Cable Rope Rear-Delt Rows
Also works: Biceps · Middle Back
A seated cable row done with a rope and high elbows, pulling to just below the neck instead of the navel. Raising the upper arms to horizontal swings the work off the lats and onto the rear delts and the upper back, and the rope lets the hands separate at the finish.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Attach a rope to the low pulley of a seated row station and sit with your feet braced on the platform.
- Slide your hips back until your knees are slightly bent and your torso is upright, not leaning back.
- Take the rope with an overhand grip, thumbs pointing at each other, arms extended and roughly parallel to the floor.
- Set the chest tall and the lower back neutral — you should be able to hold this posture for the whole set without rocking.
- Before rep one, raise the elbows so the upper arms are already level with the floor. That height is the exercise.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Inhale as the arms extend forward, exhale through the pull. Roughly one second pulling, one second held at the neck, two seconds returning under control.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
Expect roughly half to two-thirds of the weight you use for a normal seated row to the belly — the high-elbow line is far weaker. Start there, and only add a plate once every rep finishes with the elbows behind your torso and the hands separated. If the elbows sag on rep eight, the weight was chosen for the wrong exercise.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Aim the rope at the notch between your collarbones and keep the upper arms level with the floor. If you cannot hold that height, cut the weight by a quarter.
Set your torso upright and hold it there. Do a set at half your usual load and only add weight back while the spine stays completely still.
Pull the two rope ends apart as the hands reach your neck, ending with the palms facing the floor and a hand's width between them.
Keep the wrists straight and think about driving the elbows back and out. A light hook grip on the rope stops the hands taking over.
Why bother
Elbow height decides which muscle rows. Pulled low against the ribs, the lat has the best line and takes the load. Lifted to shoulder height and flared out, the lat is in a poor position and the rear delt, along with the mid-traps and rhomboids, has to do the work instead. Same station, same seat, entirely different exercise.
The rope matters more than it looks. A fixed bar locks your hands a set distance apart and stops the arms travelling backward past the torso. A rope lets the two halves separate at the finish, so the upper arms can carry past the plane of your body and the rear delts reach a genuine end-range contraction.
Where it fits
As the second or third pull on a back or shoulder day, in the 10-15 rep range, two or three times a week. It is the heaviest rear-delt-biased movement most gyms offer, so use it when you want loaded upper-back work and save the flies and pull-aparts for the lighter, higher-rep end of the same session.
If this one isn't it
No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.
Same job, different kit
Start here instead
When this gets easy
Asked and answered
Do I need a seated row station, or can I do this standing?
Standing at a low pulley works, but you will spend the set fighting to stay upright and the weight drops again. Seated with your feet braced is the version that lets the rear delts fail first. If the seated station is taken, the better substitute is a chest-supported row with the elbows flared to shoulder height, not a standing cable pull — anything that takes your torso out of the equation keeps the point of the exercise intact.
How is this different from a face pull?
They are close relatives. A face pull is usually done at a higher pulley setting, pulled towards the forehead with external rotation of the shoulders, and kept light. This is seated, horizontal, aimed lower at the collarbones and loaded heavier. Use this for loaded upper-back work and face pulls for the lighter cuff-and-posture end.
Do I need a rope, or will a straight bar do?
A bar works, but it costs you the finish. Fixed hands stop the elbows travelling behind your torso, which is exactly where the rear delt contraction happens. If a rope is not available, two single handles on the same low pulley give you the same freedom.
Why can I row so much less on this than to my stomach?
Because the muscles doing the work are much smaller. You have swapped the lats for the rear delts and mid-traps. A drop of a third to a half is completely normal and is a sign you are actually doing the movement rather than a lat row in disguise.