Machine High Row

Also known as: lever high row, Hammer Strength high row

Secondary muscles
Biceps, Delts
Body part
Back
Position
Seated
Laterality
Bilateral (both sides together)
Category
Strength

Track this exercise in SetGrip — no account needed

Download SetGrip on the App Store

The machine high row is a seated row with the handles set above your head, so you pull down and back at an angle between a pulldown and a row. Your chest stays against the pad for the whole set. It works the upper back, with the biceps and shoulders assisting.

How to do the Machine High Row

  1. Set the seat so the handles are above your head with your arms reaching up, then sit with your chest against the pad.
  2. Grip the handles with your arms extended up and slightly forward.
  3. Pull the handles down and back, driving your elbows toward your hips until your hands are beside your chest.
  4. Let the handles rise back slowly until your arms are straight and your shoulder blades are stretched upward.

Muscles worked

Primary

Upper Back · Back

Secondary

Common mistakes

  • Leaning away from the pad — keep your chest on it; rocking back turns the row into a body swing.
  • Pulling with the hands — think of driving the elbows down and back; if your biceps tire before your back, lighten the load.
  • Shortening the top — let your arms straighten fully at the top so the lats get their stretch on every rep.

Where it fits in a workout

Use it as a main pull on a back or pull day, before arm work.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Logging the Machine High Row in SetGrip

SetGrip logs the Machine High Row as weight and reps. On a plate-loaded machine, log the plates the same way every time, per side or in total, and note which in the routine.

Variations and alternatives

Similar exercises

Without machine

Easier and harder

When to talk to someone

  • Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
  • Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
  • Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

Track the Machine High Row in SetGrip

All 1,100+ exercises with animations are in the app. No account, no sign-up — your history stays on your iPhone and in your private iCloud. Works with Apple Watch.

Download SetGrip on the App Store

More exercises

Sources

  1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
  2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
  3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
  4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.

Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. Text: SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.