Smith Machine Upright Row: Muscle Worked, Benefits

When it comes to building a bigger and strong traps, there are countless exercises to choose from. However, not all exercises are created equal, and some are simply more effective than others. The Smith machine upright row is one exercise that stands out above the rest.

No doubt, it is one of the best exercises for building upper back, but it’s also easy to get wrong. Usually, this will just mean that you don’t get the muscle-building benefits of the move. Incorrect technique can also place undue pressure on your shoulders and increase your risk of injury.

You shouldn’t be scared out of integrating the smith machine upright row into your routine. There are several ways you’ll need to look out to improve the technique.

To perform the smith machine upright row exercises in a safe and effective way, must read this blog.

What Is Smith Machine Upright Row

The Smith machine upright row is a variation of the upright row that works the shoulder and upper back muscles, including building stronger and bigger traps, rhomboids and deltoids.

The Smith machine is a weightlifting equipment that consists of a barbell fixed on vertical guides, allowing for controlled up-and-down movement.

It provides a fixed movement pattern to better isolate the muscles of the shoulders.

Muscle Worked During Smith Machine Upright Row

The Smith machine upright row primarily targets the muscles of the shoulders, particularly the deltoids (side and front heads), as well as the trapezius, rhomboids, and the muscles of the upper back

  1. Deltoids (Shoulders): Engages the lateral (side) and anterior (front) deltoid heads. These muscles are responsible for shoulder abduction and flexion, respectively.
  2. Trapezius: The trapezius muscles, specifically the middle and upper fibers, are heavily involved in the upright row exercise. They assist in shoulder elevation and scapular retraction.
  3. Rhomboids: Play a significant role in scapular retraction during the upright row.
  4. Biceps Brachii: Bicep muscles assist in elbow flexion as you lift the barbell.
  5. Forearm Muscles: The muscles of the forearm, including the brachialis and brachioradialis, are also involved in stabilizing and supporting the grip during the exercise.
Muscle Worked In Upright Row Exercise

Benefits of a Smith Machine Upright Row

Here are the benefits of a machine upright row :

1. Muscle strength & growth

Due to its targeted pulling motion, a large group of major upper body muscles are targeted. Performing this exercise regularly is likely to accelerate your muscle growth and strength in your back, biceps, and shoulders.

2. Shoulder Stability

Research shows that the upright row is one of the best exercises for building shoulder strength and stability.

The exercise targets the smaller, stabilizing muscles of the shoulder joint, which are essential for proper shoulder function and injury prevention.

The enhanced strength and stability gained from this exercise may result in enhanced performance in sports and other physical activities.

3. Improved Performance

The use of wide-grip upright rows can help prepare your body for more advanced strength-training exercises, such as overhead presses, bench presses, and deadlift.

It helps to strengthen and condition the muscles involved in more complex weightlifting movements.

4. Builds Bigger and Strong Traps

Traps are tricky to build. There are only a handful of exercises that mainly target your traps.

A smith upright row works your shoulders just as much as it does your traps do.

5. Improve Arm power

It will make your arms more powerful, improving your performance in other exercises and activities as a result.

6. Improve your posture

When practiced with proper form, upright row machine exercises help build strength in your upper body stabilizer muscle groups, helping you stand up tall and keep your back straight.

How To Do Upright Row On Smith Machine

Smith Machine Upright Row

Step to perform the exercise correctly:

  1. Adjust the bar of the smith machine so that it’s at the middle of your thighs.
  2. Select the desired weight and load it onto a bar. Unpack the bar by rotating the safety latches off the j-hooks.
  3. Ensure that the barbell is resting against your thighs, as it’s important to keep the bar close to your body while you perform the exercise.
  4. Inhale, brace your abs, and then lead the movement by driving the elbows high as you pull the bar to chest height.
  5. When the bar has reached its peak, reverse the movement slowly while controlling the bar back to the starting position.
  6. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Training Volume (Sets And Reps)

Of course, the number of sets and reps will be determined based on your fitness journey, but here is a great starting point:

  • 3-4 Sets
  • 8-12 Reps

Choose a weight that allows you to execute the exercises with proper form throughout the entire set and repetition range. The load should bring you to or near failure within the given rep ranges to be effective.

Smith Machine Upright Row Variations

Once you’ve mastered the basic Smith machine upright row, there are several progressions and variations that you can try to keep your workouts challenging and exciting. Here are a few to consider:

1. One-Arm Smith Machine Upright Row

For an added challenge, try performing the Smith machine upright row with one arm at a time.

It is one of the unilateral variations of a smith machine row. This will help improve balance and stability.

If you are new to this exercise, it is recommended that you start with a lighter weight or no added weight to get comfortable with the motion.

One-Arm Smith Machine Upright Row

How To Do Single Arm upright Row With Smith Machine

  1. You should start with the bar at your thighs.
  2. Use one hand to grab the bar. Your grip should be outside of your shoulder.
  3. To start this exercise, raise your arm and flex your elbow.
  4. Keep raising the bar until your upper arm is parallel with the floor.
  5. When you get to the top, return to your starting position.
  6. Do the desired number of repetitions with each hand.

2. Wide Grip Smith Machine Upright Row

If you’re a beginner at the upright row, you may want to start with a wide grip.

