Shoulders
1Starting positionStart 
2End positionFinish
Upright Row
The upright row works your side delts and traps: the bar travels up along your body with your elbows leading.


Setup
Grab the bar overhand, hands a little wider than your shoulders. Stand tall with the bar at your thighs. Shoulders down, chest up.
Execution
- Take the bar with an overhand grip a bit narrower than shoulder-width, arms straight, bar at your thighs — starting position.
- Exhale and pull the bar straight up along your body, elbows leading and rising above your wrists, until it nearly reaches your chin.
- Inhale and lower it back down slowly.
Common mistakes
- Narrow grip pulled to your chin — that pinches the shoulder; go wider than shoulder-width and pull to your lower chest.
- Hands above your elbows — your elbows lead and stay higher than your hands.
- Bouncing the bar with your hips — stand still.
- Shoulder pinching or clicking — stop lower, or swap in lateral raises.
Not sure about your form? Send me a video of a set — I'll take a look and tell you what to fix first.
More for this muscle group: Shoulders
Position photos from the open free-exercise-db.





