Seated Cable Row

The seated cable row is a horizontal pulling movement performed on a cable stack. The lifter sits upright, feet braced against the platform, and pulls the attachment toward the lower abdomen or lower chest while retracting the scapulae. The cable provides resistance throughout the entire range of motion — including the stretched position at arm extension where a barbell row loses tension as the plates touch the floor.

Attachment choice changes the grip and feel. A close-grip neutral-grip handle is most common and tends to be easiest on the elbows and shoulders. A wide overhand bar increases the range of scapular retraction and hits the rear deltoids more. Both are useful. A D-handle on one side allows unilateral rowing for people with significant side-to-side imbalances.

The torso is not a pendulum. Some slight forward lean at the start of each rep to load the stretch is acceptable, but rowing with a large torso swing turns the exercise into a lower-back workout and reduces the pulling demand on the back. Keep the chest tall, initiate the row by retracting the shoulder blade, and let the arm follow.

In LiftProof, the seated cable row appears as a horizontal pulling accessory alongside or in place of the barbell row. Log it as a back exercise. Because the cable allows consistent loading without a floor being in the way, progressive overload is straightforward — add reps within the target range, then add weight.

• Initiate by retracting the shoulder blade before pulling with the arm
• Drive the elbow back and in — not just back
• Chest tall throughout; do not round forward at the start to load more weight
• Full stretch at arm extension — let the scapula protract slightly
• Hold the contraction for a beat at the end range before returning

• Swinging the torso — turns the row into a back extension; keep the chest upright
• Pulling with the biceps only — if the elbows lead without scapular movement, the back is not doing the work
• Not reaching full extension — abbreviating the stretch removes half the range of motion
• Elbows flaring wide — for a mid-back focus the elbows should pull back close to the body

• barbell row→
• pull up→
• lat pulldown→