Bent-over barbell row muscles worked

Every role here is for this technique: hinged forward at the hips to about 45 degrees, knees soft, overhand grip, bar pulled to the lower ribs.

What muscles does the bent-over barbell row work?

The prime movers of the bent-over barbell row are latissimus dorsi, the posterior deltoid, the rhomboids, the middle trapezius, brachialis and biceps brachii. They produce shoulder extension, shoulder blade retraction and elbow flexion. Five synergists assist, among them brachioradialis, teres major and the lower trapezius. Nine stabilizers hold joints and segments still, among them the erector spinae and multifidus.

See it on the body: Muscles Worked by Exercise 3D Explorer →

Joint actions and their prime movers

The joint actions of the bent-over barbell row and the prime movers that produce each
Joint action	Prime movers
Shoulder extension	Latissimus dorsi and the posterior deltoid
Shoulder blade retraction	The rhomboids and the middle trapezius
Elbow flexion	Brachialis and biceps brachii

Every muscle by role

A prime mover produces the lift’s main joint action against the load; a synergist assists that action, or adds a secondary action the lift needs; a stabilizer contracts mostly isometrically to hold a joint or a segment still. A role describes what the muscle does in the technique above, not how hard it works or how much it grows.

Prime movers 6

Prime movers in the bent-over barbell row, with what each does
Muscle	What it does here
Latissimus dorsi	Pulling the upper arms back
Posterior deltoid	Pulling the upper arms back
Rhomboids	Pulling the shoulder blades together
Middle trapezius	Pulling the shoulder blades together
Brachialis	Elbow flexion
Biceps brachii	Elbow flexion

Synergists 5

Synergists in the bent-over barbell row, with what each does
Muscle	What it does here
Brachioradialis	Elbow flexion with the forearm turned down
Teres major	Shoulder extension
Lower trapezius	Steadying the shoulder blades as they retract
Infraspinatus	Turning the upper arm outward as it comes back
Teres minor	Turning the upper arm outward as it comes back

Stabilizers 9

Stabilizers in the bent-over barbell row, with what each does
Muscle	What it does here
Erector spinae	Holding the hinged trunk still The bent-over posture is what loads the lower back here (Fenwick et al. 2009).
Multifidus	Stiffening each lumbar segment
Hamstrings	Holding the hips in the hinge
Gluteus maximus	Holding the hips in the hinge
Rectus abdominis	Bracing the trunk against the load
External oblique	Bracing the trunk and resisting rotation
Internal oblique	Bracing the trunk and resisting rotation
Transversus abdominis	Raising abdominal pressure to stiffen the trunk
Wrist and finger flexors	Gripping the bar

Lowering and lifting

What the prime movers of the bent-over barbell row do in each half of a rep
Phase	What the prime movers do
Lowering	The back muscles and elbow flexors lengthen as the bar comes down
Rowing	They shorten to pull the bar to the ribs

Where these prime movers also work

Latissimus dorsi: prime mover in the pull-up, chin-up and lat pulldown; synergist in the parallel-bar dip.
The posterior deltoid: a prime mover in no other lift here; synergist in the pull-up, chin-up, lat pulldown and dumbbell lateral raise.
The rhomboids: a prime mover in no other lift here; synergist in the pull-up, chin-up and lat pulldown.
The middle trapezius: a prime mover in no other lift here; synergist in the lat pulldown.
Brachialis: prime mover in the pull-up, chin-up, lat pulldown and barbell biceps curl.
Biceps brachii: prime mover in the pull-up, chin-up, lat pulldown and barbell biceps curl.

Sources

Fenwick, Brown and McGill (2009), J Strength Cond Res 23(5):1408
NSCA, Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th ed. (2016)

The cited studies that measured muscle activity used electromyography, and a larger signal need not mean more force or more growth (Vigotsky et al. (2018), Front Physiol 8:985). The roles draw on those studies for which muscles a lift involves and how two lifts differ, never to rank one muscle against another.

See these muscles in 3D

Visualiser · Biology Muscles Worked by Exercise 3D Explorer Choose a lift and a real body lights its prime movers, synergists and stabilisers, front and back, with the same muscles in 3D. Visualiser · Biology Muscle Origin, Insertion and Action Explorer Paint a muscle’s origin and insertion on real 3D bones, or click a bone to see what attaches to it.