I hurt my wrist recently (long story) and so Yates rows have been causing pain. So I moved to dumbbell rows but added a couple variations. (The barbell requires pronated grip, which causes the pain, but the dumbbells allow for a semi-neutral grip and no pain.)
Here’s a video:
Benefits:
- power movement – always good to have some power movements in your routine, at least for part of the year
- 45 degree angle works traps a little more than regular rows (so, more similar to a Yates row); of course, you can bend closer to 90 degrees if you want but I’ve found the power force transmits to your lower back if you are at 90 degrees)
- allows for semi-neutral, semi-pronated grip
- good if you only have lighter dumbbells (because you can increase your power [speed] with lower weight to get a bigger workload if you don’t have heavier dumbbells; that said, if you DO have heavier dumbbells, you can probably go heavier than you think!)
- compared to single-arm rows, doing two arms at once is more time-efficient and works your core more
Downsides:
- the power movement (quick pull) can transfer some force to your lower back if you are bent too low (that’s why I stay around 45 degrees)
- not for newbies; you really need to focus on good form here so don’t do this if you aren’t already confident your regular barbell rows are proper form
Thoughts? Add Comments Below!
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December 4th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
interesting excercise, seems that a strong lower back is required, not 100% suitable for newbies like me!; (unless low weights are used)
December 5th, 2009 at 10:24 am
@ivan – well, sure, don’t get unsafe but I’m betting even newbies can do more than they think. Having a strong lower back is critical to so many exercises, and critical to a pain-free life, that people should not avoid exercises that require lower back strength. Rather, if your lower back is really week, focus on the Big 7 (which are all “unsupported” except for bench press, meaning that you have to recruit core muscles to stabilize the lifts). You’ll have sufficient lower back strength best that way.
December 7th, 2009 at 7:13 am
I think the regular dumbell row, bent over-/yates- barbell row or T-bar rows are the best, especially if you are new to game. With that said, Darrins variation of the row exercise can be a great alternative if you have wrist injuries, which can really limit your physical capabilities. Last year I too had problems with my wrists and were very frustrated because I could’nt do the usual exercises. It would probably have helped me if I had thought about the Power Dumbbell Rows. It is always important with creativity in the gym.
December 7th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
thank you very much
February 24th, 2010 at 8:51 am
Yeah this rocks, good skills!
better than ordinary which do not seem to push my muscles as much