Machine exercise

Chest Supported Row (Machine) form, muscles worked, and workout tracking

The chest supported row machine has the lifter row handles toward the torso while the chest rests against a fixed pad, training the lats, rhomboids, mid-traps, and rear delts with the lower back completely unloaded. Lifters use it for high-effort back hypertrophy without spinal fatigue, making it ideal late in a session or alongside heavy deadlifts and squats that already tax the trunk.

Chest Supported Row (Machine) illustration

How to do Chest Supported Row (Machine)

1Adjust the seat so the pad sits against your mid-chest and the handles are reachable at full arm extension.
2Press your chest into the pad, plant your feet, and grip the handles with your arms fully extended.
3Exhale as you row the handles toward your torso, driving your elbows back and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
4Keep your chest glued to the pad; do not heave backward with your torso or shrug your shoulders toward your ears.
5Pause at the contracted position, then inhale as you let the handles travel forward until your shoulder blades protract into a full stretch.