Want a stronger upper back and more muscular shoulders without adding more free weights to your routine? It's time to give the cable upright row a try. We share our top form tips and answer your biggest cable upright row questions.
Common Questions
What is a cable upright row?
An upright cable row is an exercise that involves pulling weight upward via a cable pulley machine to target your upper back, shoulders and arms.
Are upright rows worth doing?
Yes! You can use the cable upright row to build strength and muscle in your upper body, as well as potentially improve your performance on other exercises.
What muscles does the upright cable row work?
The primary muscles worked by upright rows are your deltoids and trapezius muscles. Your biceps, forearm flexors, rhomboids and core muscles all play secondary roles.
Who can do the cable upright row?
Anyone with access to a cable pulley can perform the cable upright row. However, you should consult your doctor or physical therapist first if you have a history of shoulder or wrist injuries.
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How to Do Upright Rows With a Cable Machine
- Attach a straight bar or rope to a cable machine at its lowest setting.
- Grab the attachment with both hands, palms down, and stand upright with your arms extended and relaxed in front of your legs.
- Initiate the movement by pulling up and back with your elbows. Engage your core muscles to keep your torso still and don’t use excessive momentum to swing the weight up.
- Pull the bar up your body, keeping it close to your chest, until your hands are at neck height. Your elbows should be above your hands and pulled back slightly.
- Finish the movement by lowering the bar in a controlled manner until your arms are straight.
4 Upright Cable Row Benefits
1. You Can Use a Variety of Attachments
Using a cable machine for upright rows allows you to switch between different attachments. Straight bars, bent bars, double handles and ropes are all good options for cable upright rows.
Having these options allows you to modify your hand position, which is helpful if using a straight bar bothers your shoulders or wrists. It also allows you to hit your muscles from different angles.
2. Builds Upper-Body Muscle
Aiming for hypertrophy? Upright rows are very effective at stimulating your trapezius and shoulder muscles. Using a cable for upright rows allows you to keep constant tension on these muscles throughout the entire range of motion. These factors make it an ideal hypertrophy exercise.
3. Builds Upper-Body Strength
Only want to get strong, not big? You can also use the cable upright row to build upper-body strength, especially with higher loads and lower reps.
It's important to be patient and take your time to work up to heavier weights. Make sure you're not swinging or jerking the weight and always engage your core and use a full range of motion.
4. Improves Performance of Weightlifting Exercises
The upright row is a great accessory exercise to help advanced trainees with weightlifting exercises like the clean and jerk and snatch. That's because upright rows build strength in a similar pattern and teach you to how to keep load close to your body as you pull.
Upright vs. Seated Cable Row: Which One Is Best for the Back?
A seated row is performed sitting on the ground or a bench with your legs extended as you pull weights toward your chest.
In the standing cable row, you stand upright and pull weights horizontally toward your body.
But the upright cable row is a vertical pull, which means you’re pulling weights up and down as opposed to forward and backward.
The upright row targets your upper back and shoulder muscles, whereas the seated and standing cable row target your lats and other mid back muscles along with your biceps. You will likely be able to pull heavier loads using a seated row as opposed to a standing or upright row.
All three variations can have a place in your workouts depending on your goals and which muscles you’re trying to target.
Common Form Mistakes and How to Fix Them
1. Jerking the Weight
The most common cable upright row mistake is trying to jerk or swing the weight up. You'll know you're doing this if you're using hip drive or rocking your torso back and forth. This usually happens because you're trying to go too heavy.
Lower the weight, slow down and move the bar in a smooth, controlled manner. This ensures you're actually hitting the target muscles and not just using momentum.
2. Incorrect Range of Motion
Some people use an incomplete range of motion when performing upright rows and stop at their lower chest. Others pull the bar way too high, yanking it up in front of their face.
For best results, pull until the bar is even with your neck. The only reason to use less range of motion is if pulling higher hurts your shoulders, elbows or wrists. If that's happening, consider changing your hand position or lowering weight.
3. Lowering Too Quickly
Always lower the bar in a slow and controlled manner. If you drop it quickly, you'll miss out on some of the best muscle- and strength-building benefits of your cable upright rows (this lowering phase is actually where your muscles are strongest!).
