When it comes to increasing your bench press strength, most lifters focus solely on pressing mechanics—how to push more weight off their chest, how to explode through sticking points, and how to refine their technique. But what if I told you that one of the most critical exercises to improve your bench has nothing to do with pressing at all?
To build an elite bench press, you need a powerful, stable, and responsive back. That’s where the Reverse Band Bench Press and the reverse bench pressing row come into play.
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Back Strength Is Essential for a Bigger Bench Press
At first glance, it might seem counterintuitive to emphasize rowing movements when your main goal is pressing power. However, strength is about balance—without equal opposing forces, your ability to generate power is severely limited.
When you lower the bar to your chest in the bench press, your back muscles play a crucial role in decelerating the bar, keeping your form tight, and allowing you to create an explosive press. A weak back leads to instability, poor control, and ultimately, a weaker press.
Think about it—how many times have you seen lifters in the gym who drop the bar rapidly to their chest, thinking they're developing speed, only to struggle pressing the weight back up? That lack of control isn't building explosiveness; it’s destroying their ability to build a stronger press.
Reverse Band Bench Pressing Row
If you truly want to strengthen the muscles that support your bench press, you need an exercise that mimics the pressing motion but in reverse. That’s why the Reverse Band Bench Pressing Row is such a powerful tool.
This exercise directly trains the muscles involved in stabilizing your bench press, allowing you to feel and engage them properly before you even press. It targets key posterior chain muscles, including:
- Rhomboids
- Traps
- Lats
- Rear delts
- Biceps (as secondary movers)
By performing this row from a bench pressing position, you build strength in the exact range of motion that your back needs for a stable and powerful press.
How to Perform the Reverse Band Bench Pressing Row
To perform this exercise correctly, follow these steps:
- Set Up the Bands
- Attach strong resistance bands to the top of a squat or power rack.
- Fold them over the bar so that they create significant tension.
- Slide a barbell through the bands, allowing it to suspend above your bench.
- Establish Your Power Position
- Lie on the bench in your standard bench press setup.
- Ensure your head, shoulders, hips, and feet are in full contact with the bench and floor.
- Retract and depress your shoulder blades to engage your upper back.
- Execute the Rowing Motion
- Grip the bar with a bench press-width grip (same grip you’d use for your press).
- Pull the bar down toward your chest, keeping your elbows tucked.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the bottom of the movement.
- Control the weight as you return to the starting position.
As you perform this movement, you’ll feel the exact muscles that need to be engaged during your bench press. The key is to build tension in your back so that when you transition to pressing, your body is primed for maximum force output.
How to Program This Exercise for Maximum Strength
This exercise can be added into your current training program. Here are a few things to consider, based on some common goals:
- As a Strength Builder:
- Perform 3-5 sets of 10 reps to develop the back musculature necessary for a stronger press.
- Best placed on upper-body or secondary bench days.
- As a Priming Exercise for Bench Press:
- Perform 5-6 sets of 3 reps before heavy pressing.
- Focus on maximizing tightness and activation rather than fatigue.
- This approach pre-activates the muscles you need for a stable, powerful press.
- As a Recovery Tool:
- Use lighter weight and higher reps (12-15 per set) on non-bench days to promote blood flow and reinforce movement patterns.
Some lifters will benefit from using this exercise on bench press days, while others may need to slot it into a secondary workout, depending on their overall training split.
If you train bench press and deadlift on consecutive days, you may want to avoid pre-fatiguing your back before heavy pulling. Since the deadlift heavily relies on back strength, performing the Reverse Band Bench Pressing Row too close to a deadlift session could impact your performance and recovery.
For advanced lifters handling high training volumes, this exercise might be better suited for a secondary upper-body day. Placing it strategically in your program ensures that it enhances your bench press without interfering with other key lifts, such as squats or deadlifts.
Beginners, on the other hand, can benefit from simply incorporating this exercise once or twice per week. Doing so helps build the foundational back strength and stability needed for a more controlled and powerful bench press.
Why It Works
The Reverse Band Bench Pressing Row does more than just strengthen your back—it teaches you how to engage the right muscles at the right time. And it's a key solution if you're hitting a bench press plateau.
Lifters who struggle with:
- Weak control during the eccentric phase of the bench press
- Shoulder instability at the bottom of the press
- A lack of tightness in their setup
…will see major improvements by adding this exercise to their routine. And it's also a good exercise to consider for those who have a bench that's weak off the chest.
Common Questions
How Do I Set Up the Bands?
Attach strong resistance bands to the top of a power rack and loop them securely before sliding a barbell through. The bar should hang just above chest level when seated, allowing you to row with full control while maintaining a tight bench press setup.
What Kind of Resistance Bands Work Best?
Use thick, loop-style powerlifting bands with medium to high resistance to provide enough tension for stability. Stronger lifters should opt for thicker bands to ensure proper engagement and prevent excessive swinging. These are the same as what you'd use for a reverse band deadlift or reverse band squat.
What Muscles Does the Reverse Band Bench Pressing Row Target?
This exercise primarily targets the rhomboids, traps, lats, and rear delts, with secondary activation of the biceps and core for stability. By mimicking the bench press position, it strengthens the muscles that control the bar path and maintain tightness during pressing.
Can I Do It Without Bands?
Yes, a similar movement without bands is called the Seal Row or Chest-Supported Barbell Row, where you row a barbell from a rack while lying on a bench. It still builds back strength for pressing but lacks the band tension that better mimics bench press mechanics.
How Is the Reverse Band Bench Pressing Row Different From Reverse Band Bench Press?
The Reverse Band Bench Pressing Row is a pulling exercise designed to strengthen the back muscles and improve bench press stability by mimicking the pressing motion in reverse. In contrast, the Reverse Band Bench Press is a pressing movement where bands are attached to the top of a power rack to assist the lift, reducing resistance at the bottom and helping lifters handle heavier weights at the top of the press.
How Can I Make It More Challenging?
Increase difficulty by using stronger bands, adding weight plates, or slowing down the eccentric phase to maximize muscle engagement. You can also try tempo reps, pause reps, or different grip widths to further challenge your back and improve pressing power.
So that's it.
If you want to build a bigger, stronger bench press, you can’t afford to neglect your back. The Reverse Band Bench Pressing Row is one of the best exercises to reinforce proper mechanics, develop pressing stability, and prime your body for explosive strength.
Try incorporating this movement into your program, and let us know how it impacts your bench press!
And for more guides, check out PowerliftingTechnique.com.
