Seated Cable 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
Sit at the cable row station, feet on the platform, knees slightly bent. Grip the handle — narrow (V-grip) for more lat; wide for more rear delt. Sit tall, chest up. Pull the handle to your lower sternum — elbows drive back. Squeeze shoulder blades together at full contraction. Hold 1 second. Extend arms fully under control — feel the stretch in the lats. Don't round the back to reach further — stop where your spine stays neutral.
Why It Works
The seated cable row builds the horizontal pulling strength that dominates puck battles — the mid-back, lats, and rear delts all working together to control an opponent or protect the puck. Unlike barbell rows, the cable keeps constant tension throughout the full range of motion, making it superior for building the thick mid-back that hockey players need for durability.
Hockey Transfer
Constant tension on back muscles — excellent for mid-back thickness. Cable row is the safest heavy-pull variant for anyone with a cranky lower back. Same lat stimulus, no spine load.
Coaching Cues
- "Sit tall"
- "Pull handle to belly button"
- "Squeeze shoulder blades"
- "Slow release"
Common Mistakes
Using torso momentum to heave the weight — stay upright, pull with the back. Pulling to the belly button instead of the lower chest — shortens lat engagement. Not reaching full arm extension — the stretch is where you build the range. Shrugging the traps — pull shoulder blades DOWN and BACK, not up.
Progression / Regression
Single-arm cable row — unilateral loading increases core anti-rotation demand.
Band row — same movement with less load and no stability requirement.
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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