Get a FREE A90 Resistance Band on orders $50+!
By The Angles90 Editorial Team · Published 10.20.2026 · Last updated 10.20.2026
A horizontal pull exercise brings a load toward your torso along a roughly level path, which means every kind of row. Rows differ in three things you set before the first rep: what holds your torso, where your elbows travel and what your hands can do. A 2026 review of 23 EMG studies in the Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology (Di Fonza et al., published 08.12.2026) suggests that across pulling exercises, the position of the upper arm relative to the trunk may be a key determinant of how load is shared between muscles.
Angles90® has been building pulling equipment since 2018, starting with a handle co-developed with the strength training ergonomics faculty at TU Munich. So we look at the part of a row most lists skip: what the handle and the anchor let your hands and elbows do.
A horizontal pull is any row: you draw your hands back toward your torso from in front of you. A vertical pull, such as a pull-up or a lat pulldown, draws them down from overhead. The 2026 review covers both families, including the seated row, barbell row, bent-over row and pull-up, and it reports broadly similar lat activity across pull-up grips. Our guides to neutral grip pull-ups and different pull-up grips cover the vertical side.
Three things change from one row to the next. Torso support is whatever holds your body in place: the floor under a bodyweight row, a bench, a braced seat or your own hinge. Elbow path is the angle between your upper arm and your torso as you pull. Hand position is whether the handle holds your wrist at one angle or lets it turn. The seven rows below set those three differently.
Here are seven rows, bodyweight first. One caution applies to every study cited below: they measured muscle activity, not changes in muscle size or strength over months, and the samples were small and mostly men.
The inverted row is a bodyweight row: you lie under a bar with your body rigid, arms straight and an overhand grip, pull your chest up to your hands, then lower slowly. The 2013 study of 15 adults in the Journal of Exercise Physiology online (Snarr and Esco) set the bar at about hip height with knees bent to 90° and feet flat on the floor. Its authors describe the row as a beginning progression toward the bodyweight pull-up, and they point to straightening the legs or raising the feet as ways to raise the load.
In a 2009 study of seven healthy men in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (Fenwick et al.), the inverted row produced the highest activation of the lats, upper back and hip extensor muscles of the three rows tested, and the lowest lumbar spine load.
A suspension row swaps the fixed bar for two handles on straps anchored overhead. In the 2013 study, 11 men and 4 women did the inverted row on a bar and on a commercial suspension trainer. Lat, middle trapezius and rear delt activity showed no significant difference between the two, and biceps activity was lower on the straps by a statistically significant margin. The authors suggest freely moving handles may let the elbow travel through less range. That is one small study of one light version of the row, so take it as a starting point. Our suspension training exercises guide covers the setup.
The seated cable row has you sit braced at a low pulley and pull a handle to your lower ribs, and the handle you clip on sets your elbow path. In a 2025 high-density EMG study of 14 resistance-trained men in the Journal of Human Kinetics (Padovan et al., published online 09.23.2025), a narrow grip produced more lat activity in the pull and the return, while a wide grip produced more upper, middle and lower trapezius and lateral deltoid activity.
A 2023 study of 21 recreationally trained adults in the International Journal of Strength and Conditioning (Vasconcelos et al.) varied how far the elbows moved out from the sides instead. Elbows close to the sides produced more peak force and more lat activity, and elbows out at 60° to 90° produced more upper-back and rear-delt activity. Each study changed one variable at a time, and the 2026 review notes that a narrow grip and a low elbow angle have not been tested together. Our seated cable row guide has the full form breakdown.
Stand facing the pulley with your feet braced, row one handle to your ribs and keep your shoulders from turning. In the 2009 study, this was the row that challenged the torsional capabilities of the trunk muscles, meaning their ability to resist twisting. The authors suggest considering it when torsional endurance or strength is the training goal.
Lie chest-down on an incline bench and row a dumbbell in each hand toward your hips. The bench holds your torso, so your arms do the moving. None of the studies cited here tested this row, so we describe the setup and leave muscle claims out.
Rest one hand and one knee on a bench, row a dumbbell from straight arm to your hip, then switch sides. It is the row you can do with one dumbbell and a bench and nothing else. The studies cited here did not test it either.
Hinge forward at the hips with a loaded bar and row it to your lower ribs. In the 2009 study this row produced large activation symmetrically across the back, along with the largest lumbar spine load and the highest spine stiffness of the three rows tested. The 2026 review lists barbell and bent-over rows among the major pulling exercises whose lat EMG it covers.
