Bent Over Row vs. Seated Cable Row

FireFighter

New Member
Curious if anyone has an opionion on which one is better?

I feel like I get a better contraction using the seated cable row but if someone can convince me the barbell is better I'll give it a whirl for my next cycle.


Thanks
 
both
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b-o-r would allow for more weight,cable keeps the tension on,whatever you like or alternate.
 
i just find that cables seem to put less stress on my lower back.although ive been doing bb rows for months now.
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I think of BB row as I think of deads, bench and militarys - the most basic and essential "skeleton" that can be "fleshed out" with complimentary variations/different movements .


If you feel cable rows really do something for you that BB rows don't (as I feel towards chest supported rows- I feel they are to BB row as incline is to flat in many ways) You could work them in as an A/B alternate or simply split your rowing sets between them as I've done :


Instead of :

BB rows 1x15,2x10,3x5

This:

BB rows 1x15,1x10,2x5
cable rows 1x15, 1x10,2x5
(last week of 5's drop volume to 1x5 each row if necessary)


I've done this with the following pairings ( but using a 10,8,5,3 rep template)

3xweek-(m,w,f)

flat/ incline bench
BB/chest supported rows
militarypress/upright rows
(deads on monday, OH squats w&f )


I really like how its working for me , the vast majority of my training is Flat bench, press, rows and deads so it's refreshing to have a little variance from my usual and I've taken care to avoid any junk volume all exersizes I added in are such major compounds that I could actually do a cycle with just the "fleshed out" exersizes and still add appreciable mass.

(example - these alone would be a very good cycle)
incline
chest supported row
upright row
OH squat

One thing I haven't done is alternating w/o to w/o as my hypertrophy/strength ratio goals are slightly different than most I think, and I'm a firm believer in "greasing the groove".




Just another way to skin the cat really.Good luck...
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I prefer cable rows, as they allow maximum contraction of the mid-back without straining the lowerback or bending over like a bent row, but alas I don't have a cable-row machine, so I do dumbell or barbell rows when I row.
 
Depends on your goals.

Do you hit your lower back with some other exercise? If not, then you should probably do bentover rows.

Also, they are a more manly exercise than cable rows, so doing them automatically makes you grow more body hair, have a higher libido and, in some cases, may cause deepening of the voice.
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">may cause deepening of the voice.</div> or at least make you grunt like a pig.
Nobody really notices when you pull a near or full stack with cables.
Everybody notices when you pull over four plates off the floor.

I work out at home and do both but prefer the BB just for the feel and as Toter said, low back strength.
 
Thanks guys....great advise...I think I'm going to give Russ idea a whirl and then I can do more of a side by side comparison.

As always...thanks for all the advise.


And for Tot - I might have to recondiser and not do them...I like being a smoothy, my wife has the libido of a turtle so an increase in mine would be of no help and people tell me my voice sounds like bear as it is (but it works great when I'm inside of a fire trying to talk to the other guys)

Thanks again guys
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<div>
(Aaron_F @ Jul. 31 2007,10:16)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">The cable row at my gym stops at 96kg

The barbell row stops when the plates fall off the side.</div>
Absolutely! The biggest problem I had was trying to attach extra weights to the stack for 5s without them falling off or getting snagged during a set. For some stacks it's easy but my gym had a protective steel mesh around the stack so it was a lot more tricky.

I much prefer the feel of parallel grip cable rows so I'm going to make some handles to allow me to use a parallel grip with a barbell for bent over rows.
 
In general I go with seated cable rows because they allow me to concentrate on the load itself and not on trying to keep my balance when the weight is heavy. But I'm thinking about switching to BB rows for the next cycle to see if it can make a difference.
 
<div>
(Lol @ Jul. 31 2007,10:27)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"><div>
(Aaron_F @ Jul. 31 2007,10:16)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">The cable row at my gym stops at 96kg

The barbell row stops when the plates fall off the side.</div>
Absolutely! The biggest problem I had was trying to attach extra weights to the stack for 5s without them falling off or getting snagged during a set. For some stacks it's easy but my gym had a protective steel mesh around the stack so it was a lot more tricky.

I much prefer the feel of parallel grip cable rows so I'm going to make some handles to allow me to use a parallel grip with a barbell for bent over rows.</div>
you could try one of these LOL
http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/store....r%5FRow
 
When I was younger and worked out at a commercial gym I only did low pulley cable rows.  I just hated BB rows and never did them.  Now that I work out at home (many years later mind you), and don't have any pulley systems, I only do BB rows.  And frankly I'm kind of kicking myself for not doing them when I was younger.  Now that I have done them for a while I really like them and I think I'm getting better overall growth and strength development in my back because of them.

However, it would be nice to have the low pulley cable available just to do something different once in a while.  And I can see where alternating them could be of benefit since low pulley cable rows allow you to easily use different hand positions with different attachments.
 
<div>
(Aaron_F @ Jul. 31 2007,05:16)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">The cable row at my gym stops at 96kg

The barbell row stops when the plates fall off the side.</div>
lol@the plates!

im lucky the one machine we do have can take about 200kg so ive got some extra play.
 
Kind of embarrassing, but does anybody else get lighted headed and dizzy when doing pendlay rows. I actually had to stop doing them because it was getting to be too much. I was starting to dread doing them.

I then switched to regular bb rows and a little more upright and that helped some. I have since just gone back to 1 arm DB rows instead for the meantime until I figure out why.

Any thoughts? I'm thinking it has to do with my breathing, but I am conscience of my breathing but it might be too shallow.
 
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(Aaron_F @ Jul. 31 2007,22:46)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Sometimes I get the head thing, more often on the chest supported rows where cant breathe in all the way</div>
Thanks for that, so it probably is related to breathing. I'll have to focus on that next time and maybe take a couple of breaths between reps.
 
Consider that the movements between pendlay's and cables is pretty much exactly the same for upper body...the only real difference is the load on the lower back during Pendlays. But like the guys said, some stacks are limited, but with a BB, you're only limited by your imagination.

Aaron: don't let the plates fall off...clamp them in and just have two gym squirrels sit on each end for weight!

Gator: to be a bench for the back, you'd need a chest supported T-bar row. That isolates the upper back pretty well. Heck, I like 'em all!
 
I did Seated Cable Rows for about two years up until this summer. The switch to free weights feels like a smart decision.
 
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