Upright Row Muscles Worked - A Complete Guide For Beginners

Here is everything you need to know about upright rows! (Image via unsplash/Susan Q Yin)
Here is everything you need to know about upright rows! (Image via unsplash/Susan Q Yin)

The upright row is one of the most popular exercises among fitness enthusiasts. This is because it works several muscle groups at once and hits your back, shoulders, and arms hard.

However, doing this exercise incorrectly can lead to injury, so be sure to follow the directions carefully as they will help you maximize your gains while avoiding injury.


How To Do An Upright Row And What Are Its Benefits?

To do this exercise,

  • Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent.
  • Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms hanging straight down at your sides.
  • Pull the weights up to the sides of your chest and lower back to the starting position. This is one rep.
  • Repeat for the desired number of reps or time interval (one minute).

Upright Rows are a great exercise for the upper back, shoulders, and traps, and therefore, have many benefits. This move can be used to build muscle as well as increase your strength. This workout can also help improve your posture and shoulder health.

They help stabilize your scapula (shoulder blade) in its socket by working your "mid-back" muscles (mid-back refers to your thoracic spine). These muscles are responsible for preventing shoulder injuries by providing support for the shoulder joint during movements like throwing a ball or doing push-ups.

The upright row is one of the best exercises you can do if you want bigger arms because it hits all three parts of each upper body muscle - biceps, triceps, and deltoids.


Upright Row Muscles Worked - Traps

Trapezius muscles are the largest muscle group in your upper body, and they are located on the back of your shoulders. They are used in almost every movement of the arms and shoulders, including reaching up, pushing forward, or pulling back with an open arm position (i.e., not parallel to your body), carrying something heavy overhead or at shoulder level, and of course, during upright rows.

The most visible part of this large muscle group forms a diamond shape that starts on each side of your neck where it attaches to collarbone bones (clavicles) and continues down along each side of the spine until it reaches the mid-back area where it connects to spinal column vertebrae by attaching via tendons/ligaments.


Upright Row Muscles Worked - Shoulders

You may have heard that the upright row exercise is one of the best exercises for building bigger shoulders. While this can certainly be true, it's important to know what exactly you're working when doing so.

This exercise targets a few different muscles in your shoulders, including:

  • Deltoids (front, middle, and rear)
  • Rhomboids
  • Trapezius (upper, middle, lower)

Upright Rows vs Other Shoulder Exercises

Upright rows are a great exercise to add to your workout routine. They are an effective way to build strong shoulders and can also help improve your posture.

There are many other exercises that will work the same muscles as upright rows, but they may have different benefits or drawbacks, depending on what you're looking for in an exercise.

For example, if you want to work your traps (the muscle between the shoulder blades), then shrugs might be a better option. Similarly, shoulder pressing offers great advantages to your core muscles as well, which may not be achieved by upright rows.


Conclusion

Here you have it - the complete guide to upright rows. This exercise is a great way to build muscle and strength in the upper back, shoulders, and traps. It’s just one of many exercises that can be done with dumbbells, but it should definitely be included in your workout routine if you want to build serious muscle mass.

Quick Links

Edited by Susrita Das
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications