Bodyweight Mid Row

What it is

This bodyweight exercise is a compound pull, engaging your middle back as its primary mover. You perform it by leveraging a pull-up apparatus to create resistance against your own weight. You will also activate your biceps and latissimus dorsi, commonly known as lats.

Technique tips

• Set up by getting your legs over the pull-up apparatus.
• Initiate the pull by retracting your shoulder blades.
• Keep your core tight to maintain a stable body line.
• Pull your body up until your legs gently contact the bar.
• Control the descent, lowering yourself with purpose.
• Breathe out as you pull, and inhale as you lower.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.