4. Hands Too Close Together
It's important to not grab the bar with your hands too close together, as this can lead to shoulder discomfort. Most people should keep at least one hand's width distance between their hands on the bar. Experiment to find which hand position feels best for you.
5. Load Too Far From Torso
Stand close enough to the cable that you can keep the bar against your torso throughout the entire range of motion. Standing too far away can reduce the effectiveness of the exercise and place unnecessary stress on your wrists.
3 Best Upright Cable Row Variations
1. Barbell Upright Row
Barbell upright rows are a staple of bodybuilding and weightlifting programs. They allow you to use more weight than other pieces of equipment. However, they aren't a good fit for everyone as you must use a pronated grip and your joints have less freedom of movement.
- Grab a barbell with both hands and stand upright with your arms extended and relaxed in front of your legs.
- Initiate the movement by pulling up and back with your elbows. Engage your core muscles to keep your torso still and don’t use excessive momentum to swing the weight up.
- Pull the bar up your body, keeping it close to your chest, until your hands are at neck height. Your elbows should be above your hands and pulled back slightly.
- Finish the movement by lowering the bar in a controlled manner until your arms are straight.
2. Dumbbell Upright Row
Dumbbell upright rows are similar to cable upright rows, so you can use them when the cable machine is occupied. The biggest difference is that the dumbbells do not provide constant tension the way a cable pulley does.
- Grab a dumbbell in each hand and stand upright, palms down with your arms extended and relaxed in front of your legs.
- Initiate the movement by pulling up and back with your elbows. Engage your core muscles to keep your torso still and don’t use excessive momentum to swing the weight up.
- Pull the dumbbells up your body, keeping them close to your chest, until your hands are at neck height. Your elbows should be above your hands and pulled back slightly.
- Finish the movement by lowering the dumbbells in a controlled manner until your arms are straight.
3. Banded Upright Row
Band upright rows are a great option if you exercise at home without a lot of equipment or on the road. Note that the resistance of the band will increase as you pull, as opposed to staying consistent throughout the movement.
- Stand with one or both legs on top of the middle of a resistance band. Grab the band (or band handles) both hands and stand upright with your arms extended and relaxed in front of your legs.
- Initiate the movement by pulling up and back with your elbows. Engage your core muscles to keep your torso still and don’t use excessive momentum to swing the weight up.
- Pull the band up your body, keeping it close to your chest, until your hands are at neck height. Your elbows should be above your hands and pulled back slightly.
- Finish the movement by lowering the band in a controlled manner until your arms are straight.
3 Substitutions for the Upright Cable Row
Some people won't feel comfortable performing upright rows no matter what equipment they use. If this is you, try the following alternatives to effectively train your traps and shoulders.
1. Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Dumbbell lateral raises also target your shoulders but can be more joint-friendly than upright rows. These won't hit the same muscles in your upper back quite as well, though, and it's important to remember that these are only going to be able to be done at a light weight. Start lower than you might think you should — even at 2-pound dumbbells — to avoid injury or strains.
- Stand upright with a pair of dumbbells in each hand and your arms relaxed at your sides.
- Initiate the movement by lifting your arms up and out to the sides. Engage your core muscles to minimize movement in your torso and reduce unnecessary momentum.
- Keep lifting until your arms are parallel with the floor and fully extended. Focus on feeling the sides of your shoulders working.
- Finish the movement by lowering your hands back down to the front of your legs in a controlled manner.
2. Cable Face Pull
Cable face pulls target muscles in your upper back, including the backs of your shoulders and parts of your traps.
- Set up a rope attachment on a cable pulley at a high setting, eye level or above.
- Grab the rope with both hands and step back away from the machine. You should be far enough away that you can fully extend your arms without lowering the cable stack.
- Initiate the movement by pulling your hands back toward your face. Drive your elbows back behind you and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Try not to excessively shrug your shoulders.
- Finish the movement by extending your arms back in front of you.
3. Dumbbell Shrug
Shrugs can help build bigger, stronger traps. Be sure to use a full range of motion and pause at the to get the most out of this exercise.
- Stand upright with a pair of dumbbells in each hand. Your arms should be relaxed and extended by your sides.
- Initiate the movement by shrugging your shoulders up to your ears. Shrug as high as you can.
- Pause at the top, squeezing your muscles hard for 1 to 3 seconds.
- Finish the movement by lowering your shoulders in a controlled manner.