Gironda row

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How to do it

Seated at the low pulley with a straight bar and a wide pronated grip. What sets it apart from the classic row is where you pull: to the STERNUM, with the elbows high and flared instead of tucked, which shifts the work from the lats to the mid-traps and rhomboids. Torso nearly vertical, squeeze the shoulder blades at the end and control the return without letting the shoulders drift forward.

Muscles worked

Mainly espalda. Train it inside a balanced routine to progress safely.

Recommended sets and reps

As a compound lift, it fits in 3–5 sets of 5–12 reps leaving 1–3 reps in reserve (RIR). Prioritize it at the start of the session, when you're fresh.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Pulling with the arms instead of starting the movement by retracting the shoulder blades and driving the elbows back.
• Using too much weight at the cost of technique and full range of motion.
• Doing reps too fast, without controlling the eccentric (lowering) phase.

Gironda row or barbell row: what changes depending on where you pull and what your lower back can take

The Gironda row is a low-cable row, but not a barbell row moved to a cable. Two things change at once and both matter: where the pull ends — at the sternum instead of the navel — and the path of the elbows — high and flared instead of tucked to the body. That pair of details shifts the work from the latissimus dorsi towards the mid-traps and rhomboids, the muscles that give the upper back its thickness and the ones almost nobody trains directly.

There is a second criterion for choosing between row variations, and it usually decides more than the muscle does: how much you ask of the lower back. Fenwick, Brown and McGill compared three row variations in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2009, measuring trunk activation and lumbar spine load at the same time. The inverted row produced the highest activation of the lats and upper back with the lowest lumbar load of the three. The standing bent-over row gave activation spread across the whole back but with the highest lumbar load and spinal stiffness. And the one-armed cable row stood out for demanding rotational stability of the trunk.

That work did not measure the Gironda row, so what follows is a reasoned reading and not a result of the study: the Gironda is done seated, with the feet braced on the platform and the torso nearly vertical, so the spine does not have to hold up the weight of a flexed trunk. By construction it belongs to the low-lumbar-demand family of rows, the inverted row's family and not the barbell row's.

From that comes the practical criterion for placing it in your back routine. If you already deadlift and barbell row on the same day, the lower back is what accumulates, and adding a third exercise that also taxes it does not add back: it adds fatigue. The Gironda row lets you keep adding horizontal pulling volume — aimed at the mid-traps, which the barbell row works less — without touching that tally.

Alternative exercises

• Conventional deadlift
• Pull-ups
• Lat pulldown
• Barbell row
• Single-arm dumbbell row

More Horizontal pull exercises

• Meadow row
• Dumbbell upright row
• Cable upright row
• Seated band row
• Barbell row

Add it to your routine

Progrevia can generate a personalized routine that includes Gironda row based on your level, goal and available days.

Frequently asked questions

What muscles does Gironda row work?

Gironda row mainly works the espalda muscle group, plus synergist and stabilizer muscles depending on the variation.

How many sets of Gironda row should I do?

Between 3 and 5 sets per session, adjusting the total weekly volume for espalda to your level (about 10–20 sets per muscle per week).

Is Gironda row good for building muscle?

Yes. Combined with progressive overload, good technique and enough rest, it's an effective tool to grow espalda.

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