10 Best Leverage Iso Row Alternatives for Lat Thickness

The Leverage Iso Row is done seated with a machine. Ranked closest by our scoring: Elevated Cable Rows, the Cable Seated Row and the Cable Low Seated Row.

Your gym might have a cable tower, a lever row station, or a pin-loaded high row on the same style of frame as the Leverage Iso Row, and each one points you to a different swap. Elevated Cable Rows is the closest one, keeping the same seated pull on your lats from a cable stack instead of the pins. If a lever machine is what you have instead, the Lever Bent-over Row With V-bar keeps the same pull to your abdomen on its own frame.

Leverage Iso Row

Each substitute is scored on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. Read how we rank alternatives

How to Do the Leverage Iso Row

The steps for the Leverage Iso Row itself, so you can judge how close each substitute below really is.

Lats, with biceps, middle back · Machine · Intermediate · Compound

  1. Load an appropriate weight onto the pins and adjust the seat height so that the handles are at chest level. Grasp the handles with either a neutral or pronated grip. This will be your starting position.
  2. Pull the handles towards your torso, retracting your shoulder blades as you flex the elbow.
  3. Pause at the bottom of the motion, and then slowly return the handles to the starting position. For multiple repetitions, avoid completely returning the weight to the stops to keep tension on the muscles being worked.

The 10 Best Leverage Iso Row Alternatives

10 substitutes, ranked by how closely each one matches the Leverage Iso Row 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.

Each link re-ranks the list below for the kit it names. Pick one to hide the substitutes you cannot set up.

  1. Elevated Cable Rows

    1. Elevated Cable Rows

    88% match

    Lats · Intermediate · Compound

    A good swap when you have a cable machine to work with, and it still works the lats.

    • Cable
    How to perform it
    1. Get a platform of some sort (it can be an aerobics or calf raise platform) that is around 4-6 inches in height.
    2. Place it on the seat of the cable row machine.
    3. Sit down on the machine and place your feet on the front platform or crossbar provided making sure that your knees are slightly bent and not locked.
    4. Lean over as you keep the natural alignment of your back and grab the V-bar handles.
    5. With your arms extended pull back until your torso is at a 90-degree angle from your legs. Your back should be slightly arched and your chest should be sticking out. You should be feeling a nice stretch on your lats as you hold the bar in front of you. This is the starting position of the exercise.
    6. Keeping the torso stationary, pull the handles back towards your torso while keeping the arms close to it until you touch the abdominals. Breathe out as you perform that movement. At that point you should be squeezing your back muscles hard. Hold that contraction for a second and slowly go back to the original position while breathing in.
    7. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

    Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Primary muscle: lats, the same as the Leverage Iso Row
    • Equipment: a cable, not a machine
    • Body position: seated, the same as the Leverage Iso Row
  3. Leverage High Row

    3. Leverage High Row

    85% match

    Middle Back · Beginner · Compound

    A looser match: it uses the same equipment, but it works the middle back rather than the lats.

    • Machine
    How to perform it
    1. Load an appropriate weight onto the pins and adjust the seat height so that you can just reach the handles above you. Adjust the knee pad to help keep you down. Grasp the handles with a pronated grip. This will be your starting position.
    2. Pull the handles towards your torso, retracting your shoulder blades as you flex the elbow.
    3. Pause at the bottom of the motion, and then slowly return the handles to the starting position.
    4. For multiple repetitions, avoid completely returning the weight to the stops to keep tension on the muscles being worked.

    Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Primary muscle: middle back, not lats
    • Equipment: a machine, the same as the Leverage Iso Row
    • Body position: seated, the same as the Leverage Iso Row
  4. Lever High RowPlay demonstration

    4. Lever High Row

    84% match

    Upper Back · Intermediate · Compound

    A looser match: it works the upper back rather than the lats.

    • Lever
    How to perform it
    1. Adjust the seat height and foot platform to a comfortable position.
    2. Sit on the machine with your chest against the pad and your feet flat on the foot platform.
    3. Grasp the handles with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
    4. Keep your back straight and engage your core.
    5. Pull the handles towards your body, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
    6. Pause for a moment at the peak of the movement, then slowly release the handles back to the starting position.
    7. 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, not lats
    • Equipment: a machine, the same as the Leverage Iso Row
    • Body position: seated, the same as the Leverage Iso Row

Why You Might Need a Leverage Iso Row Alternative

You look for a swap when the Leverage Iso Row's machine is busy or your gym never bought one. Six of them replace it cleanly: Elevated Cable Rows, Cable Seated Row, Cable Low Seated Row, Cable Seated High Row (V-bar) and Cable Thibaudeau Kayak Row all sit at a cable station and keep the same pull to your torso, and Lever Bent-over Row With V-bar does the same from a lever machine. Leverage High Row, Lever High Row and Lever Seated Row change the setup rather than copying it: the Leverage High Row starts with the handles above you, and the two lever rows brace your chest against a pad before you pull. Lever Narrow Grip Seated Row is the same seated pull to your torso with a close, palms-facing grip.

How to Choose the Right Leverage Iso Row Substitute

Choose by the equipment near you. A cable station gives you Elevated Cable Rows first, using a small platform for your own stretch. Cable Seated Row and Cable Low Seated Row sit at the same station too. If only a lever machine is open, take the Lever Bent-over Row With V-bar: you pull the v-bar to your abdomen with your shoulder blades squeezed, the same row bent over. For one arm at a time, the Cable Thibaudeau Kayak Row becomes a one-side pull. Leverage High Row, Lever High Row and Lever Seated Row change the setup: the high row starts with the handles above you, and the two lever rows brace your chest against a pad, unlike the Leverage Iso Row's chest-level handles. Lever Narrow Grip Seated Row keeps the seated pull with a close, palms-facing grip.

Leverage Iso Row FAQ

Can I do Elevated Cable Rows instead of the Leverage Iso Row?

Yes. Elevated Cable Rows keeps you seated and pulling to your torso like the Leverage Iso Row, just from a cable station instead of the machine's pin-loaded arm. You also raise the seat with a small platform first, which gives you a longer stretch before you pull, so expect a different feel at the start of each rep even though the movement stays the same.

What should I do if my gym only has a lever row machine?

Take the Lever Bent-over Row With V-bar. It runs on a lever machine and has you pull the v-bar to your abdomen, so the row is the same even though you stand rather than sit. The Lever Seated Row also runs on a lever machine and keeps you seated with your chest against a pad, and the Lever Narrow Grip Seated Row gives you the same seated pull with a close, palms-facing grip.

Which alternative lets me train one arm at a time?

The Cable Thibaudeau Kayak Row. It sits at a cable station like the other cable rows, but you pull one side through at a time instead of both arms together, then switch sides, which is useful if one side of your back lags behind the other.

Which alternatives change the setup instead of copying the Leverage Iso Row?

Leverage High Row, Lever High Row and Lever Seated Row change how you are set up rather than which muscle you aim at: the high row starts with handles above you, while the two lever rows brace your chest against a pad. Lever Narrow Grip Seated Row keeps the seated pull to your torso with a close, palms-facing grip. Use them when you want the row from a different angle or with your chest braced.

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