Renegade Row/Push-Up Combo: The Ultimate Upper Body Blast in Minutes

I’m a veteran personal trainer and I spend a lot of my time in gyms. When I’m not actually training my clients, I spend my time writing about fitness. Consequently, most of my waking hours revolve around exercise.

But, despite how much time I spend in gyms, I am often too busy to work out as much as I want. It’s rare for me to have a couple of hours free to dedicate to training. Needless to say, this could be a source of frustration, especially as I strongly believe that personal trainers should “walk the walk,” and practice what they preach.

Thankfully, many years ago I discovered the concept of micro-workouts. I use this method to stay in shape without having to rely on conventional training. Micro-workouts involve short, intense bouts of exercise spread throughout the day.

Lasting just 5-10 minutes, a few micro-workouts a day allow me to accumulate a decent volume of training without having to find time for longer exercise sessions.

While not the ideal way to train, micro-workouts are better than nothing, and a great way to overcome what researchers say is the most common barrier to consistent exercise – lack of time (1).

Needless to say, exercise selection is a critical factor in creating effective micro-workouts and you must choose the movements that provide the greatest bang for your buck. This is not the time to focus on wrist curls and seated calf raises!

One of my favorite micro-workout exercises is the renegade row/push-up combo. Working all major upper body muscles and the core, just a few minutes is all I need to maintain my upper body conditioning.

In this article, I explain why and how to do this exercise, provide you with some tried-and-tested programming options, and reveal some of my favorite variations and alternatives to this great movement.

Renegade Row/Push-Up Correct Form  

The renegade row/push-up combo is a challenging exercise, not least because it involves two distinctly different movements and lots of full-body tension and coordination. So, make sure you get the most from this time-saving exercise by following these step-by-step instructions.

Set-up:

1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
2. Squat down and place your dumbbells on the floor, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. The handles should be parallel.
3. Walk your feet out and back until your legs and body are straight. Brace your core and pull your shoulders back and down.

Execution:

1. Keeping your body straight, bend your arms and lower your chest slightly below your hands. Feel the stretch in your pecs.
2. Extend your arms and push yourself back up.
3. Next, shift your weight over onto one hand and row the opposite dumbbell up and into your upper ribs.
4. Lower the dumbbell back to the floor, switch sides, and row the other dumbbell into your side.
5. Return the dumbbell to the floor and transition into another push-up.
6. Continue this push-up/row/row sequence for the desired number of reps.

On completion:

1. Walk your feet back up to your hands.
2. Drop your hips, release the weights, and stand back up.
3. Alternatively, keep hold of the dumbbells as you stand up and return them to the weight rack.

Renegade Row/Push-Up: Muscles Worked

The renegade row/push-up combo works virtually every muscle in your upper body, which is what makes it such a time-efficient exercise. These muscles include:

• Pectoralis major
• Latissimus dorsi
• Deltoids
• Trapezius
• Rhomboids
• Triceps
• Biceps
• Forearms
• Core

Pro-Trainer Tips

Get more from renegade row/push-ups with these tried-and-tested pro-trainer tips!

Start Light

The renegade row/push-up is a challenging exercise, and a little weight goes a very long way. Don’t go too heavy too soon, or your technique will invariably suffer. Start light and increase the load set by set until you determine the correct weight.

Use Hex Dumbbells If Available 

While you can do renegade row/push-ups with round dumbbells, it’s much easier with hex-shaped weights. Hex dumbbells won’t roll, so you’ll be much more stable and able to do more reps as a result.

Keep Your Wrists Straight

Use the dumbbell handles like push-up bars/parallettes. Keep your wrists neutral to minimize joint stress while allowing you to lower your chest below your hands. This extra range of motion is part of what makes renegade row/push-ups so effective. Push-ups done with your hands on raised handles are called deficit push-ups.

Pause at The Bottom of Each Push-Up

Most exercisers find the row is harder than the push-up during this exercise. Consequently, renegade row/push-ups deliver a great back workout but are less effective for the chest. Fix this imbalance by pausing at the bottom of each push-up for 2-3 seconds. This will increase time under tension and make sure you get a more balanced upper body workout.

Strap on a Weighted Vest

Leading on from the point above, consider wearing a weighted vest to make the push-up phase more challenging. While this won’t do much for the row part of the exercise, it will ensure your chest gets an even better workout.

Related: 10 Best Weighted Vest Exercises and 5 Workouts for Next-Level Bodyweight Training

Renegade Row/Push-Up Mistakes to Avoid

Make renegade rows/push-ups as safe as possible by avoiding these common mistakes.

Not Using A Full Range of Motion During the Push-Up

Push-ups are a great upper body exercise but they’re even better if you lower your chest between your hands and stretch your pecs. Research tells us that loading a stretched muscle triggers greater growth than loading a shortened muscle (2). So, shoulder health permitting, lower your chest as close to the floor as you can for greater gains.

Allowing the Hips to Drop

Despite being one of the most widely performed exercises in the world, many people struggle to do push-ups properly. IMO the most common fault is letting the hips drop out of alignment. This puts a lot of stress on your lower back and also makes the exercise less effective. Long story short – keep your body board-straight throughout this exercise.

