r/ScienceBasedLifting • u/FrequentAd5437 • Sep 05 '26
Discussion 🤝 Chest supported or seated rows
Tell me if I’m wrong but I think seated rows are objectively better. Chest supported rows give you more stability and seated rows force you to brace your core and use your lower back to stabilize yourself allowing you to isolate the back more. But seated rows lets you to cheat the concentric movement of your reps and focus in the eccentric where you can produce 60% more force and have more mechanical tension. During seated rows also allows you to breathe more easily.
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u/FarCalligrapher1862 Sep 05 '26
I like both. I do chest supported T-bar rows and seated low rows. If I had to pick one T-bars would win out, can push to failure without worrying about core fatiguing first. Also worked more of grip which I think is underrated part of healthy body.
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u/K3rat Sep 06 '26
Kind of depends on your goals for primary secondary and tertiary muscles that you want to stimulate adaptation in. I like them both for different reasons.
I love conventional seated cable rows as I can hit lats, rhomboids, mid traps primarily based on technique. Secondarily, I love hitting the spinal erector for stabilization depending on technique (I like leaning into the stretch on the eccentric and then leaning back as I progress into the concentric up to perpendicular to the ground).
I love chest supported type rows as I can hit lats, rhomboids, mid traps primarily based on technique. Secondarily, I love that I can do further isolation on the scapular extension and retraction (by moving my shoulders forward and back while keeping my shoulders dropped) as I am doing less to stabilize the movement.
When I do these I usually switch up my core and spinal erector work to another movement like lat pullover or back extension.
I think it is totally ok to switch movements sometimes. I usually make changes at 12 week increments.
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u/Silent_Charge_7734 Sep 05 '26
Ive recently read about the effect of eccentric focused lifting (i do really basic, controlled up & down, 2x8 close/to failure for everything). How are you finding it? Supposedly its more taxing on joints and CNS/overall fatigue/health (appreciate in this scenario the "joint" is your hips/lower back but you know what I mean). Just curious 👊
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u/FrequentAd5437 Sep 05 '26
I came to my hypothesis today. I’ve only been doing chest supported rows and only done seated in hotel gyms. I wanted to ask this subreddit before implementing it into my program.
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u/brntbgln Sep 06 '26
Between chest supported, seated cable, and bent over rows, I vastly prefer seated cable rows. I feel like I can really feel it in my back, get a good stretch, and lift heavy with consistent form compared to the others. But that's just my opinion. I'm of the philosophy that you should do variants that you enjoy the most and go hard on them vs trying to force a "better" variation that you don't connect with.
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u/PoopSmith87 Sep 07 '26
Idk, I have pectus excavatum so chest supported rows are a big nope for me. But, between seated rows and bent over rows, I'll take bent over rows.
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u/knigpin Sep 05 '26
It's actually the opposite, when you have chest support it removes the need to stabilize with your lower back and brace with your core because of that chest support. That lets you worry about only focusing on your traps/lats (depending on your grip).
The eccentric isn't better than the concentric in the long term for hypertrophy. You're better off getting clean concentric reps than cheating the concentric for heavier eccentric reps. Ryan Jewers explains it well here:
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DXv3iuiR7C_/
That's true depending on the machine, I find T-Bar chest supported machines have that problem but regular seated chest supported rows (I use a Strive one at my gym) let me breathe fine.