The Machine Seated Cable Row is a beginner-friendly machine strength exercise that targets the lats and middle back, with the biceps working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesLats, Middle Back
Secondary musclesBiceps
EquipmentMachine
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Machine Seated Cable Row
Sit on the machine and brace your feet against the platform with your knees slightly bent.
Grip the handle, hinge slightly forward, and let the cable pull your arms fully extended.
Sit tall with a flat back and pull your shoulder blades down and back to set the start position.
Pull the handle to your lower chest or upper stomach by driving the elbows back behind the body.
Squeeze the mid-back hard at the top of the pull, pausing for a full beat before reversing.
Let the handle travel slowly back forward over 2 to 3 seconds, fighting the cable the whole way.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Builds the lats, mid-back, and biceps with constant cable tension.
Improves posture by training the muscles that pull the shoulders back.
Easy to scale for beginners and easy to load for advanced lifters.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Rocking the torso back and forth to use momentum, which trains the low back instead of the upper back.
Pulling the handle to the throat instead of the lower chest, which loses the lat engagement.
Shrugging the shoulders up at the top, swapping mid-back work for trap dominance.
Letting the cable rip the arms forward fast and skipping the slow return portion of every rep.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Machine Seated Cable Row, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
