Try a banded seated row for better posture

Welcome to our weekly Move of the Week series. Every Monday, we’ll be sharing with you one of our favourite exercises – how to do them, what muscles they work and why they should be a regular part of your workout regime. This week: seated banded rows. 

Strengthening the back of the body is a brilliant way to counteract the rounded posture we spend most of our time in, whether we’re at our desk, in the car or scrolling on our phones. That requires pulling motions, engaging the back muscles by dragging weight towards us. 

Whether you’re at the gym or at home, you can’t go wrong with a row. This banded seated variation is perfect for beginners and advanced strength trainers alike.  

What is a banded seated row?

A classic row is one of the best upper-body strengthening moves. The banded seated variation makes it even easier to build muscle and strength. The move is great because…

• It’s a compound exercise: it works multiple muscle groups at the same time, including your back, shoulders and biceps. 
• It improves posture: it strengthens the back muscles to stop you from hunching. 
• It’s a transferable skill: once you’ve nailed this move, you’ll be comfortable moving on to dumbbell, cable or barbell rows. 
• It requires minimal kit: just grab the band and go. 

What MUSCLES DO banded seated rows work?

A banded seated row will work into all the muscles in the back of your upper body, including: 

• Rear delts (the back of your shoulders) 
• Rhomboids (between the shoulder blades)
• Biceps (front of upper arm)
• Lats (side of the back) 
• Abdominals

HOW TO DO A banded seated row

1. Sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you.
2. Take a long resistance band around the balls of your feet and hold onto one end in each hand. 
3. Roll your shoulders back and down, brace your core straighten your back. 
4. Row your arms back, pulling the resistance band towards your belly button. Keeping your elbows bent at around 90° and keep them close so they shave the side of your body. 
5.  Hold for one second, then slowly release the arms back to the starting point. 

Keen to improve your form? Check out our How To library to see exactly how the experts do over 100 of the most common strength training exercises.

Image: Stylist

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