10 Best Inverted Row Bent Knees Alternatives for Upper Back Strength
The Inverted Row Bent Knees is done hanging. Ranked closest by our scoring: the Barbell Incline Row. Eight harder versions, among them the Inverted Row On Bench and the Elbow Lift - Reverse Push-up, are listed below as progressions rather than swaps.
A bar you can lie under at waist height, with room to keep your heels on the floor, is all the Inverted Row Bent Knees asks for. The closest alternative is the Barbell Incline Row, which trades your bodyweight for a loaded bar you pull to your chest. With no low bar free, the Inverted Row On Bench uses a bench instead and keeps the same pull toward your chest.
Each substitute is scored on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. Read how we rank alternatives
How to Do the Inverted Row Bent Knees
The steps for the Inverted Row Bent Knees itself, so you can judge how close each substitute below really is.
Upper Back, with biceps, forearms · Bodyweight · Beginner · Compound
- Set up a bar at waist height and lie underneath it.
- Grab the bar with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Position your body so that your heels are on the ground and your body is straight.
- Pull your chest up towards the bar by squeezing your shoulder blades together.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your body back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
The 10 Best Inverted Row Bent Knees Alternatives
10 substitutes, ranked by how closely each one matches the Inverted Row Bent Knees on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. The higher the score, the less you change. Cards with a "How to perform it" link open to show the steps; every card title links to that exercise's own alternatives page. Harder versions are tagged as progressions and kept out of the top spot even when they score higher.
1. Barbell Incline Row
79% matchUpper Back · Intermediate · Compound
A good swap when you have a barbell to work with, and it still works the upper back.
- Barbell
How to perform it
- Set up an incline bench at a 45-degree angle.
- Lie face down on the bench with your chest against the pad and your feet flat on the ground.
- Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Keep your back straight and your core engaged.
- Pull the barbell towards your chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the barbell back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.
Why this matches
- Primary muscle: upper back, the same as the Inverted Row Bent Knees
- Equipment: free weights, not bodyweight only
- Body position: lying face down, not hanging
Progression
2. Inverted Row On Bench
99% matchUpper Back · Intermediate · Compound
Pick this when you want a harder version that still works the upper back.
- Bodyweight
How to perform it
- Set up a bench at a height that allows your body to hang freely underneath it.
- Lie face up on the ground with your head towards the bench.
- Reach up and grab the bench with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Position your body so that your heels are on the ground and your arms are fully extended.
- Engage your core and squeeze your shoulder blades together as you pull your chest up towards the bench.
- Pause for a moment at the top of the movement, then slowly lower your body back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.
Why this matches
- Primary muscle: upper back, the same as the Inverted Row Bent Knees
- Equipment: bodyweight only, the same as the Inverted Row Bent Knees
- Body position: hanging, the same as the Inverted Row Bent Knees
Progression
5. Inverted Row
85% matchLats · Intermediate · Compound
A looser match: it uses the same equipment, but it works the lats rather than the upper back.
- Bodyweight
How to perform it
- Set up a bar at waist height or use a suspension trainer.
- Stand facing the bar or suspension trainer, with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Grab the bar or handles with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Lean back, keeping your body straight and your heels on the ground.
- Pull your chest towards the bar or handles, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower yourself back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.
Why this matches
- Primary muscle: lats, not upper back
- Equipment: bodyweight only, the same as the Inverted Row Bent Knees
- Body position: hanging, the same as the Inverted Row Bent Knees
10. Bodyweight Mid Row
77% matchMiddle Back · Intermediate · Compound
Why You Might Need an Inverted Row Bent Knees Alternative
The Inverted Row Bent Knees depends on one thing: a bar fixed at waist height with clear floor space underneath it. When that bar is busy, too high, or missing from your gym, you need a swap that keeps the same pull toward your chest. A barbell replaces the fixed bar with something you load and control yourself: face down on an incline bench, the Barbell Incline Row pulls the same way, bar to your chest with your shoulder blades squeezed together, against a load you set instead of your bodyweight. Staying bodyweight means changing what you hang from instead of your load: the Inverted Row On Bench has you lie face up on the ground, head toward a bench, and pull your chest to it rather than to a straight bar, heels still on the floor.
How to Choose the Right Inverted Row Bent Knees Substitute
Check what you have free to hang from or load. An incline bench and a loaded barbell give you the Barbell Incline Row, which keeps the same pull to your chest with a load you set instead of your bodyweight. No spare bar, or want to stay bodyweight? The Inverted Row On Bench swaps the straight bar for a bench edge, set at whatever height lets you hang underneath, and keeps the heels-down pull to your chest. The Inverted Row proper is the same pull from the same bar, chest to the bar with shoulder blades squeezed and heels on the floor; its steps just add a suspension-trainer option instead of a fixed bar. Skin The Cat and the lever holds ask for a full hang rather than feet on the floor, so save them until the pull feels solid.
Inverted Row Bent Knees FAQ
Can I do the Inverted Row Bent Knees without a gym membership?
Yes. All it needs is a bar fixed at waist height, such as a bar in a rack or a sturdy table edge, and enough floor space to lie under it with your heels down. If you own a barbell and an incline bench, the Barbell Incline Row keeps the same pull to your chest, face down on the bench with a loaded bar, and lets you add weight once the bodyweight version feels light.
How do I make the Inverted Row Bent Knees harder without adding weight?
Change your body angle instead of your load. The Inverted Row On Bench keeps the same pull, heels on the floor and chest up to the edge, with a bench set at whatever height lets you hang freely underneath instead of the bar. Once that feels solid, the next step is a full hang: Front Lever Reps and the Back Lever are holds rather than rows, so save them for later.
Which alternatives keep the work on my upper back rather than my lats?
The Barbell Incline Row and the Inverted Row On Bench keep the pull on your upper back, the same as the Inverted Row Bent Knees. The Inverted Row proper shares the bar, the grip and the shoulder-blade squeeze, so the pull lands in the same place; treat it as the same exercise with a suspension-trainer option rather than a looser match.
What comes after the Inverted Row Bent Knees once it feels easy?
Move toward exercises that ask for a full hang rather than feet on the floor. Skin The Cat is a hanging rotation, knees to chest then legs over your head and back through your arms, not a row; Front Lever Reps and the Back Lever are holds rather than rows. All three start from a full hang, which the bent-knee row never asks for.
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