Leverage High Row
Also works: Lats
A plate-loaded machine row where you sit under handles that start above head height and pull them down and back into your ribs. The high starting angle puts the lats in a long stretched position first, and the chest pad plus knee restraint removes every chance to swing the load.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Set the seat so that with your hips down you can just reach the handles overhead with straight arms — not so low you have to stand out of the seat.
- Clamp the knee pad down tight enough that you cannot lift off the seat when you pull hard.
- Load plates evenly on both pins and check the pin heights match; an uneven load pulls one shoulder further every rep.
- Take a pronated grip and let the shoulders travel fully up and forward at the top before the first rep.
- Sit tall with the chest up and a small arch in the lower back rather than slumped into the seat.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Inhale in the stretched top position, exhale as the handles reach your ribs. One second down, one second squeezed, three seconds back up.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
Start with one 20 kg plate per side and see whether you can hold the torso still for 12 reps. Add 5 kg per side only when every rep in every set finishes with a one-second squeeze and no torso lean. Most lifters who row a 60 kg barbell will handle 40-60 kg per side here, because the machine removes the bracing cost.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Tighten the knee pad and take 15-20% off the load until you can complete every rep with your back flat against the seat and your torso vertical.
Let the arms straighten and the shoulder blades slide fully forward each rep. That top stretch is most of the lat work; skipping it turns the movement into a short arm pull.
Set the range so the plates stop a centimetre short, and count three seconds on the way up. The clang is free reps you did not earn.
Keep the wrists straight and think of the hands as hooks. Cue the elbow, not the hand, as the thing you are moving towards the floor.
Why bother
The pulling line runs diagonally from overhead to your lower ribs, which is neither a pure pulldown nor a pure row. That angle keeps tension on the lats through a long stretch at the top and hands the last third of the rep to the middle back and rear delts, so one movement covers a range that usually takes two.
The knee pad matters more than it looks. Under load, a free-weight row lets you lean away and use bodyweight to move the handle; here the pad pins your hips down so the only thing that can produce the rep is your back. That makes the machine unusually honest about how much you actually row.
Where it fits
Second or third pulling movement on a back day, 3-4 sets of 8-12, after your barbell or dumbbell rowing. Because there is no balance or bracing cost, it is also the right choice for the last hard set of a session when your lower back is done but your lats are not.
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
Asked and answered
Is this a row or a pulldown?
Both, in sequence. The handles start above you like a pulldown, so the first half is lat-dominant through a long stretch, and the finish is behind your ribs like a row, so the middle back and rear delts take over. That is why it does not fully replace either one, but it covers more ground than most single machines.
Should I use straps?
Only on your heaviest two sets, and only once grip is genuinely the thing failing first. The machine lets you load more than a free-weight row does, so grip does cap out earlier here than elsewhere. Below that, train the grip by going without.
Can I do it one arm at a time?
Yes, if the machine has independent arms, and it is worth doing. One side at a time lets you see a strength difference between sides and gives you a couple of extra centimetres of range at the bottom because your torso can rotate slightly. Do the weaker side first and match the stronger side to it.
Why does my lower back not get tired on this?
Because it is not meant to. The chest support and knee pad remove the trunk demand entirely, which is the whole point of the machine. If you want your erectors trained, that is a job for barbell rows or deadlifts — use this one on days when your lower back needs the rest.