Woman performing resistance band upright row exercise
by: JoshPosted on:

Resistance Band Upright Row: How To Exercise Guide

The resistance band upright row is a shoulder exercise and a variation of the upright row.

The upright row is often classified as a controversial exercise as some believe it may lead to shoulder impingement.

However, if done properly, it can be a useful exercise variation to add into your workout routine to train your shoulders and upper traps.

With that said, I personally do not incorporate upright rows into my own workout routines as the reward is not high enough for the risk of a nagging shoulder injury.

If you workout at home and are looking for more variation in your workout routines, you might enjoy this exercise assuming you perform it with excellent form and don’t have preexisting shoulder impingement that may be worsened by the movement.

How to Perform Resistance Band Upright Rows

  1. Pick a resistance band with the level of thickness to provide an appropriate amount of resistance for the exercise.
  2. Grab the handles and begin to align the middle of the band with the middle of your torso while bringing the middle of the band towards the floor.
  3. Step on the band taking a shoulder width stance and maintaining the alignment between the middle of the band and the middle of your body.
  4. Bring your hands in front of your thighs with your palms facing toward you.
  5. Leading with the elbows, pull with your shoulders to bring the handles toward your clavicle.
  6. Once you reach a point where your elbows are parallel to the floor, squeeze your shoulder muscles and reverse the movement slowly to the starting hand position.
  7. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Conclusion

The resistance band upright row is an exercise that can be performed in full body workouts, upper body workouts, pull workouts, and shoulder workouts.

A general recommendation for reps and sets for the exercise would be 2-4 sets of 8-15 repetitions.

One can progress the exercise by increasing the thickness of the band used to perform the exercise, increasing the reps and/or sets performed for the exercise, or by switching to a different form of resistance such as a cable attachment, EZ bar, or dumbbells.

If you have any questions about the banded upright row, please feel free to drop a comment below.