Barbell Bent-Over Row
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds drills like this into your personalized off-ice program, week by week. Your first week is free.
How to Do It
Load a barbell. Stand with feet hip-width, toes under the bar. Hinge at the hips (30-45° torso angle), grip the bar slightly wider than shoulders. Set the back flat — same position as the top of a deadlift. Brace the core hard. Pull the bar toward your lower rib cage by driving elbows BACK. Bar should touch the lower chest/upper abdomen — not the belly button. Lower the bar under control. Don't let it crash or pull your upper back into flexion.
Why It Works
The barbell row builds the thick upper-back musculature — lats, rhomboids, mid-traps — that wins every puck battle along the boards. It's also the primary counterbalance to bench pressing: for every set of bench you do, you should match it with rowing volume. NHL defensemen who can barbell row 1.5× bodyweight consistently dominate puck battles and rarely suffer shoulder injuries.
Hockey Transfer
Heavy compound pulling — builds the back strength to dominate physical play. Pendlay variant (bar resets on floor each rep) removes the eccentric and lets you go heavier. Choose based on goal.
Coaching Cues
- "Hinge to 45°"
- "Pull bar to lower chest"
- "Squeeze shoulder blades"
- "Lower slow"
Common Mistakes
Using the lower back to heave the bar up — this is a ROW, not a deadlift. Torso stays still. Pulling toward the belly button — pulls to the lower chest for full lat engagement. Rounding the upper back — set it before pulling, keep it set throughout. Using straps before your grip deserves them — build grip strength naturally first.
Progression / Regression
Pendlay row (dead stop from the floor each rep) — eliminates momentum and demands more power.
Dumbbell row — easier to learn the hinge position with one arm at a time.
Primary Muscles
Energy System
Strength/neural
Put it to work
on the ice.
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds exercises like this into a personalized off-ice program — created by a sport scientist and former national-team coach. Your first week is free.
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