How to do a Yates Row: Benefits, Muscles Worked & More

The Yates Row is a terrific back exercise named after five-time consecutive Mr. Olympia Champion Dorian Yates.

'The Shadow', as he was affectionately called, Yates introduced bodybuilding to the mass-monster era. His back is arguably his most iconic body part, and for good reason — the freakin thing looked like it was carved out of granite.

Dorian Yates during his glory days (Image via Instagram @bb.hard_worker @thephysiquepost @muscleforgoals)

One of the main movements Yates used to build his gargantuan back was the Yates Row, also known as the underhand bent-over barbell row.

In this article, we will discuss the proper form, benefits and variations of this fabulous back-builder.

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How to perform Yates Row with perfect form

Learn proper technique before increasing weight (Image via Instagram@ironbearpt)

The Yates Row can help you add tons of mass and strength to your upper back, lats, biceps, rhomboids, erector spinae, rear delts, and forearms. This is a useful movement for beginners and advanced athletes alike.

Instructions:

• Hold a barbell slightly wider than shoulder-width using an underhand grip.
• Place your feet hip-width apart while keeping the knees slightly bent.
• Hinge forward at the waist while keeping your back straight and chest up. Lower the torso to somewhere between 45 degrees to slightly above parallel with the floor.
• Brace your abs, and maintain a neutral lower back. Bring the bar just below your knees.
• Pull the barbell to a point between the sternum and lower abdomen by flexing the elbows and retracting the shoulder blades. Maintain tension in the upper, lower, and middle back throughout the Yates Row.
• Return the barbell to its starting position slowly till the arms are completely extended. Protract your shoulder blades forward slightly to increase stretch on the lats and mid-back.
• Repeat.

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Common mistakes made during Yates Row

Here're some of them:

1) Partial range of motion

Ego-lifting is not advisable during this exercise. First off, it reduces the range of motion, as you cannot row to your body without excess lean or body movement.

Secondly, it puts a ton on tension on the biceps, which can get injured when loaded heavily in unnatural positions. Reduce the weight; master perfect form, and slowly introduce progressive overload.

2) Pulling with arms

Think of your arms are mere hooks that transfer pulling power. Focus on tucking in your elbows to your sides. That will help recruit more muscle fibres and get more back involvement.

3) Using jerking movements

While a bit of momentum is encouraged while performing the Yates Row, too much can throw you off proper technique. Reduce the weight, as you cannot do the exercise without excess movement.

4) Rounding the shoulders and arching the back

Focus on keeping the shoulder blades back and down. Proper core bracing can help with excess arching.

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Benefits of Yates Row

This exercise has many benefits, including:

• Helps strengthen thoracic stabilization and scapular mobility.
• It's a total back exercises that works everything from the lower lat thickness to upper back development
• May be ideal for those who suffer from back pain during normal bent-over rows. The lesser lean takes some stress off the lumbar spine
• Helps you handle greater load than normal barbell rows, leading to greater hypertrophy and strength gain
• Carries over to deadlifts
• Improves grip strength, forearm, and biceps size

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What are some alternatives to Yates Row?

Add these variations to your back day. (Image via Instagram/fitbody_by_suraj)

If you find this exercise to be uncomfortable or ineffective for some reason, try out bent-over barbell rows, Pendlay rows, Kroc rows, T-Bar rows, or chest-supported rows. All these exercises will target the same muscle groups as the underhand or reverse-grip row.

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Takeaway

If you want to build a thick, powerful back and well-sculpted biceps like Dorian Yates, add the Yates Row to your back day routine.

Make sure to start off light, learn proper form, and progress slowly. Instead of trying to move the maximum weight, focus more on squeezing every muscle in your back while performing the exercise.