Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral Row
A chest-supported plate-loaded row with independent arms, pulling horizontally into the lats and mid back.
How to do it
- Load both weight horns and set the seat so the handles line up with your chest.
- Sit with your chest firmly against the pad and your feet flat on the floor.
- Take a handle in each hand with your arms fully extended.
- Draw your shoulder blades back and down to start the pull.
- Row both handles toward your ribs until your elbows pass your torso.
- Extend your arms slowly back to the stretched position and repeat.
Key technique cue
Chest on the pad, pull to the ribs, don't flare the elbows high.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Coming off the chest pad to move more weight, which defeats the point of the support.
- ✕ Finishing with the elbows flared high, which turns the row into a rear delt raise.
- ✕ Rushing the return, so the lats lose the loaded stretch at the end of the range.
- ✕ Gripping so hard that the forearms and biceps fatigue before the back does.
Benefits
- ✓ Chest support eliminates momentum and lower back load.
- ✓ Converging arms finish the pull with full scapular retraction.
- ✓ Each side trains through its own range independently.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 You are here - Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral Row
- Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row
- Chest-Supported T-Bar Row
- Hammer Strength High Row
- Machine Neutral Row
- Machine Plate Loaded T Bar Row
- Machine Underhand Row
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Step 2
About the exercise
The Hammer Strength iso-lateral row locks your torso against an angled chest pad and lets each arm travel on its own converging path. Latissimus dorsi, rhomboids and mid trapezius carry the pull, with the rear deltoids and biceps assisting, and the pad holds the ribcage still so a body swing cannot add to the load. Because the handles converge as you pull, the pull finishes with the shoulder blades retracted rather than the elbows flared wide. It is a machine row for strict horizontal pulling volume at no cost to the lower back, useful in hypertrophy back blocks and for single-arm work.
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