exercises. I am discussing Seated Cable Row, which is not a rare exercise. Let’s begin the show and find benefits, facts, and Seated Cable Row alternatives.
What is Seated Cable Row?
Seated Cable Row is a machine-based exercise everyone can perform to develop back muscles. By focusing on the traps, rhomboids, and lats, this tough workout will give you a wider back. Generally, you carry this workout while sitting on the bench attached to the cable machine.
Seated Cable Row is very good for people suffering from lower back pain and who want to train their upper back. As you are pulling the weights of the machine which means you can control the movements easily. However, you can train different muscles by changing the grip position. Along with biceps and back muscles, you can also feel strength in the shoulders as these muscles are working like a support.
Benefits of Seated Cable Row
Although, every exercise has hundreds of benefits and similarly Seated Cable Row has magnificent benefits. These advantages will shape your overall body and allow you to have visible back muscles.
Compound Exercise: Seated Cable Row can not only train back muscles but also develop strength in the shoulders, core, and biceps.
Increased Pulling Power: The exercise includes pulling the cable inward which surely increases your pulling strength. For carrying out day-to-day activities like pulling heavy objects, you must have enough strength that you can improve with this particular move.
Strong Gripping: Holding the cable firmly is all above to perform long repetitions. This property will bring positive results and give you a strong hand grip.
Body Balancing: You have to perform this exercise on a seat with a neutral back. Maintaining your overall balance without any back support is not a bed of roses but you have to accept the challenge.
Core Strengthening: Core engagement is a very crucial part of the exercise and you have to keep your shoulder blades involved. This special posture will bring pressure to the core and improve overall strength.
Painless Exercise: Seated Cable Row is a machine-based workout where you are controlling the weight smoothly. This will make the movement easy and you will feel comfortable while managing the weight.
How to Perform
Here are some key steps that you have to follow while giving your best to the exercise.
- Install the cable to the machine and adjust the weight according to your capacity.
- Sit with your straight back and legs on the pads in front of the machine.
- Hold the cables firmly and bring the chest outward. Make sure to contract the shoulders and feel pressure in the abdominal muscles.
- It’s time to pull the weight with full force to the inward of your belly. Lean forward to bring the cables back but ensure to keep your position constant.
- Repeat the movement to complete a set of 12-15 reps slowly.
It is recommended to start with low weights and focus on having a good form. Consult with your trainer if you are feeling muscle pain or cannot adjust the proper angle.
Seated Cable Row Alternatives
However, Seated Cable Row is an excellent back workout that brings a lot of advantages for boosting overall fitness. But on the other hand, this exercise has some lags especially less range of motion. Moreover, this exercise also has functional issues and cannot pay attention to make you fully fit. Therefore, you must look for some seated cable row alternatives that we have brought for fitness lovers.
1. Lat Pulldowns
Lat Pulldown is the greatest seated cable row alternative and is known as the Back King Exercise. This workout keenly focuses on improving your overall back strength and offers a greater range of motion. during the movement, you have to bring the bar down from a feasible height to the neck or chest.
Similar to Seated Cable Row, you will sit on the machine and grip the bar strongly with shoulder width apart. Now, keeping the core engaged pull the weight down and feel tension in the upper back. Your overall fitness will get boosted and improvement in your mental health is expected. Don’t forget to include this esteemed workout in your routine to make a V-shaped back.
2. TRX Rows
TRX Rows is one of the best alternatives to Seated Cable Row because it trains your back muscles strongly. Traps, Rear Deltoids, Lats, and Rhomboids are the focused muscles and your overall performance will improve. It starts with a kind of suspension trainer and you need to install it with a suitable height. After setting up the equipment, you must grab each handle with a strong grip.
With your core engaged, lean backward enough to make a plank position. Make an angle with the ground and support your overall body weight. Start the exercise by inhaling and lifting yourself by squeezing the elbows. Take a pause at the peak point and then return to the initial position. TRX Rows also improves your shoulder health and is gentle for the hip flexors.
3. Inverted Rows
Inverted Rows are a highly recommended back workout because they keenly generate power in the back muscles. Most of the fitness trainers ask you to perform it through Smith Machine due to a supportive angle. All you need is to rack up the loaded barbell to an adjustable height and lie below the equipment. Hold the bar with an overhand grip and make sure to keep your forearms straight.
Now lift the body weight by engaging the back muscles and try to touch the bar with your chest. Return to the starting position but make sure to keep yourself a bit high from the ground. Furthermore, this exercise is equally beneficial for all kinds of athletes such as Beginner, Intermediate, or advanced ones.
4. Banded Rows
Banded Rows are another significant workout for developing muscles in the back. It is a very safe and painless movement as you are not lifting heavy weights. If you are suffering from lower back pain then Banded Rows are a gift for you because it puts less strain on the back. Low-impact property of this exercise makes it favorable for everyone.
However, you can carry this workout with different angles for developing different muscles. People may feel discomfort with rowing posture but once you start banded rows, you will master the rowing posture. Fitness experts also call this exercise a pain healer because it brings softness to the joints.
5. Dumbbell Rows
In the list of Seated Cable Rows, we have Dumbbell Rows in the last. It is the most common and unilateral exercise as it focuses on a single side. With only a bench and a dumbbell, you can perform multiple reps of this particular move. Place one knee on the bench and plant one foot on the ground firmly.
Engage your core and place your arm on the bench without bending your elbow. Now pick up the dumbbell and lift it towards your inner ribcage. Make sure to bring contraction in the upper body and repeat the process with the other arm. This movement will pay attention to the weak muscles deeply and will balance the muscles accordingly.
Final Words
We will summarize the article by asking you to try the above-mentioned Seated Cable Row Alternatives. Relying on this workout for developing back muscles is not a good thing when you have Lat Pulldowns and Bent over Rows in your pocket. All the exercises will give different results and with a mix-up of these exercises, you will feel a wider back.
Try to incorporate all the exercises included in the article and focus on proper form. Best of Luck with your fitness journey and keep visiting us for more valuable information.