3 Quick Fixes For Back Pain When Doing Barbell Rows

Have you ever attempted a Barbell Bent Over Row but soon realized that it wasn’t happening with your current back pain situation? 

The Barbell Row is a staple overall back developer but becomes your arch enemy when dealing with low back pain. In today’s post, I want to break down the barbell row and give you three quick fixes you can make that will put a stop to the pain your experiencing when doing them.

How Do You Do Barbell Rows Without Hurting Your Back?

When it comes to doing Barbell bent Over Rows without low back pain it comes down to 2 things. 

  1. The Position Of The Body
  2. Controlling The Transitions

The Position Of The Body

When it comes to the position of the body we tend to do the row at the cost of the low back absorbing the load. 

What you want are the hips and hamstrings to take the load while performing the row. 

You want the hips and hamstrings taking the load so that you can focus on the muscles you’re trying to activate with each rep (mid to upper back). 

Controlling The Transitions

There are a few main transitions that you have to be mindful of when doing the barbell row. 

The first transition is with the load from standing straight up to being bent over. 

The second transition is starting the actual row towards your lower rib zone. 

The third transition is at the bottom where you go from the eccentric portion of the exercise and switch to the pulling or concentric portion. 

These all include micro-movements that for someone with a sensitive low back could really mess them up. 

Focusing on control and slow movements during these transitions is critical. 

I break them down even more in today’s video along with some cool alternatives if you’re dealing with pain.

Best Barbell Row Substitute?

There are a lot of traditinal Barbell Row substitus you can use if barbell rows are causing any low back pain. 

You can first start out by checking out this post I did a few years back on back pain and the bent-over row. 

Here are a few videos I have on YouTube breaking down some of my favorite barbell bent-over row alternatives. 

2 Safe Barbell Bent Over Row Exercises

Best Bent Over Row Alternative

Dumbell Bent Over Row Options

Try These Scoop Rows

These are some great resources if the barbell bent-over row is causing any issues.