Looking for a new strength exercise that won’t just strengthen your upper back, but also improve your shoulder health too? You should try bat wing rows. It’s an isometric variation of a chest-supported dumbbell row that targets the rhomboids, traps, and (the overlooked) posterior delts.
The exercise was popularised by strength coach and author, Dan John, and it’s performed almost identically to a regular chest-supported row on a weight bench. However, instead of lowering the dumbbells back towards the floor, you hold them up in the air for a set period of time, squeezing your shoulder blades together, waking up your rhomboids, mid traps, and rear delts.
“Bat Wing Rows are one of the simplest ways to build a stronger upper back and cleaner pressing mechanics,” writes Gareth Sapstead, a strength and conditioning specialist and founder of Elite Physique Training.
They won’t just help you build a stronger upper back either; they’re also great for improving your posture, and Sapstead also adds: “It strengthens the exact scapular retractors and mid-back fibres that support the bench press.” So, if you struggle to retract your shoulder blades during the bench press or aren’t able to hold this position strongly, bat wing rows can help. But, overall, they'll benefit any pressing and even pushing exercises, whether that be your bench press, press-ups, or pull-ups.
How to do bat wing rows
You can perform bat wing rows with dumbbells or two kettlebells, with a weight bench positioned at either an incline or completely flat. Sapstead says he prefers the latter because it removes the temptation to cheat the exercise with added momentum, and mirrors the movement pattern of most pressing exercises. Here’s how you do them…
- Position two light dumbbells or kettlebells on the floor, with one either side at the top of the weight bench
- Lie on a flat weight bench in a prone position (with your face and torso towards the floor)
- Reach down and pick up your dumbbells or kettlebells in either hand with an overhand grip
- Row the dumbbells up, so that your thumbs go towards your armpits, and squeeze your shoulder blades together
- Hold here for 10 seconds, then lower your weights back towards the floor. Repeat this five times
Make sure your weights aren’t too heavy, so that you actually execute the exercise properly. You can build the intensity by holding the position for longer or by adding in reps. In the comments on the video above, John says if you want to do three sets of 8-12 reps, hold your weights up for two seconds for every rep.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.