Incline Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row

Setup

Set the adjustable bench to a steep incline (45-60 degrees). Lie chest-down, dumbbells hanging straight below the shoulders.

Execution

1. 1Keep the chest pinned to the bench throughout
2. 2Row both dumbbells up, driving elbows back and slightly wide
3. 3Pause and squeeze the shoulder blades at the top
4. 4Lower under control to a full stretch

Key cues

• Steeper bench shifts emphasis toward upper back/rear delts
• Elbows track slightly wider than the lower-incline version
• Full control on the eccentric
• Keep the head neutral, don't crane up to watch the weights

Common faults

• Letting the chest peel off the bench to cheat extra range
• Using too much weight and losing scapular control
• Flaring elbows excessively wide, turning it into a reverse-fly
• Not achieving a full stretch at the bottom

Tweaks

• Single-arm version for unilateral focus
• Alternate between 30-degree and 45-60 degree incline across training blocks
• Add a 2-second top pause

Muscles

Notes

A steeper-angle sibling of the standard chest-supported row; often programmed alongside it to hit slightly different fiber emphasis within the same session.

Sources

• How to do a Chest Supported Rear Delt/Row variant
• Incline Dumbbell Row - ExRx.net

Attribution: Renaissance Periodization / General Hypertrophy Canon