Twisting the Hips or Shoulders

While a little side-to-side movement of the hips and shoulders is to be expected during renegade row/push-ups, such movements should be relatively small and controlled. Excessive twisting could cause injury and suggest that a) the weight is too heavy or b) your core is not strong enough to do this movement correctly.

Renegade Row/Push-Up Programming

While simply doing a few sets of renegade row/push-ups will provide a reasonable workout, you’ll get better results if you follow a more prescriptive approach. Here are a few of my favorite ways to program this awesome exercise.

EMOM Sets

EMOM is short for Every Minute On the Minute. As the name implies, you do a set of your chosen exercise at the top of each minute and your rest period is whatever time is left until the next minute begins.

So, if your set takes 25 seconds, you get 35 seconds to recover before going again. While simple, EMOM is a challenging way to cram a lot of training into a short time.

For this workout, do 5-10 sets of five renegade row/push-ups to total 5-10 minutes. Increase or decrease the reps according to your fitness. Ideally, each set should take 20-30 seconds so you have just enough time to recover between efforts.

Ten-Minute Density Block

The aim of density block training is to do as many reps as possible in the allocated time period. So, for this programming option simply grab your dumbbells and start repping! Rest as needed but remember that the clock is always ticking. Record how many reps you complete in ten minutes and try to beat that number next time.

Ladders

Ladders are as simple as they are demanding. They start easy but gradually get harder as your workout progresses. Simply do one rep, stand up, and take a deep breath, and then do two reps and take two breaths. Continue in this fashion until you are unable to continue.

Then, if time allows, start back at one rep and ascend the ladder again. Alternatively, you can come back down the ladder, reducing your reps by one each step.

Either way you do them, ladders are a very effective and time-efficient way to organize your workouts.

Renegade Row/Push-Up Variations and Alternatives

The renegade row/push-up combo is a great exercise that’ll save you lots of time. However, it’s not the only time-saving upper body exercise I recommend. Here are a few variations and alternatives you can use to train multiple upper-body muscles in minimal time.

1. Kneeling Renegade Row/Push-Up Combo

Do you find push-ups overly challenging? You are not alone! The good news is that you can modify this exercise to make the push-up phase much less difficult. Just bend your legs and lower your knees to the floor for a more manageable workout.

2. Feet Elevated Renegade Row/Push-Up Combo

Are you a push-up master? Then this is the variation for you. Resting your feet on a bench or chair puts much more weight on your arms, leading to a more intense workout. Also, as per the video, you can use kettlebells instead of dumbbells, which makes the renegade row/push-up even more challenging.

3. Dumbbell Push-Up Renegade Row Burpee

Friends don’t let friends skip leg day, but renegade row/push-ups don’t actually involve much lower body engagement. That all changes when you add a squat jump to make push-up renegade row burpees. This is a challenging combo that’ll kick the butt of even the fittest exerciser.

4. Dumbbell Clean-Squat-Press

Short on time but need a full-body workout that’ll build muscle, burn fat, and improve your fitness? The dumbbell clean-squat-press is the perfect solution! This exercise works your lower body, core, and upper body and will also drive your heart rate sky-high.

5. Deadlift/Push-up Combo

Rows aren’t the only exercise you can combine with push-ups to train your chest and back – deadlifts work, too. This movement alternates conventional deadlifts with push-ups to work your chest, back, glutes, hamstrings, quads, and core at the same time. However, only do this exercise if you are a proficient deadlifter as poor form could lead to significant injury.

Closing Thoughts

Consistency is the key to building muscle, getting stronger, burning fat, and improving your fitness. The fewer workouts you miss, the more successful you’ll be. However, despite your best intentions, life often conspires to keep you out of the gym, and lack of time is a legitimate barrier to getting in shape.

The good news is that you don’t necessarily need a ton of time to work out. In fact, just a few minutes a day can be enough to maintain your progress until you can get back in the gym.

The renegade row/push-up combo works all your major upper body muscles and a few sets will help sculpt the upper body you’ve always dreamed of. Combine this move with your favorite leg exercise and you can train your entire body in ten minutes or less.

Lack of time IS a real obstacle to consistent exercise, but with renegade row/push-ups on your to-do list, it can be overcome.

Next: The ‘Micro-Workout’ Method: How 2-Minute Exercises Are Changing Fitness

References:

1. Herazo-Beltrán Y, Pinillos Y, Vidarte J, Crissien E, Suarez D, García R. Predictors of perceived barriers to physical activity in the general adult population: a cross-sectional study. Braz J Phys Ther. 2017 Jan-Feb;21(1):44-50. doi: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2016.04.003. Epub 2017 Jan 14. PMID: 28442074; PMCID: PMC5537451.
2. Warneke K, Lohmann LH, Lima CD, Hollander K, Konrad A, Zech A, Nakamura M, Wirth K, Keiner M, Behm DG. Physiology of Stretch-Mediated Hypertrophy and Strength Increases: A Narrative Review. Sports Med. 2023 Nov;53(11):2055-2075. doi: 10.1007/s40279-023-01898-x. Epub 2023 Aug 9. PMID: 37556026; PMCID: PMC10587333.

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