Bent-Over Dumbbell Row

Muscles worked by the Bent-Over Dumbbell Row

Primary

LatsLatissimus DorsiRhomboidsRhomboid Muscles

Secondary

BicepsBiceps BrachiiRear DeltsPosterior DeltoidTrapsTrapezius

Also called: lats, lat, latissimus dorsi, latissimus, back wings, rhomboid.

Equipment

Dumbbell

Also called: db, dumbell, hex dumbbell, rubber dumbbell, hand weight.

How to do the Bent-Over Dumbbell Row

1. Stand with feet hip-width, holding a dumbbell in each hand at the sides, palms facing in.
2. Hinge at the hips with a flat back until the torso is roughly 30–45 degrees from horizontal, dumbbells hanging directly below the shoulders.
3. Brace the core and pull both dumbbells up and slightly back, driving the elbows past the ribs.
4. Squeeze the upper back at the top, keeping the elbows tucked.
5. Lower under control to the starting position with the arms fully extended.
6. Repeat for the recommended number of repetitions.

Form tips

• The torso angle stays fixed throughout — no rocking up to help the bell.
• Pull to the lower ribs/belly, not to the chest; that line keeps the lats loaded.
• If the lower back rounds, hinge less and reset before the next set.

At a glance

Bent-Over Dumbbell Row in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Bench Pull
• Bent-Over Barbell Row
• Bent-Over EZ-Bar Row
• Cable Bent-Over Row
• Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row
• Chest-Supported Kettlebell Row
• Chest-Supported Smith Machine Row
• Double Kettlebell Row

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "bent-over-db-row",
  "name_en": "Bent-Over Dumbbell Row",
  "name_de": "Vorgebeugtes Kurzhantel-Rudern",
  "name_es": "Remo con Mancuernas Inclinado",
  "description_en": "A two-arm bent-over row with a dumbbell in each hand. The free movement of independent dumbbells lets the elbows track natural and adds a stability demand that a barbell row hides.",
  "description_de": "Ein beidarmiges vorgebeugtes Rudern mit Kurzhanteln, deren unabhängige Führung eine natürliche Ellbogenbahn erlaubt und zusätzliche Stabilität fordert.",
  "description_es": "Un remo inclinado a dos brazos con una mancuerna en cada mano, que trabaja la espalda y exige estabilidad.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "dumbbell",
  "body_part": "back",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "latissimus_dorsi",
    "rhomboids"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "biceps_brachii",
    "posterior_deltoid",
    "trapezius"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "pull_day",
    "back_day"
  ],
  "variation_group": "row",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand with feet hip-width, holding a dumbbell in each hand at the sides, palms facing in.",
    "Hinge at the hips with a flat back until the torso is roughly 30–45 degrees from horizontal, dumbbells hanging directly below the shoulders.",
    "Brace the core and pull both dumbbells up and slightly back, driving the elbows past the ribs.",
    "Squeeze the upper back at the top, keeping the elbows tucked.",
    "Lower under control to the starting position with the arms fully extended.",
    "Repeat for the recommended number of repetitions."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stehe hüftbreit und halte in jeder Hand eine Kurzhantel an der Seite, Handflächen nach innen.",
    "Beuge dich mit geradem Rücken aus der Hüfte vor, bis der Oberkörper etwa 30–45 Grad über der Horizontalen steht, die Kurzhanteln hängen direkt unter den Schultern.",
    "Spanne den Rumpf an und ziehe beide Kurzhanteln nach oben und leicht nach hinten, die Ellbogen dicht an den Rippen vorbei.",
    "Spanne oben den oberen Rücken kräftig an, die Ellbogen bleiben eng am Körper.",
    "Senke die Kurzhanteln kontrolliert in die Ausgangsposition ab, bis die Arme vollständig gestreckt sind.",
    "Wiederhole für die empfohlene Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Ponte de pie con los pies a la anchura de las caderas, sujetando una mancuerna en cada mano a los lados, con las palmas hacia dentro.",
    "Flexiona las caderas con la espalda recta hasta que el torso quede a unos 30–45 grados de la horizontal, con las mancuernas colgando justo debajo de los hombros.",
    "Activa el core y tira de ambas mancuernas hacia arriba y ligeramente atrás, llevando los codos por detrás de las costillas.",
    "Aprieta la parte alta de la espalda arriba, manteniendo los codos pegados.",
    "Baja de forma controlada hasta la posición inicial con los brazos completamente estirados.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones recomendado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "The torso angle stays fixed throughout — no rocking up to help the bell.",
    "Pull to the lower ribs/belly, not to the chest; that line keeps the lats loaded.",
    "If the lower back rounds, hinge less and reset before the next set."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte den Oberkörperwinkel konstant — kein Aufschwingen, um das Gewicht hochzubringen.",
    "Ziehe zu den unteren Rippen statt zur Brust, damit der Latissimus unter Last bleibt.",
    "Rundet der untere Rücken ein, beuge dich weniger weit vor und setze neu an."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "El ángulo del torso se mantiene fijo todo el rato; no te incorpores para ayudar al peso.",
    "Tira hacia las costillas bajas o el abdomen, no hacia el pecho; así mantienes el dorsal cargado.",
    "Si la lumbar se redondea, flexiona menos y recoloca antes de la siguiente serie."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/bent-over-db-row-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/bent-over-db-row-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "bent-over-db-row");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.