Seated Cable Row

Muscles worked by the Seated Cable Row

Primary

LatsLatissimus DorsiRhomboidsRhomboid Muscles

Secondary

BicepsBiceps BrachiiLower BackErector SpinaeRear DeltsPosterior Deltoid

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

Equipment

Cable Machine

Also called: cable pulley, functional trainer, cable crossover, cable column, cable station, pulley machine.

How to do the Seated Cable Row

1. Sit at the cable row station and place your feet on the footrests.
2. Grip the handle and sit upright with a slight forward lean.
3. Drive your elbows back and pull the handle toward your lower abdomen.
4. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end of the pull.
5. Extend your arms under control back to the starting position.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Keep your torso upright with minimal rocking.
• Drive your elbows straight back, not out to the sides.
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end of the pull.

At a glance

Seated Cable 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 Dumbbell Row
• Bent-Over EZ-Bar Row
• Cable Bent-Over Row
• Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row
• Chest-Supported Kettlebell Row
• Chest-Supported Smith Machine 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": "seated-cable-row",
  "name_en": "Seated Cable Row",
  "name_de": "Sitzendes Rudern am Kabelzug",
  "name_es": "Remo Sentado en Polea",
  "description_en": "A back exercise performed on a cable row machine, pulling a handle toward the torso while seated.",
  "description_de": "Eine Rückenübung am Kabelzuggerät, bei der ein Griff im Sitzen zum Oberkörper gezogen wird.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio de espalda en una máquina de remo con polea, tirando de una manija hacia el torso estando sentado.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "cable",
  "body_part": "back",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "latissimus_dorsi",
    "rhomboids"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "biceps_brachii",
    "erector_spinae",
    "posterior_deltoid"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "row",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Sit at the cable row station and place your feet on the footrests.",
    "Grip the handle and sit upright with a slight forward lean.",
    "Drive your elbows back and pull the handle toward your lower abdomen.",
    "Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end of the pull.",
    "Extend your arms under control back to the starting position.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Setze dich an die Rudermaschine und stelle die Füße auf die Fußstützen.",
    "Greife den Griff und sitze aufrecht mit leichter Vorlage.",
    "Ziehe die Ellbogen nach hinten und den Griff zum unteren Bauch.",
    "Spanne die Schulterblätter am Ende des Zugs zusammen an.",
    "Strecke die Arme kontrolliert zurück in die Ausgangsposition.",
    "Wiederhole für die gewünschte Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Siéntate en la estación de remo y coloca los pies en los apoyos.",
    "Sujeta la manija y siéntate erguido con una ligera inclinación hacia adelante.",
    "Lleva los codos hacia atrás y tira de la manija hacia la parte baja del abdomen.",
    "Contrae los omóplatos al final del tirón.",
    "Extiende los brazos con control de vuelta a la posición inicial.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones deseado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep your torso upright with minimal rocking.",
    "Drive your elbows straight back, not out to the sides.",
    "Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end of the pull."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte den Oberkörper aufrecht mit minimalem Schwung.",
    "Führe die Ellbogen gerade nach hinten, nicht zur Seite.",
    "Spanne die Schulterblätter am Ende des Zugs zusammen an."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén el torso erguido con un balanceo mínimo.",
    "Lleva los codos directamente hacia atrás, no hacia los lados.",
    "Contrae los omóplatos al final del tirón."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/seated-cable-row-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/seated-cable-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 === "seated-cable-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.