Resistance Band Rows: How to Perform 7 Banded Row Variations

Resistance band rows are an awesome back exercise that anyone can incorporate into their at-home workout routine.

The exercises will help you build the muscles of the back including the lats, rhomboids, rear deltoids, and traps. Additionally, you’ll indirectly work your biceps as well.

Incorporating row variations such as the resistance band row is important since the row is a fundamental movement pattern required in everyday life. Strengthening your back muscles also leads to better posture.

With all that said, we will cover 7 different banded row variations in this article. Find one that you enjoy and incorporate it into your regular at-home workout routine. Try to become stronger in your preferred variation by increasing the reps you perform of the resistance of the band you use.

Resistance Band Only Rows

This section will focus on exercises that require nothing more than a resistance band itself. Later in this article, we’ll also look at row variations that can be performed if you have a door anchor or hooks installed in your home gym.

1. Resistance Band Bent Over Row

The resistance band bent over row is the most traditional variation of the banded row and one most people will find comfortably challenging to perform.

1. Hold the resistance band to ensure the middle of the band aligns with the midpoint of your body on the floor.
2. Step onto the band with your feet shoulder width apart ensuring the middle of the band remains aligned with the midpoint of your body.
3. Take a firm grasp of the handles of the resistance band or the loops of the resistance band.
4. Hinge at your hips so that your upper body becomes more parallel with the floor. Find a comfortable position as parallel to the floor as possible while maintaining a flat back.
5. Leading with the muscles of your back, pull the resistance band toward your torso until your hands slightly graze your rib cage.
6. Reverse the movement while maintaining control of the bands as you fight the resistance back to the starting arm position.
7. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Notes:

• If you find yourself pulling too much with your biceps, to better emphasize the mind muscle connection of the back muscles, think of your hands as hooks on the band.
• To keep a neutral spine and a flatter back, try to focus your eye gaze on a spot on the floor ~5 feet in front of you.

2. One Arm Banded Row

The one arm banded row is a variation of the bent over resistance band row that allows you to focus on pulling unilaterally. This simply means you’ll pull the resistance with one arm for a set of reps before switching to the other arm. The main reason for doing this is to increase the focus on each side of the body so that you can feel the exercise and establish a better mind muscle connection.

1. Hold the resistance band to ensure the middle of the band aligns with the midpoint of your body on the floor.
2. Step onto the band with your feet shoulder width apart ensuring the middle of the band remains aligned with the midpoint of your body.
3. Take a firm grasp of the handles of the resistance band or the loops of the resistance band.
4. Hinge at your hips so that your upper body becomes more parallel with the floor. Find a comfortable position as parallel to the floor as possible while maintaining a flat back.
5. Leading with the muscles of your back, pull the resistance band toward your torso with one arm until your hand slightly grazes your rib cage.
6. Reverse the movement while maintaining control of the bands as you fight the resistance back to the starting arm position.
7. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions and switch to the other arm.

Notes:

• If you find yourself pulling too much with your biceps, to better emphasize the mind muscle connection of the back muscles, think of your hands as hooks on the band.
• To keep a neutral spine and a flatter back, try to focus your eye gaze on a spot on the floor ~5 feet in front of you.
• This one arm row variation can be utilized in the same fashion for the other two arm banded row variations discussed in this article.

3. Alternating Banded Row

The alternating banded row applies the same one arm row concepts described above. However, instead of performing all of the reps of one side prior to beginning a set on the other side, you alternate reps between both sides of the body. So, you would row with your right side, finish the rep, and then begin to row with the left side.

1. Hold the resistance band to ensure the middle of the band aligns with the midpoint of your body on the floor.
2. Step onto the band with your feet shoulder width apart ensuring the middle of the band remains aligned with the midpoint of your body.
3. Take a firm grasp of the handles of the resistance band or the loops of the resistance band.
4. Hinge at your hips so that your upper body becomes more parallel with the floor. Find a comfortable position as parallel to the floor as possible while maintaining a flat back.
5. Leading with the muscles of your back, pull the resistance band toward your torso with one arm until your hand slightly grazes your rib cage.
6. Reverse the movement while maintaining control of the bands as you fight the resistance back to the starting arm position.
7. Leading with the muscles of your back, pull the resistance band toward your torso with one opposite arm until your hand slightly grazes your rib cage.
8. Repeat switching between arms for the desired number of repetitions.

Notes:

• If you find yourself pulling too much with your biceps, to better emphasize the mind muscle connection of the back muscles, think of your hands as hooks on the band.
• To keep a neutral spine and a flatter back, try to focus your eye gaze on a spot on the floor ~5 feet in front of you.
• This one arm row variation can be utilized in the same fashion for the other two arm banded row variations discussed in this article.

4. Resistance Band High Row

The resistance band high row is another bent over banded row variation that puts more of an emphasis on the rear deltoids than the rhomboids and lats. This may be useful for someone who is simply looking for variety in their workouts or who is trying to accomplish a goal of better posture.

