When I first began training, like most people, I had no idea what I was doing and even less of an idea about more advanced methods such as varying my grip to prioritize certain muscle groups over others.
In an effort to shorten the learning curve for some of the newer, and maybe even some more seasoned trainees, I have put together a discussion concerning some of the more popular grips used in both vertical and horizontal pulling exercises and how to use each to emphasize and build different portions of the back.
While the following data has been my experience, it is important to note that no ones physical structure is the same so, what works for one person may not necessarily work the same way for someone else. If you find a certain grip style lets you “feel” the target muscle better than my recommendations, that is the grip you should use. This is where experience and experimentation comes into play. That being said, the following guidelines are a great place to start.
Anatomy of the Back:
Before we dive into the different grips we can use to prioritize the different muscles of the back, it stands to reason that we need to understand what these different muscles are and where they are located on the body. It doesn’t do much good to know how to target the Teres Minor/Major if you think it’s a muscle in the lower back, right?
Referencing the picture above, these will be the main muscle groups we discuss going forward.
As you can see, the upper back consists mainly of the trapezius, rear deltoids, rhomboids, and the teres minor/major. You can see there are the smaller muscle groups of supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and the levator scapulae but we will mainly be focused on the first list of muscle groups for the upper back.
The lower back consists mainly of the latissimus dorsi or, the lats, as they are commonly referred to. There are obviously many other muscles present, including the erector spinae (the thick muscles running down each side of your spine), but since we are solely discussing varied grips for rowing exercises, we won’t worry about it too much. As a side note, if you perform any kind of non-chest supported horizontal row such as a bent over barbell row, the erector spinae will be stimulated but that is not the purpose of this discussion.
Now that we have an elementary understanding of the locations of the different muscle groups, let’s look at how they can be targeted.
Varying Grips in Horizontal Rows:
To start the discussion, we’ll first look at the horizontal rowing movement. The three grips we’ll examine are pronated (palms facing down), supinated (palms facing up), and neutral (palms facing each other). We’ll also look at how grip width affects each of them.
Pronated Grip:
The pronated or overhand grip will cause the elbows to flare out the most of all the grips and, for this reason, it is a great upper back builder. It will obviously work the entire back but since the elbows are flared, there is less elbow flexion necessary so the biceps and lats are used to a lesser degree while the rhomboids, traps, rear delts, and the other smaller muscles of the upper back will be prioritized.
Your grip width will be the deciding factor for just how much prioritization the upper back receives. The wider the grip, the less elbow flexion and shoulder adduction (upper arm will be further away from your body) there will be therefore the more the upper back will be prioritized while the lats and biceps will take the back seat. The more narrow the grip, the more shoulder adduction (bringing the elbows closer to the body) will be possible and thus more lat recruitment will be possible.
Supinated Grip:
While the pronated grip prioritizes the upper back and limits bicep and lat recruitment, the supinated or underhand grip does the opposite. Since this version allows the elbows to travel tight to the body (shoulder adduction), it allows for greater lat activation, and the added elbow flexion brings the biceps into play more.
Grip width variations using a supinated grip are a little different than those of the pronated grip. I have found that by widening the grip, to a point, there is more outer lat activation and less bicep activation, however I believe this also brings the upper back into play a little more and it is more difficult to feel the lowest part of the lats.
By narrowing the grip, it is easier to activate the lower lats however it tends to put more stress on the inner lat or back “thickness” (how thick you look from the side) in lieu of back “width” (V-taper).
If you are trying to build the entire lat and add width, a moderate width would be best.
Neutral Grip:
As common sense would suggest, the neutral grip (palms facing) will be somewhere in the middle of pronated and supinated as far as muscle activation is concerned leaning slightly more towards the supinated variation since the neutral grip allows the elbows to travel tight to the body.
Concerning grip width, the neutral grip is very similar to the supinated grip. Wider grips will activate more of the outer lat but will sacrifice the lowest part of the lats. A very narrow grip will allow you to easily activate the lowest part of the lats but, again, will activate more of the inner lat in lieu of the outer.
As with supinated, a moderate grip would be best for overall lat development.
Varying Grips in Vertical Rows:
Now that we have examined the effects of changing grips in the horizontal plane, we’ll look at the vertical rowing movement. As before, the three grips we’ll examine are pronated (palms facing down), supinated (palms facing up), and neutral (palms facing each other). We’ll also look at how grip width affects each of them.
Pronated Grip:
As with the horizontal rowing motion, the pronated grip in the vertical plane will cause shoulder abduction (elbows away from the body) but, unlike the horizontal plane, using the pronated grip in the vertical will not be mainly targeting the upper back. It will hit the Teres Minor/Major a little harder than some of the other grips we’ll discuss but it is still a great overall lat width builder.
The wide pronated grip lat pulldown is one of the best ways to target the outer lat to build the V-taper everyone wants; the wider the grip, the more “outer” lat will be targeted but, as the grip gets wider, it is harder to activate the lower lats and the upper lats, Teres Major/Minor, Rhomboids, and lower traps will take over. For this reason, a wider than shoulder width grip but not excessively wide is going to be most optimal for overall lat width development.
As with the other rowing variations, a closer grip will allow the elbows to travel closer to the body so lower lat activation will become easier, but this will come at the expense of less outer lat stimulation and more inner back thickness.
Supinated Grip:
The underhand or supinated grip in the vertical plane is very similar to the horizontal plane. This grip will require more elbow flexion and allow the elbows to travel tight to the body therefore it will stimulate the biceps and lats to a greater degree and diminish the stress put on the muscles of the upper back.
As before, a medium to medium-wide grip is best for overall lat recruitment. The wider your grip gets, the more upper/outer lat and teres major/minor activation you will get while the lower lats and biceps will receive less stimulation. As you move your grip in more narrow, the opposite will happen; more lower lat activation, less upper back, less outer lat, more bicep, and more inner lat thickness.
Neutral Grip:
As with the horizontal rowing plane, the neutral grip in the vertical plane will also, as common sense would suggest, be a healthy medium between the pronated and supinated grip. Again, I have found this grip to lean slightly more towards the supinated style as it allows the elbows to travel tightly to the body.
As with the other grips, the wider you go, the more lower traps, rhomboids, teres major/minor, and upper/outer lats you will stimulate at the expense of the lower lats and biceps. The narrower you go, the more lower/inner lats and biceps will be activated at the expense of the upper back musculature and outer lats.
Conclusion:
As you read through this you can see it is all fairly simple once you break the different grips down into the affect they have on shoulder abduction and adduction (how close the elbows are to the body) and elbow flexion (how much your elbow has to bend to complete the movement).
Of course, no one has the exact same body composition, muscular build, or limb lengths so be sure to experiment with multiple grip types and see which one works best for you. The above recommendations are a great place to start and will, for the most part, be generic to most trainees but the only way to know for yourself is to experiment.
Hopefully this cleared up some misconceptions about grip variations, please leave a comment below if you have any questions.