It is best to begin with a stance where your hands are outside your shoulders. According to Jim Stoppani, if you do the barbell upright row with a close-grip, it places a lot of the focus on the front delts and upper traps.

Wider upright rows allow the elbows to move out to the sides more, which hits the middle deltoids more effectively.

Wide Grip Smith Machine Upright Row

How To Do Smith Upright Row With Wide Hand

  1. Adjust the Smith Machine so that the bar is at the middle of your thighs.
  2. Select the desired weight and load it onto a bar.
  3. Grab the bar with your hands in an overhand grip, about 4-6 inches wider than shoulder-width apart, just outside of your thighs.
  4. Unlatch the barbell from the Smith Machine with an overhand grip.
  5. Hold on to the bar and let it drop to your waist.
  6. Inhale and then lead the movement by pulling the bar to chest height with your elbow high.
  7. When the bar has reached its peak, reverse the movement slowly while controlling the bar back to the starting position.
  8. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

3. Close Grip Smith Upright Row

Performing a close-grip smith upright row, rather than a wide-grip Smith-machine upright row, actives more trapezius muscle fibres and comparatively lesser delts muscles.

More importantly, though, using a close-grip means that you need to raise the bar higher to contract your traps.

This is not ok, Why? Because it puts your tiny infraspinatus and supraspinatus rotator cuffs in a very vulnerable position.

A word of caution, however. Close grip upright rows do increase tension on the rotator cuff. If you have shoulder pain or mobility problems, try the close grip version of this exercise cautiously.

Close Grip Smith Upright Row

How To Do Smith Upright Row With Close Grip

  1. Adjust the bar of the Smith Machine so that it’s at the middle of your thighs.
  2. Grab the bar with your hands in an overhand grip, closer than shoulder-width apart.
  3. Unlatch the barbell from the smith machine with an overhand grip.
  4. Hold on to the bar and let it drop to your waist.
  5. Inhale and then lead the movement by pulling the bar to chest height with your elbow high.
  6. When the bar is at its highest point, slowly reverse the movement while controlling the bar back to the starting position.

Smith machine upright row Proper Form And Technique

Proper exercise technique is essential to ensure the safety and effectiveness of an exercise program.

  • Keep a controlled motion and avoid jerky movements.
  • Always use weights that you can handle comfortably.
  • For the decline dumbbell press, it is best to set the bench at about 15-30 degrees declined
  • Always use the longest range of motion possible and control the dumbbells throughout the set.
  • Make sure your hands aren’t too close together. This can result in a wrist injury, and it’s easy to avoid by simply moving your grip width to be a little wider.
  • If your weight is too heavy, the movement will require more strength. Heavy lifting can put too much stress on the shoulders and take the focus away.
  • Don’t lean back as you pull the weight up, keep the motion under control, and don’t rely on momentum.
  • If machine upright rows bother your wrists, consider a dumbbell, cable, or banded options as these place less stress on the wrists.
  • Don’t pull the bar too high, Pulling the bar too high can increase the likelihood of an impingement injury at the shoulder.
  • When lowering the weight, make sure your chest is proud and shoulders pulled back and together (known as scapular retraction).
  • Ultimately, your results will depend on your ability to adequately recover from your workouts. It is recommended that you allow at least 36 to 48 hours of rest before training the same muscle groups again, in order to allow for sufficient recovery.

FAQ

Is the Smith machine upright row suitable for beginners?

Yes, the Smith machine upright row is a great exercise for beginners. Start with a lighter weight and focus on proper form and technique.

Is the Smith machine one arm upright row good for delts?

Yes, the Smith machine one-arm upright row is an excellent deltoid exercise because it enables you to even out your muscles imbalances by training each side of your body independently.

Will doing smith machine wide grip upright rows widen my shoulders?

Yes, absolutely. Performing a Smith machine wide grip upright row is a great way to add mass to your side delts, provided you consume enough calories and high-quality protein.

What’s the most effective Smith machine upright row replacement?

Cable lateral raises and dumbbell upright row are the most effective Smith machine upright row alternative because they provide your side delts with plenty of growth-stimulating time under tension.

Takeaway

A smith machine upright row can strengthen the posterior chain muscles, including the shoulders and upper back. With great attention to form, you’ll reap all the benefits.

Let us know, in the comment section below, your valuable suggestions!

Thanks for reading.

References

  1. Schoenfeld, Brad MSc, CSCS; Kolber, Morey J PT, PhD, CSCS; Haimes, Jonathan E BS, CSCS: The Upright Row: Implications for Preventing Subacromial ImpingementStrength and Conditioning Journal: October 2011 – Volume 33 – Issue 5 – p 25-28
  2. McAllister M, Schilling B, Hammond K, Weiss L, Farney T. Effect of grip width on electromyographic activity during the upright rowJ Strength Cond PMID: 22362088 DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31824f23ad
  3. Int J Environ Res Public Health. Trapezius muscle timing during selected shoulder rehabilitation exercises. 2021 Jun 14;18(12):6444. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18126444.PMID: 34198674
  4. Lorenzetti S, Dayer R, Pluss M, List R. Pulling exercises for strength training and rehabilitation: movements and loading conditionsJ Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2017;2(3):33. doi:10.3390/jfmk2030033

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