1. Hold the resistance band to ensure the middle of the band aligns with the midpoint of your body on the floor.
2. Step onto the band with your feet shoulder width apart ensuring the middle of the band remains aligned with the midpoint of your body.
3. Take a firm grasp of the handles of the resistance band or the loops of the resistance band.
4. Hinge at your hips so that your upper body becomes more parallel with the floor. Find a comfortable position. For this variation, you’ll want to keep a more upright back position with about 60-75* parallel to the floor.
5. Leading with the muscles of your rear deltoids and back, pull the resistance band toward your torso until your hands slightly graze your chest
6. Reverse the movement while maintaining control of the bands as you fight the resistance back to the starting arm position.
7. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Notes:

• If you find yourself pulling too much with your biceps, to better emphasize the mind muscle connection of the rear deltoids, think of your hands as hooks on the band.
• To keep a neutral spine and a flatter back, try to focus your eye gaze on a spot on the floor ~5 feet in front of you.

5. Seated Band Row

The seated resistance band row is a banded row variation that is performed from a seated position on the ground. This may be an appropriate variation for someone who struggles with engaging their back muscles in standing variations due to needing to improve mobility or core stability to maintain a proper back position during the exercise.

1. Holding the resistance band, take a seat on the floor with your legs extended out in front of you.
2. Thread the band around your feet, grasping the handles and finding a position where the middle of the band aligns with the midpoint of your torso and the arch of your foot.
3. Take a firm grasp of the handles of the resistance band or the loops of the resistance band.
4. Leading with the muscles of your back, pull the resistance band toward your torso until your hands slightly graze your rib cage.
5. Reverse the movement while maintaining control of the bands as you fight the resistance back to the starting arm position.
6. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Notes:

• If you find yourself pulling too much with your biceps, to better emphasize the mind muscle connection of the rear deltoids, think of your hands as hooks on the band.
• To keep a proper head position, be sure to tuck your chin. You can emphasize this neutral neck position by creating a double chin or imaging that you are trying to hold a tennis ball between your neck and chin.

Resistance Band Rows with Door Anchor/Hooks

If you have access to a door anchor, you can increase the number of exercise variations you can perform with your resistance bands. Below we’ll cover how to perform several additional row variations.

6. Standing Band Row

The standing band row allows you to perform the row from a more upright position. Due to this, people often feel they can achieve a better contraction of the back muscles.

1. Hold the resistance band and wrap it around the hook or anchor.
2. Grasp both handles and align the middle of the band in the hook with the midpoint of your body.
3. Step back from the band until you’ve reached the desired resistance.
4. Take a stance where your feet are shoulder width apart while ensuring the middle of the band remains aligned with the midpoint of your body.
5. Take a firm grasp of the handles of the resistance band or the loops of the resistance band.
6. Maintain an upright athletic position with your knees bent and minimal hinge at the hips.
7. Leading with the muscles of your back, pull the resistance band toward your torso until your hands slightly graze your ribs.
8. Reverse the movement while maintaining control of the bands as you fight the resistance back to the starting arm position.
9. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Notes:

• If you find yourself pulling too much with your biceps, to better emphasize the mind muscle connection of the rear deltoids, think of your hands as hooks on the band.
• To keep a proper head position, be sure to tuck your chin. You can emphasize this neutral neck position by creating a double chin or imaging that you are trying to hold a tennis ball between your neck and chin.

7.  Resistance Band Face Pull

Lastly, we have the resistance band face pull which is most like the resistance band high row described earlier. This variation will target more of your rear deltoids and is an excellent exercise to incorporate into your routine if you have a goal of improving posture.

1. Hold the resistance band and wrap it around the hook or anchor.
2. Grasp both handles and align the middle of the band in the hook with the midpoint of your body.
3. Step back from the band until you’ve reached the desired resistance.
4. Take a stance where your feet are shoulder width apart while ensuring the middle of the band remains aligned with the midpoint of your body.
5. Take a firm grasp of the handles of the resistance band or the loops of the resistance band.
6. Maintain an upright athletic position with your knees bent and minimal hinge at the hips.
7. Leading with the muscles of your rear deltoids and back, pull the resistance band toward your face.
8. Reverse the movement while maintaining control of the bands as you fight the resistance back to the starting arm position.
9. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Notes:

• If you find yourself pulling too much with your biceps, to better emphasize the mind muscle connection of the rear deltoids, think of your hands as hooks on the band.
• To keep a proper head position, be sure to tuck your chin. You can emphasize this neutral neck position by creating a double chin or imaging that you are trying to hold a tennis ball between your neck and chin.
• Since this point of resistance is being pulled toward your face, ensure extra caution when performing the exercise. The resistance band must be secured in the hook/anchor to prevent the band from snapping back to position, which could potentially lead to contact to the face. Perform at your own risk and discretion.

Conclusion

Listed above are 7 awesome back row variations that can be performed with resistance bands.

If you are looking to begin a workout routine, rows are a must-have exercise if you can perform them. Any of the 7 variations listed above would make a solid addition to a workout routine if performed with proper form.