The elbow path column is where a handle changes the most, because a fixed handle chooses your hand angle for you.
| Row | What holds your torso | Elbow path | What the cited research reported | Pick it when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inverted row | Your rigid body, feet on the floor | Set by the bar and your grip | Highest lat, upper-back and hip extensor activation and lowest lumbar spine load of three rows (Fenwick et al., 2009) | You want a bodyweight row and have a bar at about hip height |
| Suspension row | Your rigid body, feet on the floor | Free: the handles can move | Lat, middle trapezius and rear delt similar to the bar version, biceps lower (Snarr and Esco, 2013) | You have an overhead anchor and want handles that move |
| Seated cable row | Braced feet and a seat | Set by the handle you clip on | Narrow grip: more lat; wide grip: more trapezius and lateral deltoid (Padovan et al., 2025). Elbows near your sides: more lat and peak force; elbows out: more upper back and rear delt (Vasconcelos et al., 2023) | You want to choose the emphasis by handle and add load in small steps |
| Standing one-arm cable row | Your stance, with the trunk resisting the pull | One arm at a time | Challenged the trunk's ability to resist twisting (Fenwick et al., 2009) | You want the trunk to work against rotation |
| Chest-supported dumbbell row | A bench holds your chest | You choose it with the dumbbells | Not tested in the studies cited here | You want your torso held still while your arms row |
| One-arm dumbbell row | One hand and one knee on a bench | You choose it with the dumbbell | Not tested in the studies cited here | You have a dumbbell and a bench and little else |
| Bent-over barbell row | Your own hinge | Set by the bar and your grip | Large activation across the back, largest lumbar spine load of three rows (Fenwick et al., 2009) | You want a heavy free-weight row and already own the hinge |
A handle fixes your hand angle for the whole set, so the choice matters most in the three rows that use one: seated cable, one-arm cable and suspension. The A90 Grips are dynamic training grips: a pair of freely rotating handles on straps that attach to cable stations and bars, and to the straps of the A90 Sling Trainer. Hold them neutral, palms-down or palms-up, or let them rotate through the rep. Each handle is certified for 400 lbs (180 kg). There are four ways to hold them, which we call ERGO, POWER, POWER+ and FOREARM. We built them as a handle that adapts to you, not the opposite. Customers describe them mostly as an upgrade to equipment they already own, a cable station or a row machine, rather than another piece of kit.
If you have an overhead anchor but no cable stack, the A90 Sling Trainer gives you the suspension row. It is TÜV-certified at 550 lbs (250 kg) per strap. Its product page also describes rowing with two A90 Grips on a single sling, where your arms travel outward as you pull. Check that whatever you anchor to is fixed and can carry your weight before the first rep.
No cable station? The A90 Cable Pulley is a compact pulley system for training at home or outside. Its cable is a fixed length and the product FAQ advises against cutting it, so work out your anchor height before you plan a low row. Our guide to the A90 Cable Pulley covers how people set it up. If your grip gives out before your back does on heavier sets, start with the grip strength training guide.
Neither is better across the board, because they are different movements. A vertical pull draws the handle down from overhead, as in a pull-up or lat pulldown, and a horizontal pull draws it back from in front of you. The 2026 lat EMG review covers both and reports broadly similar lat activity across pull-up grips, and in the seated row more lat activity with a narrower grip or a lower elbow angle, each tested on its own. Those are measurements of muscle activity in a session, not of long-term results.
The one-arm dumbbell row and the chest-supported dumbbell row, both described above. The first needs only a dumbbell and a bench. The second adds an incline bench that holds your chest.
The inverted row, on a bar or on suspension straps. The authors of the 2013 study point to straightening your legs or raising your feet as ways to make it harder, and they describe it as a beginning progression toward the bodyweight pull-up.
In the 2013 study, lat, middle trapezius and rear delt activity showed no statistically significant difference between a bar and a commercial suspension trainer, and biceps activity was lower on the straps. It was one small study of one light version of the row, so it supports the straps as a reasonable option without settling the question.
Yes. Rows are one of the movements they're built for. Attach them to a cable in place of the standard handle, or to the straps of the A90 Sling Trainer, then hold them neutral, palms-down or palms-up, or let them rotate through the rep. Each handle is certified for 400 lbs (180 kg).
Stop the set. Pain is a reason to get assessed by a qualified healthcare professional before you keep training the movement.
Angles90 products are training equipment, not medical devices. This article is general information about training, not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you are training around pain, an injury or a medical condition, speak to a qualified healthcare professional before changing how you train.
A horizontal pull is a row, and the seven here differ by what holds your torso, where your elbows can go and what your hands can do. Pick the one that fits the equipment you have, then decide how much control you want over your hand angle. If you want to set it yourself, or change it mid-rep, see how the A90 Grips fit the cable station or straps you already train on.
